Leadership and life coaching is for leaders, executives and individuals who want to develop and grow at work and in their life. According to the International Coach Federation, those who identify with any of the following criteria can benefit from life coaching:
- Feeling “stuck”
- Wanting to pursue a life-long dream
- Longing to become your best self
- Wanting to pursue career advancement
- Transitioning into a new stage of life
- Looking to grow professionally
- Desiring to feel more confident
- Leaving behind emotional baggage
The origin of the word “coach”
In the mid-16th century, the word “coach” meant a large four-wheeled covered carriage. It came from the French term coche and also from the Hungarian word kocsi, which meant “carriage”. Carriages were named that way because superior carts and wagons were designed in the small town of Kocs in Hungary.
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The meaning we use today originated at Oxford University in 1830. Back then, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, this word was a slang term for a tutor who would “carry” a student through an exam.
If you think about it, this meaning still makes sense today! As a coach, you “carry” your clients from one state to another. In essence, the word we use today is a metaphor.
The sports term “coach” transferred from there in 1861 as “special instruction or training for an exam or an athletic contest”.
Ever since then, coaching evolved via different styles. Today, there are endless coaching styles you can adapt to your own coaching services.
Someone rightly defined a life coach as an artist with a sound understanding of human tendencies and temperament. Listening intently to your present issue, a mature life coach is trained to partner with you to identify aspects in your story which could be limiting your perspective. Having such an unbiased partner supports you to move from resistance to motivation, from doubt to clarity, from delay to action.
The path to both personal and professional leadership is made possible by your own unique patterns of thinking and behaving. In many ways this distinguishes you. Yet in some ways it can be too defining. Broadly speaking, a good starting point to know if you are ready for coaching is to check if you:
- Are seeking clarity in certain areas
- Have been unable to initiate changes
- Wish to feel more confident about yourself
- Are determined to develop select qualities
- Have an intention to grow beyond your comfort zone
If you are looking for a partner to support this transition, get in touch.
Coaching is a partnership. It is as much about your commitment to participate fully and honestly as it is about my whole hearted commitment to be a confidential and safe space where you can share and clarify your thinking, recognise your hesitations and inertia, work through your resistances and fears, and step up towards your desired goals.
It is important to gauge the experience, expertise and credentials of a coach. It is equally important to have a brief interaction to see how trustworthy you feel the coach is and respect your gut.
This varies depending on individual needs, goals and ability to make desired shifts. All sessions are conducted online via zoom or whats app video calls.