When I was previously studying for my doctorate at Queen’s University I dove into the concept of coaching. I specifically wanted to study how coaching, as a conversational technology, could benefit students during their clinical learning. While I didn’t complete the doctorate program, I spent over a year studying literature on coaching.

One of the most interesting things about coaching is that it is a buzz word for anything from helping friend to trained psychologist. I remember reading an article over 15 years ago about someone who was featured in a community paper as an emerging “life coach.” She had stayed home with her three young children and wanted to supplement her family income by coaching others about their “life.” I did a “hmmm.” What credentials do you need to coach people about “life?” Is there some “life test” you must pass to share your secret life sauce with the world? 

Well, it turns out, coaching is not secret sauce sharing at all. It also isn’t a word controlled by any level of training, experience, or expertise. Without those controls, it becomes buyer beware.

It’s important that people who are looking to hire a coach ask about the coach’s training. Just because the coach does, or did, something well in their own life, that doesn’t mean they can coach and lead others to the same outcomes. Being an educated consumer means understanding the services you are trying to buy. So, if you are looking for a coach, buy (or “invest” as we like to call it) in a coach that knows how to navigate coaching in the way it was intended. 

Which way is that? 

Well, here is some of the literature I reviewed in my doctorate as it pertains to coaching. Most of this was obtained under the umbrella of coaching in healthcare, but I see the relevance applied to coaching in general.

Coaching Requires a Specific Skillset

Over the last few decades, coaching has emerged as a distinct profession and approach. Hence, coaches are to have coaching skills (Ladyshewsky, 2010), training, or as with the International Coaching Federation, specific credentials (Potvin et al., 2022; Dancza et al., 2023). The ability to coach is not an entry-level competency of professionals, so people shouldn’t be fooled that someone who uses a regulated title and adds “coach” means that they actually know how to coach. Or to coach well. For example, in occupational therapy, coaching is not part of the curriculum, and is not a required skillset for entering the profession (Potvin et al., 2022). So, occupational therapists are not trained coaches, unless they gain this skillset outside of their protected title. Some do, but many don’t.

It also becomes confusing when workplace supervisory relationships claim to be coaches or to use “coaching” approaches. Clinically, using a coaching approach with clients (i.e. in healthcare) has proven benefits. For example, coaching with healthcare clients is a documented approach that improves provider listening skills, collaboration, and goal development skills, reduces the power dynamic, shifts time use, empowers and engages the recipient, and is more flexible than traditional methods (Graham et al., 2018; Potvin et al., 2022). More importantly, those using it reportedly felt more effective and identified the critical mindset shift toward change agents that coaching requires (Potvin et al., 2022). 

Coaching Creates an Atypical Experience

The coaching approach creates a unique experience for the person being coached (the coachee). Coaching, as a conversational tool, varies from the typical “telling you the answers model” in that the coach is not to problem solve for, but instead does so with, the coachee. Here the coach guides the coachee to develop and implement goals and to tap into the natural answers inside them. It’s like redecorating your house with the stuff you have, before you clutter or cloud it with anything new. The coach holds the recipient accountable for the goals developed, helping them achieve these more effectively and expediently.

The "how" of coaching is also different. Those being coached do most of the talking and thinking and are expected to apply their own opinions, experiences, positionality, and perspectives. This fundamental shift in any conversation is more supportive, changes the power dynamic, and is more reflective for the coachee. The coaching model is one that uses open ended questions that are crafted and perfected over usually many hours of coaching practice.

The benefits to people who are “coached” versus “told” are extensive. For example, those being coached take a proactive role in their outcomes and subsequently are more empowered and take more initiative. When learning, students that have coaches are guided versus passive in the education process. Coached students don’t have education “happen to them.” Rather, they “make education happen.”  This is true in business too. Instead of being “told business” through coaching you “experience it.”

Why Hire a Trained Coach

Like most things in life, you can do things yourself, or spend a little or a lot on a solution. Solutions, and their costs, are often be related to the amount of relative pain you are experiencing. You might patch your roof yourself, but when it needs to be replaced, you hire the experts. Coaching really is no different.

Need advice? Find a friend or someone you trust.

Need expertise? Find a consultant or licensed professional.

Need to learn? Find a course or training for your gap areas.

Need to dive into behaviors and emotions? Find a therapist.

Need to grow? Find a trained coach.

What does “trained coach” look like? Ask the ones you are talking to. Where did they do their coach training? How many hours have they logged coaching? Who can you talk to about their skills? How can you get a sense of their approach before buying? Why buy them over someone else?

Want to talk about coaching? Or about the ways I have studied and practiced this? Reach out.

References:

Dancza, K., Volkert, A., & Tempest, S. (2023). Supervision for Occupational Therapy Practical Guidance for Supervisors and Supervisees. New York: Routledge.

Graham, F., Boland, P., Ziviani, J., & Rodger, S. (2018). Occupational therapists' and physiotherapists' perceptions of implementing Occupational Performance Coaching. Disability and Rehabilitation 40(12), 1386-1392.

International Coaching Federation. (2023, 06 23). Retrieved from: https://coachingfederation.org/

Ladyshewsky, R. (2010). Building Competency in the Novice Allied Health Professional through Peer Coaching. Journal of Allied Health 39(2), 77-83.

Potvin, M., West, E., Morales, A., Sailor, K., & Coronado, N. (2022). "I Could Really Use This:" Occupational Therapy Students' Perceptions of Learning to Coach. Occupational Therapy International 2022, 1-9.