1. If you have previously worked in a field that is related to coaching, which of the skills you applied in that field are applicable to coaching? Which are not applicable to coaching?
I am working as a Training and Development manager in a company of IT industry. I used to take advantage of a tool named Critical Business Issue (CBI) Interview for the annual training planning. During the interview, I will ask the interviewee certain structured questions concerning about his/her goal aligned to our business mission and corporate vision, strategy to achieve the goal, and the most important, any possible issues that will disturb the achievements. Then we will work side by side to figure out what and where the resources are to leverage with. In this portion, I apply skills about active listening and goal clarifying.
Nevertheless, I also take charge of solution delivering when it comes to my professional field that what kind of training resource suits their needs best concerning the interviewee’s constraints. When some given technical areas are outside my expertise, I will say this portion being not applicable to coach.
2. When might you refer a client to a therapist or psychologist for counselling rather than continuing with coaching?
If the client appears to abandon oneself to past events or being mentally dysfunctional that refuses to look forward, it would be better referring the client to a therapist or psychologist.
3. How is coaching related to mentoring? How is it different?
Mentoring and coaching are both aimed at the growing and motivation of targets. Similar skills are applied in goal setting, strength discovering and action planning. But a mentor is usually a expert, a teacher or a role model in certain field and very experienced with the solutions or resources while a coach is not necessary being an expert in a given area. A coach is more like a partner with equal position.
4. How could a business consultant alter their business to become a business coach? What are the key differences in the services they would provide?
It would be a niche and also a limitation for the altering of a business consultant. It’s a niche because a consultant should has expertise in certain business issues with their strong knowledge base. It is also a limitation, however, the knowledge base the consultant grasp will stifled the opportunity of creative solutions, especially in the areas outside their specialty.
Asking questions rather than giving answers would be the very first step for a consultant to be a coach. Realize the situation with the client’s viewpoint. Cooperate with a client to use his/her knowledge and answers than yours instead.
The key differences in the services that a consultant or a coach provides are:
1. a consultant provides answers, solutions, judgments, analysis while a coach provides opportunities for a client to find out what mentioned above from oneself.
2. a consultant deals only with issues in a given area while a coach conducts with multiple issues in any areas which are significant influenced mutually.
5. What is meant by the saying “all coaching is life coaching after the first three sessions”? Do you agree with this statement? Why? Why not?
The saying “all coaching is life coaching after the first three sessions” means that life coaching has great influences on any other coaching. I will say, life coaching establishes the solid foundation of all coaching. Every person is an unique creature. We cannot understand one well without taking one’s life into consideration. Using the holistic approach shall help us a lot in both goal setting and action planning. Moreover, life coaching will elicit positive effects from a client to empower one’s confidence、courage and even energy of goal achieving.
