Una's Blog

by Una Hearne.

Sometimes it seems hard to explain! It is a series of powerful, purposeful conversations between a client and coach over a period of time. It is a transformative process. It is a personal and developmental support. It is a success accelerator. It is empowering. It gets you back in touch with yourself. It is facilitated goal setting. It is a tailored process which helps you get from where you are to where you want to be quicker and more effectively than you can on your own. It is all this and then some.

So what makes coaching different from just having a good chat with a friend? To be sure in some ways it can be similar – and there are some key differences.

• A good coach will never advise you or tell you what you ‘should’ do. Anyone giving advice is mentoring/teaching/counselling/training/consulting or being your friend, but they are not coaching. A coach knows you have the best answers for you. Their job is to facilitate you accessing your own wisdom.
• Coaching is exclusively about you. You dictate the pace, subject and outcomes.
• It is confidential and non-judgemental. It must be a safe trusting environment where you are free to say whatever you want and need.
• It is tailored to you. It is about where you are now, what matters to you and what you want.
• It is collaborative. A coach facilitates your thinking process by active listening, skilful questioning and feedback. By ensuring you set goals that are right for you and you keep on track to achieve your outcomes.
• There are no right or wrong answers in coaching. There are no right or wrong goals. It doesn’t matter how big or small your goals seem to you, it only matters that they will improve your life, that they are right for you.
• Coaching is special, quality time and space out of normal life to think clearly about your life, what really matters, and how you are going to achieve what you want.
• A great coaching session is a space of clarity, inspiration, creativity and calm.

The basic process is the same for everyone, but the journey each person experiences is unique. Just like life.