This article was written for humanistic psychologists and published in the June/July 2001 issue of AHP Perspective.
Coaching is a new profession that has been growing by leaps and bounds recently. It originated in the corporate world during the 1980’s, where coaches were used to help executives become more successful in their business functioning. Coaching is now being used by people at a variety of levels in corporations and also with non-profits, small business, professionals, and just ordinary folks. In fact, personal coaching is becoming increasingly popular as a way for individuals to improve their lives in areas such as:
Coaching shares with psychotherapy an emphasis on a
relationship of respect and trust that helps clients better their lives. It also
uses a process of inquiry and personal discovery to develop a client’s
awareness, initiative, and responsibility. However, coaching tends to be much
more structured and goal oriented than therapy. With some clients, coaching can
be similar to therapy. For example, a person may need to work through
interpersonal or emotional issues that stand in the way of moving ahead in life
or being more effective in business. However, coaching can at times be radically
different from therapy, especially in its use of direct advice and challenging
motivational techniques.
Coaches often perform the following functions:
Coaching shares with humanistic psychology an emphasis on
the positive—a client’s healthy capacities, potentials, and personal growth.
However, coaching is often focused exclusively on behavior change and not on
deeper aspects of the psyche. Coaching is similar to short term behavior therapy
except that it focuses on reaching specific goals rather than on alleviating
symptoms.
In my personal coaching, I have developed a special
interest in helping people find and actualize their life purpose. People
frequently come to me because they want to find a new career that is truly
satisfying and allows them to contribute to something larger than themselves. I
especially enjoy helping people find their unique contribution to changing
society as part of their life purpose. This coaching uses both my therapeutic
skills to help people explore the depths of their psyches in discovering their
life purpose, and also my coaching skills in helping to move ahead on an action
plan to actualize that life purpose in a career. I use a structured program for
this coaching, which can also be tailored to meet each person’s needs. This
has been a very satisfying way of focusing my knowledge about life purpose into
a structure that is both helpful and marketable.
The coaching profession is in its infancy and growing at a
fantastic pace. Everyone seems to want to become a coach. There are coach
training programs popping up all over, some even take place entirely over the
phone. And some are much more complete and effective than others, so explore
carefully. The International Coach Federation, the established professional
organization in the field, is in the process of credentialing coaches and
training programs. As far I know, no states license coaches yet, but I imagine
that will be coming.
Many therapists are moving into coaching to make up for the
detrimental effects of managed care on their practices. Others are drawn to the
field because of their business backgrounds or for other reasons. Since the
field is so new and it is easy to look like a coach, many people are claiming to
be coaches who have no background in coaching or in working with people at all.
Corporate coaching is no longer restricted to high level executives. It is used with managers who are valued by the organization but need to overcome a specific problem. It can help managers develop the skills to succeed in a new position. While one-time training workshops are not very effective in helping employees develop “people skills” (as opposed to computer skills), coaching provides the on-going support and trusting relationship needed to make substantial changes in behavior. Coaches often help corporations with
In addition to my personal coaching practice, I am part of
a corporate coaching company, Rainwater Coaching. This has given me an
opportunity to bring my values into corporate culture. The good news is that
many companies today recognize that, in order to be successful in the
marketplace, they need to care about their employees—emphasizing personal
development, empowerment and initiative, work/life balance, sustainability, and
other humanistic values. Bureaucratic command-and-control organizations are no
longer very successful. The new global economy is so fast moving that really
effective corporations need to attract and retain talented people, gain their
commitment, and use their full abilities. This requires an atmosphere of trust,
shared vision, opportunity, and creativity. Many corporations now realize this
and are trying to change in these healthy directions. However, it isn’t easy.
Companies are often caught in entrenched structures and attitudes that treat
people as objects whose only goal is efficiency and profit. This is where
coaching can be a great help. We can assist in changing the values and attitudes
of managers, executives, and ultimately corporations, moving away from the
mechanistic mind set and toward a more humanistic vision.