Did you get the second look?

There is a debate over the boundaries of coaching.  What is okay to talk about in coaching and what is not.  Also, there are different labels out there which suggest something different happens. All very confusing for the individual that wants coaching don't you think?

As far as I am concerned, coaching is coaching. You would always vary what you deliver depending on what someone wants to talk about.

For example, I have been asked to do executive coaching with a very senior MD type person.  We ended up setting an action plan that he would pick his son up from school once a week.  This may not sound like executive coaching but it was what this executive wanted from his coaching! Everything affects everything else. If this executive is feeling like one area of their life is rubbish, it can rub off onto other areas too. If they are not sleeping, exercising, eating right, planning their time, spending time with their kids, spending time relaxing, learning etc ... then, they are not being holistically effective. Therefore, ALL is the stuff of coaching. 

It is easy to confuse ourselves. The industry of coaching, like anything else that involves humans, seems to delight itself in making things more complicated. I guess one of the reasons could be that the more complicated it seems, the higher the hourly rate!? Sorry if that is cynical...

Did you get the second look refers to a session that a client had once where we talked about them not feeling attractive any more. If a client wants to talk about that, then I will talk about that. I know that it is not counselling. I am always mindful of helping my clients to move forward and take action. This was no different.

Take care

Paul Tizzard