Coaching is about helping a person reach their personal goal or develop certain abilities and behaviors and live according to his/her values. The person who guides the process is called the ‘coach’ and the person receiving coaching is called the ‘coachee’. Together they form a confidential partnership in which the coach is responsible for the process and techniques used and the coachee is responsible for the results. This partnership allows anything to be asked, said or considered and remains confidential.

Coaching is focused purely on the coachee’s agenda. It is not about giving advice or making suggestions. Coaching helps the coachee discover the right way to progress. Coaching builds awareness, empowers choice and leads to change with the result of becoming the best you can be.

There are many types and methods in coaching; Koru coaching is based on Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).

Coaching is...

• Listening in a profound way
• Asking questions that cause new thinking and possible actions
• Hearing limitations in one’s speaking and thoughts
• Building awareness of your values, behaviors, emotions and thoughts
• A place where people can think out loud
• Generating possibilities and keeping it alive
• About living according to your values, what you find important
• Helping people change their behaviors and negative thoughts
• A place to vent, experiment and play with ideas
• A supportive relationship and confidential
• A structure for making things happen

Coaching is not...

• Giving advice, counseling, being the expert or having the answers
• Fixing people, doing it for them
• Policing or getting people to work harder
• A close, personal relationship
• A replacement for supervision or management
• Psychology
• A medical treatment

Therapy is designed to remedy the client's problems, the client wants relief from psychological and/or physical symptoms, to get away from pain or discomfort. Therapy and counseling often seek to understand the past and what went wrong in order to be better in the present.

Whereas Psychology and Therapy look into the past, coaching looks at the present and is future oriented, moving towards goals; focusing on the future you want.

A coach is not a medic either and therefore cannot diagnose any type of diseases. In case the coachee is seeing professional medical help of any kind, the coach recommends discussing whether coaching sessions are suitable or not with the doctor first.

A mentor is a senior person in the business with sufficient experience who guides a junior person. A coach does not have to be a senior person in the client's line of business, as the client is the one who has to know the business. Consultants are experts in specific areas concerning the business. Coaching is often part of a consultant's recommendation for a business.

In coaching the coach does not need to know the coachee’s business. The coach’s expertise lies with the processes and techniques used to guide the coachee in achiving his/her personal goals.

Investing in yourself

Receiving coaching sessions should not be seen as a cost, but rather as an investment in yourself, as the results are an improved you and are long lasting. The investment to achieve your personal goals includes preparation and reporting time of the coach, a workbook, exercises and other relevant information/articles the coach may provide and contact by e-mail/messaging. The intake is free of charge; the coaching sessions need to be paid before each session. Depending on the developmental goals defined during the intake, the amount of sessions needed can be estimated.