ATD recently tweeted out a few questions to engage fellow trainers on the topic: What is coaching?

My answer was:

Uncovering what’s inside a person, their gifts/strengths/desires/interests and bring it into the outside space of their lives.  Helping them become maximized.

To me, that is the heart of it.  There is a lot involved in helping a person dig down into the depths of themselves, and it sounds easier than it is.

A skilled coach has the ability to bring out what’s inside a person.  Proverbs 20:5 says, “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters.  A person of understanding [a coach, mentor, friend, etc] draws them out.”

A coach is skilled in the area of listening and asking questions.  A coach is not an adviser per se but is more like a facilitator of a conversation we have with ourselves.

Coaches help us solve our problems.  They don’t necessarily give us the answers but help us find the answers.

A coach is able to help a person first see the dots of their lives, and then connect the dots.  Connecting the dots provides a neuro pathway to our success pathway.  It provides a mental visual, a way of seeing where we’ve been, what we’ve done, what we desire, and who we are leads us to where we should go.

What a coach is, and what coaching does reveals the value of having a coach in our lives. It is the opportunity to become the best version of ourselves and get to the next level in our leadership path.

And who doesn’t want that?