Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Key Differences Between Coaching and the Coach Approach
17 Plays9 months ago
In this episode of PRIME SPACE, host Elias Scultori explores the crucial distinction between coaching and simply using a coach approach. Through various scenarios—such as a manager leading a conversation, a trained coach in a personal discussion, or a professional offering advice—Elias clarifies what sets coaching apart from other approaches. He dives deep into the structured process of coaching, which involves clear agreements, a specific framework, and an equal partnership with the client. The episode challenges both coaches and other professionals to reflect on their approach and ensure they are aware of their stand and represent themselves ethically and with integrity.
#Coaching #CoachingMindset #ProfessionalDevelopment #CoachingFramework #Leadership #PersonalGrowth #PRIMESPACEPodcast #CoachApproach #Distinctions
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Prime Space Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to Prime Space, a Prime Coaching Academy podcast with your host, Elias Coutori.
Is Questioning a Form of Coaching?
00:00:15
Speaker
I want to start today with a question.
00:00:19
Speaker
Let me paint a scenario here for you.
00:00:21
Speaker
Let's say that a manager in an organization is having a conversation with their direct report
00:00:34
Speaker
and talking about a specific project.
00:00:38
Speaker
And in the middle of this conversation, the leader decides to, instead of telling the direct report what to do, instead of giving an answer or giving a specific direction, that leader decides to ask a question instead.
00:01:02
Speaker
Is that coaching?
00:01:08
Speaker
Let me give you another scenario.
00:01:10
Speaker
Let's say that a couple is having a conversation and one of them is a professionally trained coach.
00:01:20
Speaker
Right in the middle of that conversation, that person decides to ask a question.
00:01:28
Speaker
and asks actually several questions.
00:01:32
Speaker
Is that person coaching in that particular moment?
00:01:37
Speaker
What about a consultant or a psychotherapist or a mentor?
00:01:44
Speaker
In the middle of their intervention with their clients, they decide to ask a question.
00:01:52
Speaker
Are they coaching?
00:01:55
Speaker
Well, let's think about these questions.
Framework and Agreements in Coaching
00:01:59
Speaker
You know, coaching is a formalized profession with a clear set of ethical and professional standards.
00:02:09
Speaker
So coaching, one of the foundational points of coaching is that we set agreements with
00:02:19
Speaker
We set overarching agreements, which means all parties involved understand that this moment or what we are going to get into is coaching.
00:02:30
Speaker
So there is an agreement of all parties that we are going to be coaching.
00:02:36
Speaker
And we set agreements, the overarching agreements.
00:02:38
Speaker
We set agreements for every single session, every single conversation, right?
00:02:43
Speaker
Coaching has a particular framework of the coaching conversation.
00:02:48
Speaker
In every coaching conversation, coaches establish...
00:02:53
Speaker
a focus for the conversation.
00:02:55
Speaker
Coaches support the client into clarifying what they are looking for, what they want to focus during the conversation, and what is the expected outcome for that conversation.
00:03:07
Speaker
Coaches support the client into this discovery process, into this examination of what the client
00:03:15
Speaker
the particular elements involved are so that there is a new broadening of vision and perspective.
00:03:23
Speaker
And then coaches also support the client into the application of these insights and how the client is going to move forward.
00:03:32
Speaker
There is a very clear framework of the coaching conversation.
Client Freedom and Coach's Role
00:03:38
Speaker
Coaching also, we say that coaching is an equal partnership.
00:03:45
Speaker
As a coach, I don't have, I can't have an investment on the specific outcome of the coaching conversation because if I do, then I'm going to, of course, I'm going to be...
00:03:59
Speaker
guiding or pushing the client towards one specific outcome that is of my interest.
00:04:07
Speaker
So in coaching, we have equal partnerships so that the client has complete freedom to go in the direction that is best for them.
Intentional Process in Coaching
00:04:18
Speaker
Another great aspect of coaching is the coaching mindset, where the spotlight is on the client, in the expertise of the client, in who the client is, and not necessarily in my expertise.
00:04:33
Speaker
Coaching is this intentional process.
00:04:37
Speaker
And for coaching to happen, we have to be operating in this whole environment that I described to you.
00:04:48
Speaker
Sometimes things are more and less or dependent on the situation because we are there working with the client, but we are committed to all of this whole process.
00:05:00
Speaker
So I say this because I believe it's important for all of us to be very aware of this distinction.
