What is Life Coaching?
A Life Coach calls upon their coaching
training and life experience to assist their clients to
· develop
a vision
for their life, then
· formulate
practical steps
to help them create it.
This sounds like simple process,
and it is, but if it were easy you would already be living the life that
you wanted to live.
Can a Coach help me?
Firstly a Coach will help you discover
what it is you really want - your vision for your life.
By the use of Coaching specific
tools, Coaches help clients to clarify their vision.
Your life vision may be to run
a multinational corporation, or, may be as simple as doing the job you
want to do with the people in your life that make you laugh and bring
you joy.
Note it is not your Coaches vision
but your vision. Your Coach does not have the answers - You have the answers.
Your Coach has the questions.
Just as a baby in the womb does
not need to be conceived, but only to grow and be given birth to, your
vision is already alive within you as a part of your values, dreams, desires
and life experiences. All it needs is to be developed and delivered.
At Paradigms Ltd® we believe that
everyone's life has a vision and a purpose. However, if you have dirty
glasses you will not be able to see your vision. Your Coach will help
you clean your glasses so you can see what it is you want from your life.
How does my Coach help me?
Your Coach will use visioning tools
that will help you see your vision clearly, but will also engage you in
The Coaching Conversation®.
By engaging with your Coach in
The Coaching Conversation® you together discover new and unique possibilities
- new paradigms for positive life action.
Participating in The Coaching Conversation®
for the first time is a unique and often profound experience for clients.
The focus is solely on you and your wants, desires, needs, dreams and
sometimes your disappointments and failures.
At what other time in life does
someone devote their whole time and attention on you?
Coaching achieves profound life
change however, it is not therapy or counselling and it is important to
be aware of the differences.
What Coaching is not ...
Coaching is not counselling or
therapy, which are excellent interventions for those that require them.
Coaching is not concerned with going over your past, although it acknowledges
that past experience can influence current behaviour.
Coaching is not training, consulting
or teaching. Someone under training is being taught by an "expert" who
knows more about the given subject than they do. Your Coach recognises
that you are the expert on your life. No-one knows more about your life
than you.
Other ways that Coaching differs
is that:
· the Coach has no fixed agenda
- it is "client driven" at all times,
· the end result of Coaching is
positive action moving you forward.
Coaching is not someone telling
you how to live your life.
Only you know how you should live
your life. No one knows more about you than you.
You set the agenda and the pace.
You are in control at all times. Coaching is a profound tool that will
reveal your potential because your potential is what drives the process.
What is the Coaches role?
Your Coach is someone who is in
your corner at all times, and who believes in you. Through keen observation,
training and experience, and by means of The Coaching Conversation®
your Coach will help you reveal your inner potential and then support
you as you build on this to create the life you want.
Coach-speak talks about a "designed
alliance" between coach and client - however, you could consider your
coach a co-driver who sits beside you with the lifemap and destination
you have chosen and who then encourages and supports you on your journey
toward the life you want to live.
The Coaching Process
The coaching process begins with
your phone call or email where we 'touch base' and answer any questions
you may have. It also gives you the opportunity to state what your expectations
are and to outline what you would like to achieve from coaching. If, following
your initial contact, you feel you would like to know more, the next step
is to run through a needs assessment.
Needs Assessment
This is an informal chat on the
phone, where you tell your Coach what it is you would like to achieve,
we discuss what has brought you to coaching and gather some background
information, such as your age, career, relationship history, etc.
Following the Needs Assessment
you will have more of an idea of what coaching is and how coaching works.
It also gives you the opportunity to speak to us and see if you feel comfortable
working with us.
If you feel you would like to proceed
with coaching the first session is booked a week or two in advance.
Length Of The Sessions
The coaching sessions last approximately
one hour at our offices in Ponsonby.
FAQ
FAQ
- Frequently asked questions
What happens during a coaching
session?
You will have come to coaching
because there is a change you want to make - this forms the coaching agenda.
Your Coach is uniquely qualified to help you move forward from where you
are now to where you would like to be, quickly, easily with lots of laughs,
and, at your pace.
What happens between coaching
sessions?
At the end of each session we agree
on a 'designed task,' similar to homework but fun. This task is suggested
by your Coach from their extensive toolkit because they feel it will help
you achieve a greater level of awareness and enable you to quickly reach
your goals.
The designed tasks are great fun
as new windows are opened and new options discovered. These tools and
'designed tasks' are an integral part of the coaching experience, and
the tools are often first thing discussed at the following session. Examples
of 'designed tasks' can be found in our Free Tools section. To go to now,
click here.
This is also an important difference
from therapy where 'designed tasks' are not usually agreed on at the end
of every therapy session. They are also why coaching has the potential
to move you forward in your life so quickly. This is because you learn
by doing and applying the knowledge and you also have someone to unconditionally
support and encourage you as you move forward in life.
How many sessions should I allow
for?
The number of coaching sessions
depends on each client and where they would like to go. Unlike therapy,
which can continue for some years, the end goal of coaching is for you
to acquire the skills to coach yourself - then your coach is no longer
required. The best Coaches, like the best teachers, do themselves out
of a job.
However, a good rule of thumb is
to allow for at least 3 weekly sessions.
What should I look for in a
Coach?
The criteria we would use to select
a coach would consist of the following:
- Training and qualification in a recognised coaching model - we use the Strategic Coaching Model®
- A familiarity with cognitive behavioural theory and Rogerian therapy.
- A background of interest in personal development, human potential and undertaking regular supervision.
- Membership of a professional coaching organisation, such as the ICF - the International Coaching Federation
What are your Coaching qualifications?
Following a lifetime of interest
in developing human potential, Harley Storey chose to pursue a coaching
qualification graduating with A.C.E in Coach Education.
This qualification is based on
the Strategic Coaching Model®. This training also covers the Co-Active
Coaching Model®, the GROW Model®, NLP®, cognitive behavioural theory and
Rogerian therapy amongst others.
He is the Managing Director and
Principal Coach of Paradigms Limited® and his company has membership of
ICF® - the International Coaching Federation.
If you would like further information
and a biography of
Harley M Storey, please visit our
"About Us" page, or click
here.
About
Coaching
&
FAQ
Is Your
Glass Half Full?
Is Life
A Bowl Of Cherries?
Nature
-
not busy,
just "being"
All change
begins ...
with a
small step.
Contact
Us
Would you like to discover more
about how coaching can help you move toward a happier, more fulfilled
and balanced life?
Please feel free to …
call
us on 09-625 9463
email
us with any questions or
comments
write
to us at
P O Box
78-393,
Grey
Lynn,
Auckland
1245.
Life Coaching Videos
To look at our life
coaching resources tools
and videos, click
here.
Related topics
Coaching
Modules
Career
Coaching
Could
you do with
some new
perspectives?
Paradigms Ltd
PO Box 78-393
Grey Lynn 1245
Auckland
New Zealand
Contact Us:
p. +09
625 9463
m.
021 03 75 249
©
Paradigms Ltd. All rights reserved.
Harley M Storey
M.I.C.F,
A.C.E (NZSC)
Life
& Career Coach
