Broken People Need Coaches + Other Coaching Myths
Posted on March 28, 2014 by Julie Varughese, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Extraordinary people hire coaches. Leaders with monumental visions for their organizations, their teams and their people, hire coaches.
A number of people have wondered why I — a coach — would hire a coach for myself.
That question makes sense if you view people as broken. Only broken people hire coaches, right?
I don’t work with broken people. Neither does my coach.
Extraordinary people hire coaches. Leaders with monumental visions for their organizations, their teams and their people, hire coaches. Possibility-filled people hire coaches.
I wouldn’t blame someone for making assumptions about coaching. It’s a young profession (about 30 years old), with little known about it.
It’s also a helping profession. Sometimes people think if someone asks for help, something must be wrong. What exactly is wrong with asking for help? That’s a rich coaching conversation in itself.
I think Moses would have hired a coach to support his leadership as he led the Hebrews through the desert.
Margaret Thatcher is the kind of person who would have hired a coach to reflect who she was being as “Iron Lady”.
I think Jesus was a coach.
So what is a coach, anyway?
A coach is a person who has no vested interest in you beyond moving your agenda forward.
They do that by listening to you and speaking with you at a higher altitude than you may be used to.
It’s a powerful experience. All in service of you.
Notice the word “you” kept popping up. Because coaching is all about YOU.
So here are some things I’d like to set straight:
Myth no. 1: Coaching is for people with problems.
Coaches relate to problems as opportunities. Money problems? Money opportunities. Leadership problems? Leadership opportunities. See?
Myth no. 2: Coaching is for the broken folks among us.
Coaches relate to people as whole and capable of making their businesses, relationships and everything else work. We are all perfect as we are. The bumps in the road make our lives rich.
Myth no. 3: Coaching works on just one thing, like a relationship or a business.
As ontologically trained coaches, we take you as a whole, integrated person. When you get coached around your leadership, everything else in your life will shift. Guaranteed.
Myth no. 4: Coaching is like therapy.
Therapy deals with your feelings. Coaches relate to your feelings as valid. But we work with you on what you’re committed to, regardless of the thoughts, feelings and body sensations that arise while you’re moving your projects forward. And you will have feelings when you leave your comfort zone!
Myth no. 5: Coaches give advice.
If someone gave you advice, you probably wouldn’t act on it, anyway. That’s why coaches have you come up with the genius ideas AND the ways to make them happen. Then we support you by reflecting who you’re being about taking those actions and holding you accountable.
