What does a coach do, really? 

The coach’s main task is to make the client successful in his own change process. The coach helps and supports the client to find the answers themselves and the path to change/development

The word coach comes from the Hungarian kocsi, which means a cart from the village of Kocs. Kocs was known in the 16th century for manufacturing particularly well-made carriages. These carts transported people from one place to another – that is, to carry a person from a current situation to a desired situation. Now, coaching is not about literally carrying another individual or group forward. We can say that coaching is about bringing out possibilities and potential in a creative collaboration.

What does a coach do, really?

The coach’s main task is to make the client successful in his own change process. The confidence coach in London helps and supports the client to find the answers themselves and the path to change/development . The most important thing for a person to develop is that he/she increases his/her knowledge and awareness and acts in new ways. The coach has a self-strengthening approach to his client. Coach assumes that the client can and wants to take responsibility for their choices and actions.

The coach has a genuine interest in meeting and seeing individuals grow and develop. Coach is a specialist in the development process that promotes, releases and develops the person’s inner potential . The coach asks questions that give the opportunity for new thoughts, perspectives and approaches. Active listening and powerful questions are the coach’s main tools in the process of supporting increased awareness, development and learning. Ability to communicate clearly, effectively and challengingly are additional tools the coach uses to support the client to find the answers and the path to change themselves.

Development and change always involve a certain amount of uncertainty, we know what we have but not what we will get if we make a change. The coach has the ability to create trust and a supportive environment where the client can safely and at his own pace explore the steps that need to be taken to get closer to the goal. The coach is skilled in creating genuine, creative and developing meetings.

To create a change, clear goals are important. The coach helps the client set realistic goals, stay focused on set goals and encourages the client on the way to the goal.

Being coached – an active act

Being coached can be perceived as a passive activity – but being coached is a conscious, active and sometimes demanding process of change. It means a willingness to explore and challenge yourself and your actions, values and beliefs. Based on goals and action plans, the client needs to translate these into reality – take action. Between the coaching sessions, it is the client’s task to take the necessary steps towards the goal. The client chooses what the conversation with a coach should be about, the coach contributes through his knowledge of the development process and with his questions. This creates clarity that it is the client who is responsible for their process, their choices and their actions.

Coaching – Why does it work so well?

Coaching has gained a large and sustainable role in the lives of private individuals and the corporate world. We can ask ourselves why coaching works so well?

Coaching is a clear and structured way of talking that helps the client pick out what is important, helps the client set goals and find the best ways to reach these goals. The Coaching is about lifting and developing the strong, healthy and positive. Coaching is motivational and works from here onwards with a focus on new and more efficient thinking and action. Through coaching, the individual/group deepens their learning, improves their performance and develops their quality of life – utilizes their full personal potential.

Within all of us there is a longing to utilize our full personal potential. People are creative with a willingness to take responsibility for their own actions. This is exactly what the coaching is based on. The basic idea in coaching is that within all of us there is a knowledge of what we should do to feel good and succeed in what we desire.

Coach in many different guises

Coach is a word that is used in many different contexts – diet coach, health coach, training coach, dog coach, soccer coach, life coach, weight coach, relationship coach, business coach, career coach, job coach, etc. It is not uncommon, especially in the media, for coach to be used in contexts such as expert or advisor. A professional coach is neither a therapist, expert, counselor nor mentor. With a coach, you don’t get treatment, expert advice or solutions. Instead, you are asked questions to find your own answers and solutions.

Coaching in professional life

Coaching is used for personal development and change work, individually and within groups and organizations. Anyone who in some way works with people and wants quality in communication, increases their ability to handle changes and create new meaning, benefits from coaching, both in working life and privately.

As a Certified Coach/Certified Coach, you can work as a professional coach in personal development, individually and in groups. Coaching is used as supplementary competence in many professions; teachers, leaders, managers, personnel managers, health and medical personnel, psychologists, sociologists, alternative therapists, etc.

Positive effects that a professional coach can contribute

A professional coach who works with services to companies and leaders can contribute to several positive effects for both individuals and organizations.

A few examples are:

• Increased productivity, quality and profitability
• Increased motivation, commitment and loyalty
• Increased innovation, creativity and flexibility
• Increased self-confidence, self-esteem and well-being
• Increased communication, collaboration and feedback
• Reduced stress, conflict and sick leave

Purposes of professional coaching

A professional coach who works with services to companies and leaders can offer different types of coaching, depending on the client’s needs and wishes. A few examples are:

Leadership coaching: Coaching that focuses on developing the leader’s competencies, self-awareness, communication and relationships. Leadership coaching can help the leader deal with challenges, changes, conflicts and stress effectively.

Team coaching: Coaching that focuses on developing team cooperation, performance, creativity and motivation. Team coaching can help the team solve problems, make decisions, manage conflicts and achieve common goals.

Career coaching: Coaching that focuses on developing the client’s career path, competencies, network and balance. Career coaching can help the client find their motivation, change jobs or industries, start their own business or advance in their career. Over the years, we have worked with career coaching both in the form of outplacement and adjustment. We also work to support employees to find ways forward in their current workplace. It can also include coaching in an onboarding process internally when an employee is to get their first leadership role.