00:05:09
Speaker
On one side, I think it's important for all the other professionals, the leader in the organization, the consultant, the psychotherapist, the mentor, the teacher, the facilitator.
00:05:25
Speaker
I think it's important for all of these other professionals to be aware of
00:05:30
Speaker
of the robust process of coaching.
00:05:35
Speaker
That coaching is a lot more than simply asking a clarifying question, an exploratory question.
00:05:44
Speaker
There are specific standards for the profession and there are specific processes and frameworks that we have created for the coaching profession for coaching to be this robust process that we have today.
00:06:00
Speaker
It's important for the leader to understand that in that moment that the leader asks a question, it can't be coaching because that leader has an investment in the outcome of that conversation.
Distinguishing Professional Roles
00:06:14
Speaker
It's important for the mentor to understand that just because they have a question, it's not necessarily coaching because the role here is passing experience.
00:06:26
Speaker
or the consultant, the role here is to solve a problem and fix that particular situation.
00:06:34
Speaker
The role of the psychotherapist is to support this person in healing, which is not what coaching is about.
00:06:42
Speaker
So there is a distinction here that requires all of us professionals to get training and specialize in the framework so that we go beyond training.
00:06:57
Speaker
these different kinds of conversations or perhaps even a haphazard conversation that a couple is having and having a question and this intentional process that is the coaching mindset and the coaching proposition.
Commitment to Coaching Process
00:07:17
Speaker
But this distinction between coaching and the coach approach is not just for the other professions.
00:07:24
Speaker
I think it's important for us coaches to also be mindful of this distinction.
00:07:32
Speaker
How are our conversations with our clients going these days?
00:07:38
Speaker
Are we really supporting the client to establish a clear session agreement?
00:07:45
Speaker
Are we being able to or being mindful of supporting the client into the application of their insights, their movement forward, their actions?
00:07:58
Speaker
Or are we picking and choosing certain skills that we learned in coach training and not committed to the full process of coaching?
00:08:10
Speaker
Because it may be that we may have been having these conversations with the client and we are actually using the coach approach, but not necessarily fully coaching.
00:08:25
Speaker
We may be asking beautiful questions, but we are not giving the client the benefit of experiencing the full body of a coaching process.
Transformative Client Experiences
00:08:43
Speaker
So it's time for all of us as coaches also to pay attention.
00:08:47
Speaker
Are we getting sloppy and letting go of certain things and not paying attention to certain skills?
00:08:56
Speaker
Or are we committed to being the best coach that we can be?
00:09:00
Speaker
Are we committed to offering the best services and the best processes for our clients so that they can truly go through this transformative process, this reflective process of coaching?
00:09:15
Speaker
It's something for us to keep in mind as well.
00:09:18
Speaker
So there is a distinction.
00:09:21
Speaker
There is a distinction between coaching and having the coach approach.
00:09:28
Speaker
And I hope that this is an invitation for all of us to keep in mind where are we in this moment.
00:09:35
Speaker
There is nothing wrong with asking a question.
00:09:38
Speaker
There is nothing wrong with pausing and listening a little deeper.
00:09:45
Speaker
These are skills that we learn in coaching, in coach training.
00:09:49
Speaker
There is nothing wrong with asking what is the objective of this conversation?
00:09:54
Speaker
So if we are not committed to the whole framework, if we are not in complete agreement with the other individual that we are going to go through a coaching process, if the nature of the conversation does not have this mindset of putting the other in the spotlight of the equal partnership,
00:10:17
Speaker
right, of the standards that we have as a profession, it may not be coaching, right?
00:10:23
Speaker
It may not be the full embodiment of what we are committed as professionals.
00:10:30
Speaker
And it may be very beneficial and supportive, right?
00:10:35
Speaker
All of these skills are wonderful, but it will be simply utilizing the coach approach in that conversation.
00:10:42
Speaker
Okay.
Engagement and Subscription Invitation
00:10:44
Speaker
I'm wondering what you think about this distinction.
00:10:47
Speaker
Send me an email.
00:10:48
Speaker
Let me know or connect with me on LinkedIn.
00:10:51
Speaker
Let me know what your thoughts are around this and we can continue the conversation.
00:10:57
Speaker
Don't forget to subscribe and share these episodes with others that might benefit from this conversation.
00:11:05
Speaker
from this conversation here i want to remind everyone that we do have open registration for our full cohort at prime coaching academy so if you are considering your coaching education we would love for you to consider us as your provider okay let me know if you have any questions on that as well otherwise everyone i'll see you next time