#Coaching #Mentoring #Leadership #Servantleadership #projectmanagement
A very important question and often misunderstood. If you check in the table I shared 2 days ago in my blog, you see that a Coach does not even need to be a subject matter expert. Coaching is taking it a notch higher and teaching the person you are coaching how to think and figure out things by themselves. A coach is a facilitator, not a teacher.
I remember how surprised I was when my first professional Coach gave me “homework” and then didn’t even want to see it. She explained it was not about me doing things right or wrong, but about understanding on how to do these things. So she gave me practical homework to experience it. I came to appreciate this approach, because I no longer was worried about whether my research / homework is right or wrong, but was able to fully concentrate on it, enjoy the journey and even started to venture going deeper into things that interested me.
A Coach knows that the individual has the answers in him / herself and the coach helps to bring them out and unlock the true potential. That also explains why a coach does not need to be a subject matter expert.
I have had a few coaches in my life, who were there to help me sort through my thoughts and ideas, they would only give a few comments to probe me further and make me think further. The outcomes I came up with through the help of the coaches have been amazing. I never thought I could reach where I have reached these days.
We all need a coach at different stages in life reach out for one and enjoy the journey.