Coaching? Coaching!

”Who, exactly, seeks out a coach?…Winners who want even more out of life!”

Chicago Tribune

It has been years since my first coaching session which was pretty informal. I met C in a training program and we talked about emotional intelligence. She had an amazing background and a lot of experiences that made her easy to talk to. It was! At least for me an introvert looking for a cure.

Due to her questions, I started with small steps to reach my goals searching for answers and solutions within me. At this point, working with her came as continuity on the work done during my year of therapy. For me, coaching meant strength and joy! It meant discovering the 100% happy me, or more accurate accepting the normal me with good and bad, both while being reconciled with myself.

Since it was something that made me react, my mentoring sessions turn towards coaching. Asking questions and let the one in front of you find his/her answers - it such an amazing process to witness. It helped me improve my active listening ability that led to more healthy and open communication relations.

These days I am reading again „Coaching for performance” of John Withmore, alongside other coaching books and being part of such a program led to this article where I want to introduce you several types of coaching. It is a „for your information” type of article, just to touch the subject. In case you have some questions about it, this holds general information so you have your basics.

Maybe after reading my lines, you will decide that you can use some of the approaches in your day to day life and improve your relations. Or maybe you will decide to start looking for a coach for yourself. Or maybe you will start working on something that you left on a top shelf of your mind in order to forget about it.

What you should know is that coaching is a process! That means it takes time…and it will not offer you miraculous responses to your long life search. Also, coaching is not about asking advice from your coach or looking for recipes for success overnight. You will have to work, to look for ways, to be creative, to be open and to be honest, first with you, and after that with your chosen coach.

I am writing about some of the coaching models that are there - so that you can have an idea about the approach.

GROW Model: is a way of achieving goals and solving problems (you can read more about it in the Withmore’s book)
Goal - What do you want?
Reality - Where are you now?
Options - What could you do?
Will - What will you do?

STEPPPA Model: it can be used when emotions need to be overcome. (appears in the work of Angus McLeod Associates)
Subject: What is the subject, the topic or the goal?
Target identification: What are you aiming for? What do you want to achieve?
Emotion: Is the goal worth it?
Perception and choice: What is the meaning of the goal? How does it have meaning for you?
Plan: How will you achieve it? What do you need to do in order to get from A to B?
Pace: When do you want to achieve it?
Act or Adapt: Step-by-step plan of actions is needed? What are they? Do you need to adapt in order to check the actions?

OSKAR Model is a solution-focused, collaborative process. (a model developed by Paul Z. Jackson & Mark McKergow)
Outcome (objective): what you want to achieve after the session (specific problem or issue)
Scale: on a scale from 1 to 10, how close are you to achieve the outcome?
Know-how: what you need to get where you want? What skills, knowledge, qualifications, and attributes you need to get your outcome?
Affirm + Action - what is already working well? Identify positive actions, skills, behaviors, and attributes. What actions you need to take in order to make progress towards your outcome.
Review: the actions are taken, what’s improved and what is needs to happen next in order to improve even more.

CIGAR Model (originated from the Full Potential Group)
Current Reality: Where are you now?
Ideal: what would be an ideal outcome after the coaching session in respect of the current reality?
Gaps: what are the gaps between the current reality and the ideal situation? What ideal situation will help you eliminate them?
Action: what actions are you committing to taking in order to achieve the ideal?
Review: comes after suitable actions have been taken, what are the results?

In order not to get you bored with the subject, the list stops here. There are a lot of other models, and a good coach will apply to you the one that is suitable for your needs. But like in sports (from where the term “coaching” comes) you will have to do the work, you will establish what you want to change, your rhythm, places or what will you do in order to reach your goal.

What you should remember at all times is that coaching is a process, not a miraculous pill, but the right question asked at the right time can change minds.

Photo by Prophsee Journals on Unsplash