Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
General Coaching Questions
Coaching is a powerful intervention to enhance performance, embed sustainable change and develop strong and resilient individuals and leaders. Coaching is a holistic and solution-focused approach built on a collaborative partnership that takes place through a series of structured conversations. The coach facilitates the process and acts as the thinking and accountability partner to the coachee.
The coach facilitates the process to help clarify the coachee’s goals, identify obstacles holding them back, develop strategies and plans to enable the changes set out to achieve. The coach will help the coachee by stimulating their creativity and resourcefulness, provoking their thoughts by asking powerful questions. The coach acts as a supportive accountability partner to encourage the coachee to make the most of their strengths, remove roadblocks and successfully work towards their goals. Through this process, the coachee may develop alternative perspectives and insights, leading to long-lasting change.
It is essential to understand that coaching is not about giving advice or offering solutions to a coachee. Therefore the coach does not need any specific knowledge or experience on the topic or area that the coachee wants to improve.
During coaching the coach will facilitate the process by making use of powerful questions to allow the coachee to develop their own answers based on their circumstances, experience, knowledge, and expertise.
Usually, the improvement the coachee seeks requires behavioural changes. To enable long-term behavioural changes requires the coachee to take responsibility for changing their behaviour. Therefore it is crucial to understand that coaching is demanding and requires hard work, effort and time from the coachee to gain the most value from the coaching process. The quote from Jesse Owens, “The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible battles inside all of us – that’s where it’s at.”, gives some perspective on this.
Don’t expect immediate results. Your coach can help you make plans, address roadblocks, and work toward achieving your goals, but it is essential to remember that these things take time.
You need to determine if the coach you select is suited to your needs. Not all coaches take the same approach, so what you get out of the process may have a lot to do with the type of relationship you have with your coach. Look for a coach that is suited to working with your personality type and approach to solving problems.
When working with a coach, you may deal with certain unresolved issues. Still, it is essential to understand that coaches can’t treat mood disorders, anxiety disorders, addiction, or other mental health conditions. When experiencing symptoms for conditions such as depression or anxiety, it is best to consult your doctor or therapist or counsellor to discuss treatment options and counselling. Therapists and other mental health professionals focus on healing, treating mental health conditions, and helping people work through trauma and other past issues.
Business Coaching
Business coaching is the process of engaging in regular, structured conversations with a “client”; an individual or team who is within a business, profit or non-profit organisation, institution or government and who is the recipient of business coaching.” – Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC).
Our tailor-made solutions for Business coaching focus on the business owner/s or entrepreneur who wants to establish, transform and grow their business.
For more information on Business Coaching, click the link.
Executive coaching is designed for business leaders to focus on personal development, growth, performance and harmony within a specific business context and requirements. The company will generally pay for coaching; it is usually a three-way relationship between the coach, coachee and the coachee’s employer. Therefore, the coachee’s goals will include more work and career-related goals and behaviours.
Read our article to understand the differences between Executive coaching and Life coaching. – Click here!
Team coaching aims to enhance team cohesion, communication and performance for teams within their work context.
We have a detailed article on Team coaching. – Click here!
Group coaching focuses on individuals seeking to grow and learn as part of a community where a unique experience allows them to learn with the collective.
The most significant difference between coaching and consulting is who holds power. In coaching, the coachee has the power, whereas in consulting the consultant holds power.
Consulting requires the consultants to be experts with specialist knowledge, skills and expertise in the client’s area. Therefore, consultants provide advice and design solutions for client problems or challenges. Coaching differs in that the coachee is to develop their own answers based on their circumstances, experience, knowledge, and expertise. Consultants often teach their clients specific tools, skills, or knowledge.
As the coaching industry evolved, it has become popular to combine coaching and consulting. In this case, the coach has expertise, knowledge or experience in a particular area and coaches their clients to improve in that area or goals. It also means that the coaching program will be specifically designed to walk the coachee through the process. As the knowledge and experience become more specific, specialised, and expert, it leans more to consulting.
Mentoring is a process in which a more experienced mentor will take a usually younger, less experienced mentee or apprentice under their wing in order to help the mentee to be guided to advance in their career. When looking at who holds the power, the mentor has positional power over the mentee. Mentorship is usually over a much longer period than coaching.
The cost of business coaching is unfortunately not a straightforward answer. Coaching rates may range from as little as R500 to over R5000 per hour. The costs depend on various factors since some coaches may charge hourly, weekly, monthly or offer package deals. It is also possible for coaches to determine the needs of their clients and how much they can afford to pay and charge accordingly.
Find more information in the article: “What is the real cost of business coaching?”
Life Coaching
Life coaching is aimed explicitly at individuals who want to achieve more from their lives by accepting the present and they do not let the past dictate their future. Life coaching helps people improve their relationships, careers, and day-to-day lives to attain work-life balance and greater fulfilment.
Individual coaching is a holistic approach that facilitates personal development, transformation, performance and harmony for managers, employees, and independent individuals.
When working with a coach, you may deal with certain unresolved issues. Still, it is essential to understand that coaches can’t treat mood disorders, anxiety disorders, addiction, or other mental health conditions. When experiencing symptoms for conditions such as depression or anxiety, it is best to consult your doctor or therapist or counsellor to discuss treatment options and counselling. Therapists and other mental health professionals focus on healing, treating mental health conditions, and helping people work through trauma and other past issues.
Enneagram Coaching
The Enneagram is a tool for self-awareness and personal growth. There are nine personality types based on the motivation and beliefs coming from our deeper essence.
By understanding your Enneagram type, you can use it as a guide to developing self-awareness, building strong relationships, and achieving success in any area of your life.
Get more information on the benefit by clicking on this LINK.
The Enneagram can help you achieve your goals by providing insight into your core values, strengths and weaknesses, emotional responses, and impulses that can undermine goal setting. It also helps you identify habits or distorted thinking patterns that may keep you from reaching your goals. By gaining insight into these areas, you can begin to challenge them and develop self-awareness and compassion.
While the free version may give you a quick synopsis, the paid version can provide a more detailed understanding of your results. Paid tests typically have more accurate results, as they are scientifically validated. They can also cost anywhere from R250 to R2000; however, not all paid tests are created equal, and some are even considered inaccurate. Therefore, it is essential to research and ensure you use a reputable source for your test. The paid test usually includes a comprehensive report that can be used to improve performance in different areas of life and gain valuable insight into your personality type.
We utilise the Integrative 9 Enneagram test due to their continuous research and its validity, accuracy and reliability. The 95% accuracy was validated using more than 100k people. The IEQ9 product also provide the ability to add the Team report if you want to consider Team Coaching.
For more information, read our article “Why pay for an Enneagram test?”
