Professional Coaching is Not Peer Coaching! SAY WHAT?????
Recovery Coaching for professionals.
I have no choice but to believe that successful people think and take action in different ways then other people do. I believe that people solve problems in different ways. There are many factors for a person to take into consideration when problem solving: worldview, culture, religion, education, training, peers, intelligence, attitude, patience, and perspective, among many other less remarkable qualities of a person.
Perhaps that’s one reason why people learn in so many different ways. For example, some people are visual learners; some are touch or experience learners. They are three very different types of students of life.
If a person can’t solve a problem in their life, they indeed have a serious problem. We will assume that the person has tried every method that they know of to try and solve as stated problem. The person realizes that they need some type of external assistance if this problem is ever to be solved. That takes a reasonable amount of intelligence; for a person to realize their own limitations. It’s time to reach out! The dilemma is where or who should they turn to?
The answer comes like lightning in comparison to their last problem.
This is exactly why professional coaching has become such a thriving field. Everyone needs a little help now and then. A good professional coach will look at a situation like this one and know without a doubt that there’s a solution for this problem. The coach will automatically know that the person or client has tried everything that they could think of to solve the problem prior to calling for assistance. A good coach never underestimates the capabilities of the client.
Now it’s time for the coach to do what professional coaches do best, coach!
The coach sets the coaching foundation by establishing trust and ethical standards, establishing an agreement, and co-creating a relationship with the client and establishing an intimate coaching presence. The coach then opens his tool bag and takes out active listening, powerful questions, paraphrasing, and direct communication. The coach is a master of body language, tones, and inflections listening for what the client says and doesn’t say. Then the coach is creating awareness, designing actions, planning and goal setting, managing progress and accountability. The coach uses intuition, using all their senses, taking everything into account. Certified Recovery Coaches must consider that clients are experts in their own fields. Recovery Coaches need to be sharp and aware of traps and pitfalls that will block them from success. In the client’s mind, the goal is not reachable.
The coach knows that if the client has a clear goal, and works a solid action plan, but still has no solution, then there’s a perspective problem. The coach will help the client work through their block to solution. They celebrate every victory along the way! That’s why the coach can’t look at the problem in the same way as the client. A problem that can’t find a solution has a definition problem! Obviously the coach doesn’t want to use the same process that the client used. Through powerful questioning, the coach will help the client to see the problem in a new way. If the coach continues to listen to the client’s original perspective, the coach can get caught up in the client’s emotions, feelings, and problem thinking.
Every problem has a solution because the problem defines the solution. Sometimes it’s hard to see! We all need a little help at times. Professional Recovery Coaches help us to see through the perspective problem and reach the solution that we knew was there all along! Coach and client, two successful people working together to reach solutions in new ways.
The natural laws of cause and effect will allow the coach to go deeper in their questions only if the client is at “cause.” At cause the client is taking responsibility for their actions. At “effect” the client is still blaming the problem on external factors. The coach knows that the client’s limited beliefs don’t serve them very well. The coach will need to move the client to a belief that is much more resourceful. If the answer is outside of the client, they think that the problem is happening to them. They are powerless to change. At cause, the coach can question much deeper and the client has the power to change.
The Recovery Coach must be flexible through the process. The entire process is client and goal driven.
The action plan must be very specific, with target dates and follow up dates. The coach holds the client accountable through the process. The coach is the alpha, even though the process is all about the client.
These well trained professional coaches help save careers, companies, projects, and sometimes even lives! Don’t be confused, these are not peer recovery coaches, these are Professional Recovery Coaches! There are many niches within the field of professional coaching: life coaches, executive coaches, career coaches, recovery coaches, fitness coaches, financial coaches, relationship coaches, Christian coaches, and many more specializations. There are certified master coaches that go through a rigorous training and certification process. There are also some Colleges, Universities, Academies, and Seminaries offering degrees in the art of coaching. Professional Recovery Coaching.
The Addictions Academy and their faculty offer Professional Recovery Coaching, not peer to peer. Get Certified and Credentialed today. Call 1.800.706.0318
©2015 Rev. K.T. Coughlin Ph.D. Program Director The Addictions Academy LLC
