Why change & Why now:

Coaching is an inherently participative activity in which energy, knowledge, and information are shared and co- created within the engagement.  It is based on open questioning where the coach is facilitating growth and change by evoking an individual’s own resourcefulness. The very first reference to this kind of approach is in Ancient Greece 400BC where Socrates uses his method of maieutics (a greek word referring to the procedure and support a midwife provides to pregnant women) – whereby through questioning he stimulates critical thinking to the participants in the discussion (the Socratic circle).

Coaching has been rooted in and influenced by multiple fields, such as cognitive science, linguistics, philosophy, psychology, biology, somatics, adult development theory, spirituality. As Vikki Brocks explains it in her book ‘Sourcebook of coaching history’, it came into existence to fill an unmet need in a world of rapid change and complexity. That need, unsatisfied by traditional, pathology-centered therapy—or illness model—was met by the shift to a wellness model founded on the principles of humanistic psychology, and the postmodern perspective of integral philosophy. While the advent of humanistic psychology was evidence of that shift, the “illness model” was still practiced by most clinical psychologists. Coaching emerged, by adding complementary practices from other fields, and without the constraint of traditional clinical practices, to become more interactive, client driven, and fluid.

Coaching associations have been measuring and publishing the benefits of coaching year on year. Personal development and growth will inevitably lead to systemic growth evidenced by an increase in productivity, return on investment, more satisfied customers. That is why coaching has become a significant trend in leadership development as it delivers results by increasing effectiveness and empowering employees. This is even more important at times of change where companies are tightening their belts and seeking more results with fewer resources while thinking how well they have prepared their leaders at every level to lead in uncertainty.

Living in constant change is hard to manage on our own. We may be more connected but we are feeling more isolated. We are running busy lives, multitasking therefore have no capacity to listen. Rarely do we feel listened to. We tend to get into telling, command & control mode rather than enabling others. We know that this does not work but somehow we are stuck and run into circles. We all have blindspots and we do not know what we do not know. If this sounds familiar, then you could benefit from coaching.

Change is inevitable, growth is a choice.