What does coaching mean to me?

I’m no Richard Osman or Sarah Raven but I know what I like to do.  I find satisfaction in supporting others with their job search or getting better at understanding their strengths.  I enjoy writing and I love the garden.  I was challenged by a friend recently who asked me two questions.

·       What does coaching mean to me?

·       What makes me good at coaching?

So what did I say to my friend?

My short answer was that I encouraged people to get stuff done.  I helped them learn the skills to prioritise and do, without procrastination or hesitation.  Nothing original because I was acting out the Chinese proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

The second question was a little more challenging.  It made me search for adjectives to describe myself and my capabilities.  And it made me face up to my feelings and emotions.  I settled on words like conversation, listening, playback, positivity and encouragement, although the words that hit me this morning were integrity, reliability, and consistency.  I wanted to prove to myself that I don’t just ‘do’ for the sake of it, or to any standard.  I like to ‘do’ things right.

It’s surprising how bad we are at knowing what we do well.  But trust me, you know yourself better than anyone else.  You just need to get better at telling yourself.  We need to trust our instincts.

·       Where do you find satisfaction?

·       What are your strengths?