Coaching Mindset
"I encourage all of you to seek out teachers and mentors that challenge you to think for yourself and guide you to find your own voice"–Renee Olstead
Hi Friend!
Imagine you’re going on a hike. You don’t know exactly where this journey will take you. You start your journey on a gravel path but soon find it too easy. So, you decide to take a sharp turn up a new path at more of an incline and a few visible boulders. It’s more difficult and you don’t know if it leads anywhere. You might question your decision, maybe you even fear going forward.
You continue onward, overcoming challenging boulders or obstacles in your way. After a few hours of hiking, questioning, and motivating yourself to keep going you eventually reach the top of the mountain. Looking around and appreciating what you’ve achieved, you can spot in the distance another mountain you imagine hiking up next.
Well, that’s actually not just a story about hiking but a pretty precise description of what a coaching journey can feel like. Are you interested in finding out what coaching mindset is and what positive impact developing a coaching mindset can have for you? Then keep on reading.
What is a coaching Mindset? More importantly, the question should be: what is it not?
It is not mentoring – because unlike coaches, mentors provide advice and solutions and suggest what they think you should do.
It is not training – because unlike a coach, a trainer has a learning goal that they establish and a fixed set of content they teach in order to achieve that goal.
It is not counseling – because unlike coaching, counseling focuses on past issues and ends in the present.
When people are asked about what coaching is, sometimes myths get mixed up with facts. Let’s try this one for instance: “Coaches do not give advice to their clients.” What do you think?
Well, yes. They actually tend to not give advice. Here’s why:
In coaching, it is believed that the person being coached (coachee) has the potential and the answers to achieve their own goals. It is also believed that the coachee is responsible for their own growth. So instead of jumping in with great advice, the coach will rather use a range of skills to support their coachee in shifting perspectives, gaining new learnings and discovering different approaches to achieve the coachee’s goals.
Alright, have another go: “Coaching is most effective when you get to the core of emotions.” Any thoughts? No? Yes?
Correct, this one is also a fact. Let’s find out why:
When coaching someone, ideally the person being coached is pushed out of their comfort zone and through to their growth zone towards their self-set goal. Along the way, the person will be confronted with emotions that will either hinder or catapult their growth.
Understanding underlying emotions can help to gain a deeper motivation towards achieving that growth. Someone’s emotional response to a question might be something like not answering the question or answering a completely unrelated thing, responding “I don’t know”, giggling, and so on. While experiencing going through the fear zone is normal and necessary, the coach aims to push the coachee further, enabling them to gain a deeper self-awareness which can drive growth in all areas.
Additional information about a coaching mindset:
A coaching mindset refers to a leadership approach that focuses on empowering individuals and rather than dictating orders. It involves:
Asking powerful questions: Encouraging individuals to think critically and find their own solutions.
Active listening: Fully engaging with others to understand their perspectives and concerns.
Providing real-time support: Offering guidance and resources to help individuals develop solutions and reach their potential.
Embracing a growth mindset: Believing that everyone can grow and expand their skills, and being open to ongoing learning and development.
Avoiding direct advice or solution-providing: Instead, focusing on helping individuals identify and solve problems on their own.
Being adaptable and flexible: Recognizing the influence of one’s own emotions, culture, and intuition, and being willing to adjust coaching style to enable client autonomy.
In essence, a coaching mindset is about empowering others to take ownership of their growth and development, while leaders focus on providing guidance, support, and resources to help them succeed.
Book your session with me on www.jlncoach.com.
XO Jenna
