By Sarah Beals Sager
Welcome to the first blog post at Summer Triangle Coaching. This is a really big step for me personally, so I appreciate you celebrating this journey with me!
So, what is coaching? I can tell you what coaching is to me. Not only is it my chosen career, it’s a mindset. I say this because coaching opened me up to so many truths and possibilities. When I was first being coached, I was breaking a lot of rules that I had written for myself out of survival. I decided I was done surviving, and wanted to live life my way.
Let’s start with the practical definition of coaching.
Coaching is a verb. Some dictionaries describe it as “to train” or “to instruct,” and that’s partially true. You can receive coaching on job interviews, improving your skills with someone more experienced. However, I think coaching is what happened in between the practical skills.
With job interviews as an example, let’s say a client is extremely nervous about interviewing and wants coaching to help them prepare for (I’ve been coached on this topic A LOT). I would do some interview preparation with industry-based questions and guide the client through their answers. When I really start coaching, we dig into the nervousness. I’ll ask questions like, “What would it look like if we fully explored the interview process today?” or “If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do?” I work with the client to address the block and look beyond it.
This can be extremely powerful for clients who are thinking very hard in a singular direction. Having a mindset shift takes work and an experienced coach. Otherwise, you run the risk of causing more damage or accidentally (and illegally) providing therapy.
I coach because I love it. In 30 minutes I can see my clients change their minds about a difficult situation. Instead of thinking what the world has told them is true, they are discovering their own truths. When a client says “thank you,” they’re not actually thanking me. They are thanking themselves for trusting and doing the work.
Coaching is awesome. I love my new mindset and it serves me well. If you would like to see how far you and I can go, book a free 15-minute call with me.
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