The History of the Coaching Profession
Coaching has been available to and used by athletes and executives for many years. However, it came into its own and available to the general public in the 80’s, as a result of the popularization of the human potential movement, counseling and therapy, and business and organizational consulting. During this time, corporations became more welcoming of change as the norm rather than an exception and embraced coaching as an option to guide their employees to achieve more personal satisfaction and increase their productivity.
Over the past ten years, coaching has spread beyond the corporate arena. People from all walks of life are now hiring coaches to assist them in achieving all kinds of personal and professional goals. The growth in coaching is evidenced by the increased amount of coaches joining the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the professional association that certifies coaches and sets ethical standards for the profession.
The ICF suggests that coaching can be defined as “an ongoing partnership that helps clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Through the process of coaching, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance, and enhance their quality of life.”
The profession’s title of ‘coaching’ is a metaphor for the sports community, the realm where coaching actually began and is an established activity. No successful athlete or team of athletes would consider trying to compete to win without the guidance of a coach. The coach motivates, guides, and challenges them to get farther faster and reach bigger challenges.
Because coaching began in the athletic field and was later used by top executives, people see it in a very different way than they do counseling or therapy. While therapy is seen by many as a service sought by people who need help, have problems, and need to get over things. Coaching is the complete opposite.
People who seek coaching affirm they are capable of change. They communicate that they are ready to experience more success and personal satisfaction. They value personal and professional development and see the logic in investing in their personal and professional satisfaction. This is all confirmed by the fact that coaches see clients as whole, capable, and healthy. It’s easy to see how the shame-based feelings often triggered by counseling or therapy are by-passed. After all, it’s no disgrace to have a coach if even Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google has his own coach!
Counselors and therapists were not in the forefront of the coaching movement. Yet, as coaching becomes more popular, more counselors and therapists are offering coaching as part of their services. Watch this video and discover what makes our coaching so different.
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