Coaching + Assessments

The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as "partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential."

Although every coaching session is different, there are four main components: coaching agreement, where we establish what you'd like to walk away with; powerful questions, where I ask open-ended questions; action steps, where we consider what you will do as a result; and acccountability and support, where you create a plan for follow through.

A coaching session will typically be based around a goal of the client and include mostly listening by the coach with more talking done by the client in response to coach questions. A debrief will typically be based around a particular assessment (like the Enneagram or CliftonStrengths) and include mostly talking by the coach in response to client questions about the assessment results.

While coaching and mentoring are both meaningful forms of help, they are different from eachother in five areas:

Which subject to master
In mentoring, the mentor is the expert of certain subjects like business or marriage or faith. The student comes to the mentor to grow in areas in which the mentor has found success. The mentor is the sage.

In coaching however, the coach is the expert of the coaching process. The client comes to the coach so the coaching approach may be applied to his areas of interest. Therefore, the coach is not the sage, but rather the master of the coaching process.

Who sets the agenda
In mentoring, the mentor decides how the student ought to grow. He has success in mind and plans the steps accordingly. The student keeps asking, “What’s next?” and the mentor tells him. However, in coaching, the client sets the agenda.

The coach asks, “What would you like to walk away with?” and begins working on the client’s agenda. If the client doesn’t know, the coach asks questions to draw it out. In coaching, the client sets the agenda.

Where learning comes from
In mentoring, the student asks questions of the mentor. Remember, the mentor is the sage, so he has all the answers. Even if he asks occasional questions, he’s still the sage whose role is to transmit information and experience so the student learns from the mentor. But coaching is different.

The role of the coach is to ask questions to stir insight and understanding so the client learns from himself. In coaching, learning comes from within through powerful coaching questions.

Whom to become
In mentoring, the goal is for the student to become more like the mentor. The mentor has found success in certain areas and says, “Become more like me.” In coaching however, the goal is for the client to become more of himself.

The coach’s aim is to help unlock the client’s potential, so he may become more of himself. Instead of “Become more like me,” the coach says, “Become more like you.”

Whose life is invited into
In mentoring, the mentor invites the student into the mentor’s life. He talks about himself and his relationships and his work and he may even have the student over to meet the family. But coaching is different.

In coaching, the coach invites the client into the client’s life. He helps the client to see the client’s life from different angles and vantage points. It’s the client’s life that the client is invited into.

Coaching and counseling are different from each other:

Past vs. future
In counseling, the emphasis is often on the past. You may revisit your childhood or a former relationship or an old wound in order to move forward in your present life. However, coaching puts the emphasis on the future.

You may imagine a different future or consider upcoming possibilities or dream about achieving spectacular goals. While counseling remembers the past, coaching envisions the future.

Healing vs. progress
The goal of counseling is often healing and recovery. It is bringing the client to a healthier state of belief and function through the appropriate therapy. However, coaching is more about progress and development.

While probably everyone could become healthier in some way, coaching assumes the client is healthy enough that no unhealthy area will hold the client back from forward progress. While counseling focuses on healing and recovery, coaching focuses on progress and development.

Wounds vs. strengths
In order to heal from past wounds, you may have to do difficult work around your wounds. You may have to revisit and acknowledge and get angry and forgive. Only then may you be free from the restraining power of the wound.

However, coaching focuses on your strengths, which are your means of making contributions in the world. In coaching, you may do focused work around your strengths in order to release the power of the strength. While counseling works on wounds, coaching works on strengths.

Licensing vs. certification
In counseling, there is a licensing process to become a licensed professional counselor, which includes educational courses, examination, supervision, and experience hours. The requirements for licensing are upheld by the local government. On the other hand, there is no professional coaching license.

Instead, professional coaches are certified by a coaching institution. Although there are no governing authorities for coaching, a widely honored authority for certification and standards is the International Coach Federation. While professional counselors are licensed, professional coaches are certified.

Steady stream vs. Rising tide
For years now, the profession of counseling has been widely accepted as an important means of healing. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 140,000 mental health counselors employed in the United States in May 2016. Counseling has been steady and constant.

However, coaching is more like a rising tide. According to the 2016 ICF Global Coaching Study, there were 53,300 coaches worldwide in 2016, which is 12,000 more coaches from their 2012 study, and the next report will show even more. While counseling is a steady stream, coaching is a rising tide.