Coaching is the process of equipping people with the right tools, knowledge, and opportunities needed to fully develop themselves to be effective in their commitment to themselves, the company and their work. It is skills, processes and knowledge through which people involve themselves in making maximum impact and constantly renewing themselves and their organization as they experience continuous change. Coaching is an egoless process in which coachable moments are created to draw out distinctions and promote shifts in thinking and behavior. At the end of the day, coaching is all about creativity, development and achievement by simply removing roadblocks to performance and enhanced free flowing creativity. Coaching does not deliver a single solution, it permanently increases the clients OWN ability to readily and repeatedly develop solutions. – COACHING IS NOT: Management skills re-packaged, although coaching does draw on certain management skills and competencies. – COACHING IS NOT: Consulting or mentoring, although coaches will use their experience to assess and diagnosis situations, and even give advice and opinions if appropriate. – COACHING IS NOT: Therapy, which focuses on diagnosing and treating a problem from the past, often childhood. “Counseling focuses on helping people to live functional lives. Coaching focuses on helping functional people live extraordinary lives” —Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching

Coaching focuses on setting goals, creating outcomes and managing personal change. Sometimes it’s helpful to understand coaching by distinguishing it from other personal or organizational support professions. – THERAPY: Therapy deals with healing pain, dysfunction and conflict within an individual or in relationships. The focus is often on resolving difficulties arising from the past that hamper an individual’s emotional functioning in the present, improving overall psychological functioning, and dealing with the present in more emotionally healthy ways. Coaching, on the other hand, supports personal and professional growth based on self-initiated change in pursuit of specific actionable outcomes. These outcomes are linked to personal or professional success. Coaching is future focused. While positive feelings or emotions may be a natural outcome of coaching, the primary focus is on creating actionable strategies for achieving specific goals in one’s work or personal life. The emphasis in a coaching relationship is on action, accountability and follow through. – CONSULTING: Individuals or organizations retain consultants for their expertise. While consulting approaches vary widely, the assumption is the consultant will diagnose problems and prescribe and, sometimes, implement solutions. With coaching, the assumption is that individuals or teams are capable of generating their own solutions, with the coach supplying supportive, discovery-based approaches and frameworks. – MENTORING: A mentor is an expert who provides wisdom and guidance based on his or her own experience. Mentoring may include advising, counseling and coaching. The coaching process does not include advising or counseling, and focuses instead on individuals or groups setting and reaching their own objectives. – TRAINING: Training programs are based on objectives set out by the trainer or instructor. Though objectives are clarified in the coaching process, they are set by the individual or team being coached, with guidance provided by the coach. Training also assumes a linear learning path that coincides with an established curriculum. Coaching is less linear without a set curriculum.

Yes! The International Coaching Federation (ICF) Global Coaching Client Study shows most clients reported improved work performance, better business management, more efficient time management, increased team effectiveness, and more growth and opportunities. The same study found that coaching clients noted greater self-confidence, enhanced relationships, more effective communications skills, better work-and-life balance and an improvement in wellness. Nearly 70 percent of individuals indicated they had at least made back their initial investment. The median suggests that a client who achieved financial benefit from coaching can typically expect a ROI of more than three times the amount spent. According to the same report, the vast majority of companies (86 percent) say they at least made their investment back. In fact, almost one-fifth (19 percent) saw a ROI of 50 times their investment, while another 28 percent saw a ROI of 10 to 49 times the investment. Nearly all companies or individuals who hire a coach are satisfied. According to the ICF Global Coaching Client Study, a stunning 99 percent of people who were polled said they were somewhat or very satisfied with the overall coaching experience. For more details, go to the ICF Research Portal, as well as press releases about ICF’s return-on-investment research.

– Awareness and discovery of who you are at the core – Clarify what and where your blocks are and what is holding you back – Reduced stress – Greater engagement and productivity – Feel more energy and optimism – Improved communication skills – Increased ability to inspire and motivate – Growth of decision-making skills and increased self confidence – Improved work/life balance – Greater satisfaction in key areas of your life

Yes. The ICF has taken the lead in developing a definition and philosophy of coaching, as well as in establishing ethical standards among its members. Through its Code of Ethics, Ethical Conduct Review Process, and Independent Review Board (IRB), the ICF sets professional coaching standards while also gives consumers a venue to file ethics complaints about ICF Members or ICF Credentialed coaches.

Yes. Here is the ICF Code of Ethics: ICF Members and ICF Credentialed coaches pledge their commitment and accountability to standards of professional conduct. 1. PROFESSIONAL OVERSIGHT through an Independent Review Process for ICF Members and ICF Credentialed coaches, which allows the public to report concerns and to be confident of objective investigation, follow-up and disciplinary action. 2. PROFESSIONAL COACH CREDENTIALING, entailing a stringent examination and review process through which coaches must demonstrate their skills, proficiency and documented experience in application of coaching core competencies. Credentialing includes Continuing Coaching Education requirements for periodic renewal of coaching credentials, to ensure continued professional growth and development. 3. PROFESSIONAL COACH TRAINING ACCREDITATION, by which coach-training programs submit to review and continuing oversight to demonstrate their commitment to the highest standards for curricula and alignment with defined core competencies, faculty, structure, proficiency and ethics to support excellence in the training of coaches. 4. ONGOING SELF-REGULATORY OVERSIGHT INITIATIVES to track the needs and concerns of individual and organizational clients on an international basis and to demonstrate an active commitment to meaningful professional self-governance.

The ICF is the governing body for coaching. It created Core Competencies and built a Code of Ethics, setting the standard in the coaching field. It defined curriculum standards (accreditation), to ensure consistency in coach training, and developed an ICF Credentialing system, requiring renewal every three years. It also established processes allowing consumers to file breach-of-ethics complaints.