"Even Tiger Woods has a coach"
Author: Ron Gordon

What do Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan and several Fortune 500 executives have in common. THEY ALL HAVE A COACH. Coaching has come a long way since the late 1980¡¯s. It is not just Tony Robins and high priced seminars anymore. ¡°It seems that every fifth person you meet these days is calling themselves a coach,¡± Says Rob Arthurs of Consultant-Coach.Com, an award winning entrepreneur and coach for 17 years. There are executive coaches, career coaches, adult attention deficit coaches, sales coaches, relationship coaches, public speaking coaches, small business coaches. There are coaches that specialize in a certain aspect of business like venture development, start up, or marketing. There are coaches with life skills counseling background, coaches for therapists and of coarse coaches for coaches. These days¡¯ people spend more time and money with coaches trying to shave a few strokes off their golf game than they do planning their life. Could a coach help you get to you! r idea of a better life? Skeptics have said that coaching is no more than a glorified and paid golf partner, providing a service that could be easily accomplished with a friend or spouse. Professional coaches disagree. ¡°Coaching is like any other professional advisor and on the same level as lawyers and accountants.¡± Says Arthurs. ¡°Coaching is faster than psychotherapy and more powerful than good intentions.¡± So what is this phenomenon called coaching? What is a coach? Neil Godin of Neil Godin International, a professional coach and speaker for over 30 years, says, ¡°Coaches are about human development. Until we start teaching citizenship, self management, basic literacy and entrepreneurship in our schools, demand for qualified and professional coaches will only increase.¡± Coaching does not dwell on past transgressions and mistakes, but instead focuses on helping the client create the life they want. More than a business advisor many coaches deal with the whole person. Godin says, ¡°When I start with a new client, we boil that person¡¯s life down to get to the real person. Coaches can help a client define their function in various roles.¡± Arthurs says, ¡°Coaches are like a sculptor, helping the client release what is already inside them like a sculptor releases what is already inside the stone. We help our clients design a life filled with purpose. Accountability is the buzzword. Coach! es can be that external motivating factor that allows people to do things on purpose. We see it as an ongoing partnership with the client to accelerate the clients learning, performance, and progress in their personal and professional lives. Coaches provide a safety zone, they facilitate clarity and self discovery, foster effective action and is the clients champion for success.¡± Gloria Tom Wing Staudt of Peak Success Coaching says, ¡°Coaches provide a structure for accountability, feedback and momentum to produce meaningful results in both personal and professional lives.¡±

If coaching sounds like consulting, there are some similarities; however there are some distinctive differences. ¡°Consultants are often external experts that identify challenges or obstacles and either write reports on their findings or fix the problem themselves. Coaches, on the other hand, often help the client to discover the challenge on their own and then help them implement a strategy to remove the obstacle and to ensure that not only do they correct the problem but often learn to deal with similar circumstances in the future.¡± Says Arthurs. Consulting and therapy fix what is broken, and is often tend to be dependant relationships. A successful coaching relationship leads to a satisfied client becoming more independent and self-directed. A coach will help you discover your own solutions, while a consultant is more likely to provide solutions. The coached client is more likely to own and benefit from the solutions they have discovered through the process of being coached! . Coaches tend to be more positive than critical. The goal being to help the client see their own strengths, and deal with their weaknesses to empower them to seize their opportunities and realize their goals. Some coaches can be ruthless when you are too soft on yourself. You should expect your coach to ask you soul-searching questions that you wont ask yourself. When looking for a coach, Arthurs says, ¡°You should look for experience. It is important to make sure that your coach has experience in the areas you need. Base your decision on what you need. Be sure to thoroughly check references. If the coach is reputable they will gladly give you references. You should also have a clear understanding of what you want out of the relationship with your coach.¡± There are some trends that have become quite apparent in the profession of coaching. There are professional organizations such as the International Coaching Federation. Certification is becoming more prevalent and various organizations and trade groups have emerged to administer that certification. Full service practices are emerging. These practices can be a group of independent coaches working together or can be more formal and there are several large companies involved in this industry. Many large companies also employ coaches either as independents or as employees of the companies. ¡°The trends for number of people using coaches will continue to quadruple, and many HR (Human Resources) departments and larger companies are hiring coaches in record numbers, because many employees find it easier to talk to a coach rather than the employer. Coaches are also more likely to identify situations than can then be addressed by other councilors, therapists or marriage councilors. The! employers extended health care plans on most occasions, cover these councilors. There is also a movement to include more technology in the coaching profession, with web based and interactive coaching. This will allow unprecedented access to coaching like never before.,¡± says Arthurs. Godin says, ¡°Though there are an enormous number of coaches, the world is getting incredibly competitive and people are searching to attain a balance between life and work and the coaches that deserve to be in this business will remain in this business.¡± Arthurs says, ¡°If you feel like your life is on a hamster wheel, chasing your success, break free. Do it now.¡±

For more information about coaching and how it can help you, contact Rob Arthurs at Consultant-Coach.com 604 990-9825 or visit him on the web at www.consultant-coach.com rob@consultant-coach.com








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Ron Gordon is a Business Advisor and Trainer. He is the Owner of The Bydand Group, Gemini Training Solutions and Bydand Consulting. Ron worked on contract with Yes Canada-BC on an HRDC federal government sponsored youth initiative called The Youth Entrepreneur Program. He has had contracts with the YMCA Entrepreneurship Program, The Burnaby Board or Trade as a Business Advisor and Business Development Officer, and is a speaker in great demand by corporate clients like Velocity Computer Solutions, The Vancouver Board of Trade, as well as White Rock Continuing Education, The Public Service Commission of Canada, The National Association of Asian American Professionals and various other associations. Ron sits on the Marketing, Economic Development and Membership Committees for the Burnaby Board of Trade. He is very community focused with various volunteer activities and is very active in the municipal governments and business improvement societies of New Westminster and Burn! aby as a voice for business. He plans to run for city council in the 2002 Municipal elections in his hometown of New Westminster.

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