Put Me In Coach

So what IS a coach? Is it that guy that yelled at my 10 year old and his teammates during Saturday morning basketball games, screaming, "Pay attention! What are you doing?" Is it the man I remember from my high school softball days who looked a little like Weird Al, but was so warm and cool and taught me a lot about the game and sportsmanship? Well, a certified coach who has proper training from an accredited coaching program is a little bit of both, but without the yelling, and with a lot more compassion. A coach can guide you toward awareness and can lead to the self-reflection, "What am I doing?" A coach can guide you to learn new things about yourself, and can lead to you wondering how you can better contribute to your team, whether they are the home team or away. Plus, research reports that the typical ROI of coaching is 600%. That's a win.

I think my favorite definition of a coach is a "thought partner." A coach helps you visualize your future, and listens (really listens) and helps organize thoughts, observing patterns that can get you "unstuck" and launch you toward achieving goals. In coaching, you're calling the shots. You're finding your own way forward, coming up with your own solutions, and unlocking your potential...the coach is guiding you and supporting you and holding you capable for the things you say you want. Coaching is a process, and typically happens over multiple sessions, how many sessions depends on your goals. Goals can be bigger or smaller. You've got the ball and you're going to score, and the coach is running with you on the sidelines arms waiving wildly saying, "You've got this!" It's a game worth playing.