How Professional Coaching can Advance Human Potential

Picture by Austin Chan

In recent years, coaching has become a buzz word and an important one. Many people, however, still confuse it with counselling, consulting or a kind of training. Truth is that coaching is a unique and effective work that helps to inspire and advance the human potential.

To give context, let’s first look at four different coaching mindsets to better understand what coaching is and what it can do:

1. Consulting: This is a broad word and it can be applied to different areas not only in a coaching way. Generally, consulting would be explained as a ‘solution-ing” of an issue or project.
2. Counselling: In broad terms, counselling focuses primarily on resolving/ fixing a problem or situation, and it can go deep into the human issues and needs, in a deep psychological way.
3. Training: Usually done in a group setting rather than 1:1, but also possible in small groups/individual sessions, training workshops focus on transferring skills and knowledge, bridging, closing the skills and knowledge gap.
4. Coaching: It aims to heighten the person’s awareness, deepening the learning and forward the action in a positive, accountable and sustainable way.

There is obviously a time and a space, a different need and approach that may be best for each person at different times in their life and profession. However, here we will explore a bit more of the benefits of coaching, some of the why and how coaching can advance human potential and help people.

What is coaching and what are some of its’ benefits?

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) and pioneers in coaching Janet Harvey and Amorah Ross define coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential, which is particularly important in today’s uncertain and complex environment.”

There are many benefits to being a part ofthe coaching process.Coaches support clients in becoming more self-aware, learn more about themselves, go deeper into their selves and priorities, know their environment and how to best work and operate in it, work on making better choices and forwarding their actions towards their goals. Coaching helps to find out what the person knows, as well as what they don’t know, unleashing creativity and motivation.

Another great benefit of coaching is that it is not a theory or just something that “sounds good”, but a practical and individualized approach that truly helps people develop.

As master coach Ben Koh says “Coach is the processor of the content, not the generator. Client is the generator”. This generator goes deep into their awareness and works on developing himself or herself.

When looking at the adult learning process, we can broadly divide it into Horizontal and Vertical learning ways. Through Horizontal Learning we see tactical and/or a transactional approach of coaching where the focus is about increasing factual understanding and technical expertise by acquiring knowledge or skills.

On the other hand, Vertical Learning is about the transformation of how one thinks, feels and makes sense of the world about how we relate to the world and to what we know.

Therefore, through Vertical Learning the coach can stimulate the reflective thinking, give perspective and look to get real meaning. This approach, more than a purely skills focused coaching approach has the potential to truly touch, inspire and generate change.

It is primarily through professional coaching skills, using the Transformational Coaching approach that we believe we can advance human potential.

According to the Coach Masters Academy, there are 5 principles for transformative Coaching:

1) Articulate thought
2) Draw Out Insights
3) Pause to connect
4) Frame the content
5) Nurture understanding

These five principles for Transformative Coaching above give a good framework to start.

It is important to know that coaching takes place in a conversation. The goal of the conversation is to create space and expand the mind, to hold that space and that opens so the individual being coached can truly expand its mind, become more self-aware and grow.

However, the body and mind act in a funny way that people tend to create a defence mechanism, to close/shut down and go into a logical answer mindset rather than an answer of meaning and openness.

So, a good coaching session is a conversation that is interested in drawing meaning, purpose and not stay focused in the content at hand or the problem itself. A conversation is also not a debate, selling or convincing anyone of anything. There is a difference between searching and digging, and we want to focus on the search, the openness, the reflective mode and right attitude.

A successful coaching session starts with the client being open and willing to be coached, and for a transformative shift to take place, to inspire and advance human potential we start with a simple yet essential framework for the coaching to be successful: the ACC (Awareness-Clarity-Choice) Conversation Framework

In a nutshell, here is what it stands for:

A: Awareness
What happened? Create space! Start the conversation! Open up! A space where the client is totally present, not reactive but full present and receptive in the NOW moment.

C: Clarity
What really matters? Go deeper into what matters, helps uncover what really matters most to the client- aligning intention, purpose and actions.

C: Choice
What is next? What are the options? How do we go from here? Create a support structure to stay true and brave to make decisions that are true to self, stay committed and move forward.

There are several tools used in coaching sessions to make it successful. It takes a skilful coach to ask good questions, to be an active listener, to be present, to bring out the best in the client. With the right tools and people, I believe that Professional Coaching can truly Advance Human Potential.

It is by seeing the benefits of coaching, raising the awareness, forwarding the action in a creative and motivating way, using the ACC model and more; that we start making changes.

We can see people blossom, look deeper into who they are, accepting and embracing their authentic self. We see people choosing how they want to live and not just “getting by” but truly advancing their full potential.

To know more about transformational coaching, executive coaching and advance your full potential in 2020 please get in touch with us!

Warm wishes,
MônicaZionede Hall