Coaching - so what is it?!
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as partnering in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires a person to maximise their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership. When you work with a coach, you set out on a path to greater personal and professional fulfilment.
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To add to that, I'd describe it as imagining having a trusted companion who genuinely believes in your dreams and is committed to helping you reach your highest potential. That's the essence of coaching. If you partner with me, through our sessions you will gain insight into your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and learn how to make positive changes to achieve your desired outcomes. Coaching can be applied to a wide range of areas such as your own behaviours, career development, parenting, personal growth, relationships, and health and wellness. Whether its finding confidence in yourself and your abilities, to overcome Imposter Syndrome, find your way in a relationship (with a current or potential partner, family, friends or colleague), reach that desired state of fitness/ weight, or make some career choices; then coaching can help. We will find out what your obstacles are within love, life and work, what that ultimate goal looks like for you, set some challenging actions for you to reach and I will hold you accountable to move forward and make those changes. Each of us can experience hard times, or get faced with a block we just don’t know how to pass; that's where I come in!
A coach is like a supportive partner, guiding you on a profound journey of self-discovery and personal growth. I create a safe space where you can explore your aspirations, overcome obstacles, and tap into your inner strengths. Through meaningful conversations and insightful guidance, I empower you to set achievable goals, develop valuable skills, and unlock your untapped potential. My role is to be your unwavering cheerleader, holding space for your dreams and providing the accountability you need to stay on track.
Coaching techniques are a very powerful tool day to day - it helps encourage transparency, self awareness and patience. If you’ve not explored it before I highly recommend it, whether that be within your day to day life or workplace. I can provide coaching awareness workshops where I provide you (or a group) with insight and understanding of the coaching skills including self awareness, active listening and how to ask powerful questions, through experiential learning. These skills will provide you with the ability to strengthen relationships whether that be your partner, children or colleagues.
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Benefits of Coaching
The personal benefits of coaching are as wide-ranging as the individuals involved. Numerous clients report that coaching positively impacted their careers as well as their lives by helping them to:
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Increase their self-confidence
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Establish and take action towards achieving goals
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Become more self-reliant
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Gain more job and life satisfaction
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Take greater responsibility and accountability for actions and commitments
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Build relationships more easily and productively with others; whether that is at home, with family, within friends groups or at work.
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Communicate more effectively; with children, partners, friends, peers and managers.
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What is the difference between Therapy and Coaching?
The main way that a life coach vs. therapist works is that the life coach takes the client’s current starting point as an acceptable neutral ground and is more action-based from that point onward.
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Therapy, also called counselling or psychotherapy, is similar to coaching in some ways. Both use evidence-based techniques and intentional dialogue as the primary tools for growth and discovery, but there are key differences between these services. Therapy is a long-term process in which a client works with a healthcare professional to diagnose and resolve problematic beliefs, behaviours, relationship issues, feelings and sometimes physical responses. The idea behind therapy is to focus on past traumas and issues to change self-destructive habits, repair and improve relationships and work through painful feelings. In this sense, therapy focuses on the past and on introspection and analysis, with the hope of resolving past issues and creating a happier, more stable future.
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In life coaching, a client works with a coach who is not a healthcare professional to clarify goals and identify obstacles and problematic behaviours in order to create action plans to achieve desired results. A life coach enables the person receiving treatment to take control of their life and take action to steer it toward their goals.
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Contact me today to have a confidential, transparent chat with any questions, doubts or feedback you have.
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Gemma
Director & Coach