What is Coaching?
If you’re lucky enough to have worked with a good coach in the past, you probably don’t need to read this. If you haven’t had that opportunity, figuring out if you need — or even want — a coach can be a pretty daunting process. So what is coaching?
Coaching is a process in which a coach supports and guides an individual or a group to help them achieve specific personal or professional goals.
Coaching is a process in which a coach supports and guides an individual or a group to help them achieve specific personal or professional goals. The focus of coaching is on enhancing performance, developing skills, and achieving desired outcomes. Coaches ask probing questions, provide feedback, and help clients create action plans to overcome obstacles and reach their potential. Coaching is often future-oriented and goal-driven, helping individuals improve their effectiveness, decision-making, and self-awareness.
Mentorship involves a more experienced individual providing guidance, advice, and support to a less experienced individual.
So how is getting coaching different from seeking mentorship? Mentorship involves a more experienced individual (the mentor) providing guidance, advice, and support to a less experienced individual (the mentee). The mentor shares their knowledge, insights, and expertise to help the mentee navigate their career or personal development. The relationship is often informal and may involve sharing personal experiences, offering suggestions, and acting as a role model. Mentorship focuses on long-term growth, career development, and sharing wisdom gained from the mentor's own experiences.
But isn’t that basically just another way of building skills or learning?
Well…sure.
Training involves the teaching of specific skills, knowledge, or competencies to help individuals acquire expertise.
But coaching and mentorship are both still distinct from training. Training involves the systematic teaching of specific skills, knowledge, or competencies to help individuals acquire expertise in a particular area. It often follows a structured curriculum and may be delivered through workshops, courses, seminars, or online programs. Training is typically more instructional and formal, with the goal of imparting specific skills or knowledge required for a particular job, task, or field. While training may involve some level of guidance and feedback, it is primarily focused on developing specific capabilities.
Therapy addresses and treats psychological, emotional, or mental health issues.
In some circumstances, coaching can also feel similar to counseling. However, as helpful as it can be, coaching is absolutely not a substitute for professional help with addressing mental or emotional health issues. Therapy is a professional relationship between a trained therapist and a client. The primary purpose of therapy is to address and treat psychological, emotional, or mental health issues. Therapists use evidence-based techniques to help clients understand and manage their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Therapy is usually focused on healing, personal growth, and addressing mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and relationship issues. Therapists provide a safe and confidential environment for clients to explore and resolve their concerns.
For all their differences, each of these approaches to self-improvement can be incredibly powerful. For many clients, pursuing two or more simultaneously can create unique opportunities to connect concepts across disciplines and accelerate personal growth. That said, it’s important to remember that while it should be easy to identify the qualifications and certifications of a therapist or trainer, the professional coaching and mentorship ecosystems don’t have the same rigor built in — you can be confident that coaches with certifications from trustworthy institutions have gone the extra mile to ensure they can offer you something of genuine value. Regardless of whether you’re just seeking coaching, or building coaching into a larger system, we’re here to help you complete your Quest.
In summary:
Coaching focuses on achieving specific goals and enhancing performance.
Mentorship involves an experienced individual guiding a less experienced person in their personal or professional development.
Training imparts specific skills or knowledge required for a task, job, or field.
Therapy addresses psychological and emotional well-being, helping individuals cope with mental health challenges.
