A common question that I directly or indirectly receive a lot of times is, ‘does coaching really work?’.
The part of India where I am based, coaching is still uncommon. People are unaware of the concept, how it can help, and what would they need to do as a client. So I thought why not write about it.
Nothing Works If You Don’t
As simple as it sounds, this is the most important thing. One can hire a coach, who can sit with him as many hours as possible and yet not achieve results. Because at the end of the day the work needs to be done by the individual. Its his or her legs in the water. A coach might help you in bringing awareness and that is important but if you don’t take action on it then there is no meaning of that awareness.
Not A 2 Minute Noodle Story
We live in an age of ‘Instant’; Instant Noodle, Instant Pasta. But unfortunately, you cannot pressure cook growth. You have lived and practiced your thoughts, behaviours and practices for the entire period of your life. So overnight one cannot unlearn and relearn patterns. It’s a matter of taking small steps that with brings result over a period of time.
Not A Destination Always
Though I have coached people for 3 months and 6 months over leadership and time management but the beauty of coaching lies in it being not a destination but a journey. When an individual truly invests in bringing about change he or she pursues it as a long term journey and that makes it transformational coupled with the accountability the coach brings in.
So Coaching is all about the ‘Individual‘. What a Coach brings in is the framework that helps you navigate through your own levels of awareness and helps you build clarity and confidence. Helps you see things in a different perspective. Helps you bring in more accountability to your actions that aids in the change.
So what is expected from a person who is looking for coaching?
Time – Making time out of your schedule consistently. Whether it is for your coaching sessions or the time to explore into new paths of action, one would need to dedicate time into it on a regular basis. Most entrepreneurs say ‘they have their schedules full’. Some say they can’t leave office before 9pm at night. But in life its how we set our priorities. If coaching brings in that growth which you are looking for, don’t you think its better to make time for it.
Commitment – Each coaching sessions comes in with follow through actions. Actions that need to be put into practice continually. So if one is looking for one time things coaching is definitely not for him. I remember one of my clients. He wanted to grow his business and that meant first organizing it and putting in discipline. But he could never make it to an appointment before 2pm. Reason : He would rarely wake up before 12 noon.
Hard work – I often say to my prospects that coaching is hardwork. Lets face one thing. If something was easy you possibly would have done it in the first place. The reason you are seeking a coach is because you have tried and not succeeded. So it will require a lot of hardwork from the client to pursue change.
Coaching is not a magic wand. It is a slow subtle process in which you start from listening to the coach to being able to listen to your inner self which has all the answers. It creates a space for yourself while being able to clearly prioritise your work, family and social life. It thus brings in a lot of self-empowerment.
