What is coaching?
The easiest way to define coaching is from the International Coaching Federation (ICF):
“ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership.
We all have goals we want to reach, challenges we’re striving to overcome and times when we feel stuck. Partnering with a coach can change your life, setting you on a path to greater personal and professional fulfilment.”
It’s all about helping you reach your potential by setting clear goals and overcoming obstacles. The process is forward-looking, with a focus on what we can do now to create the future you want.
Coaching and mentoring often get mixed up, but they take different approaches.
Mentoring is a great development tool. It’s about learning from someone more experienced, who shares advice and insights from their own journey to help guide you. It definitely has it’s place in anyone’s growth.
But coaching takes things further. It’s a true partnership where we work as equals to help you reach your goals.
It’s not about advice or looking back—like therapy might be—but about focusing on action, growth, and finding your own path forward.
You know your challenges best, and together, we’ll overcome them and unlock your personal or professional potential. That’s what makes coaching, in my view, the most powerful of the two.
What Coaching isn’t.
When to use coaching.
Coaching is one of the most powerful ways to grow, both personally and professionally. It’s about helping you find answers, build new skills, and gain deeper self-awareness and confidence.
If you're facing a big challenge, feeling stuck, or looking to improve your leadership skills, coaching can be a game-changer.
It helps you uncover blind spots, develop new perspectives, and tackle those "soft skills" that make a big difference in work and life.
Whether you’re stepping into a new role, aiming to build confidence, or navigating tough decisions, a coach is there to walk the path with you, offering support and insight—not just cheerleading, but real growth.
I know from my experience - it's a journey worth taking.
How coaching works.
Coaching is all about empowering you to find your own answers.
When you discover solutions that are uniquely yours, they tend to fit your situation better, and you feel more committed to making them work. That sense of ownership fuels your engagement and drives real change.
By guiding you to uncover these answers, coaching helps you develop problem-solving skills, build self-confidence, and grow in meaningful ways.
Whether it’s personal or professional growth, the focus is always on helping you reach your full potential. Through powerful questions and deep reflection, coaching pushes you to explore new perspectives and create lasting solutions.
The process is goal-oriented and forward-looking. While we may touch on past experiences to understand the present, the real work happens by focusing on what can be done now to create the future you want.