Coaching has grown significantly for many reasons, among them:
Rapid changes are taking place in the external business environment.
Organisational downsizing, restructuring and other changes can bring about a
need for adjustment.
The disparity between what managers were trained to do and what their jobs now require of them is widening due to increasing demands for competitive results.
People are wrestling with job insecurity and increased workplace pressures to perform at higher levels than ever before.
Companies must develop inclusive, collaborative work environments to achieve
strategic business goals and to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction.
Individuals who have experienced the excellent results of coaching are talking to more people about it.
People today are more open to the idea of being in charge of their own lives. Coaching helps them do just that.

Coaching has to go beyond artful questioning. Psychometric instruments bring a scientific context to the process. In order for any scientific instrument to provide measurements that can be trusted, it must be both reliable and valid. The assessments used by us are internationally recognised and established. The cost of the assessment is what we pay the organization that has worked on it and provides us with the reports that we need.

Psychometric Assessments help uncover blind spots and brings a lot of clarity to the coaching process and content. We would, depending on the need and the goals, decide on which assessment(s) to use for a coaching assignment.

Coaching typically begins with a personal discussion (either face-to-face or by teleconference call) to assess the individual's or business' current opportunities and challenges, define the scope of the relationship, identify priorities for action and establish specific desired outcomes. Subsequent coaching sessions may be conducted in person or over the telephone, with each session lasting a previously established length of time. Between scheduled coaching sessions, the individual may be asked to complete specific actions that support the achievement of one's personally prioritized goals. The coach may provide additional resources in the form of relevant articles, checklists, assessments or models to support the individual's or business' thinking and actions. The duration of the coaching relationship varies depending on needs and preferences.

Counseling/Therapy – Broadly, counselors are trained to diagnose and help client with emotional problems, the past or some dysfunction while coaches are not. The Counsellor / Therapist diagnoses, and then provides professional expertise and guidelines to give you a path to healing
The coach's domain is future oriented – what does the client want? And then coaching the client to get there.

Mentoring– a mentor is a trusted guide and advisor. The mentor is the expert that shares their experience while bringing the "mentee" up the ranks. The Mentor allows you to observe his/her behavior, expertise, answers questions, provides guidance and wisdom for the stated purpose of the mentoring
A coach is not necessarily the subject matter expert in order to help develop the client.

Consulting – a consultant is an expert who is called on for professional or technical advice or opinions. They are relied on to understand the problem and present solutions. The Consultant stands back, evaluates a situation, and then tells you the problem and how to fix it
Consulting is unlike coaching because with pure coaching, the answers come from the client.

Coaching - The Coach stands with you, and helps YOU identify the challenges, then works with you to turn challenges into victories and hold you accountable to reach your desired goals

The Industrial Society says: "Coaching is the art of facilitating the performance, learning and development of another."

Fortune Magazine says: "One to one performance coaching is the way for both organisations and individuals to significantly impact the bottom line."

We operate within the context of the organisation but are focussed on and committed to the individual / group. When the individual / group benefits in terms of productivity and performance, it brings benefits to the organisation also.

We can work with individuals or teams on your own premises or by telephone, e-mail or over the Internet. We can provide team or personal development programmes – or we can work on a specific project, dealing with an issue or preparing for an event. The intervention can be one on one or for a group.

The length of a coaching partnership varies depending on the individual's or team's needs and preferences. For certain types of focused coaching, three to six months of working may work. For other types of coaching, people may find it beneficial to work with a coach for a longer period. Factors that may impact the length of time include: the types of goals, the ways individuals or teams prefer to work, the frequency of coaching meetings and financial resources available to support coaching.

Bring focus and commitment to the coaching sessions.
Work on what is needed to be done between sessions.
Talk with the coach about what to do if you ever feel things are not going well; make some agreements up front on how to handle questions or problems.
Remember that coaching is a partnership, so be assertive about talking with the coach about any concerns.

The coach:
Provides objective assessment and observations that foster the individual's or team's self-awareness and awareness of others
Listens closely to fully understand the individual's or team's circumstances
Acts as a sounding board in exploring possibilities and implementing thoughtful planning and decision making
Champions opportunities and potential, encouraging stretch and challenge commensurate with personal strengths and aspirations
Fosters shifts in thinking that reveal fresh perspectives,
Challenges blind spots to illuminate new possibilities and support the creation of alternative scenarios
Maintains professional boundaries in the coaching relationship, including confidentiality, and adheres to the coaching profession's code of ethics.

The individual:
Creates the coaching agenda based on personally meaningful coaching goals
Uses assessment and observations to enhance self-awareness and awareness of others
Envisions personal and/or organizational success
Assumes full responsibility for personal decisions and actions
Utilizes the coaching process to promote possibility thinking and fresh perspectives
Takes courageous action in alignment with personal goals and aspirations
Engages big-picture thinking and problem-solving skills
Takes the tools, concepts, models and principles provided by the coach and engages in effective forward actions

To be successful, coaching asks certain things, all of which begin with intention. Additionally, clients should:
Focus on one's self, the tough questions, the hard truths and one's success.
Observe the behaviors and communications of others.
Listen to one's intuition, assumptions, judgments, and to the way one sounds when one speaks
Challenge existing attitudes, beliefs and behaviors and develop new ones that serve one's goals in a superior way
Leverage personal strengths and overcome limitations to develop a winning style
Take decisive actions, however uncomfortable and in spite of personal insecurities, to reach for the extraordinary
Show compassion for one's self while learning new behaviors and experiencing setbacks, and to show that compassion for others as they do the same
Commit to not take one's self so seriously, using humor to lighten and brighten any situation
Maintain composure in the face of disappointment and unmet expectations, avoiding
emotional reactivity
Have the courage to reach for more than before while engaging in continual self examination without fear

Measurement may be thought of in two distinct ways: external indicators of performance and internal indicators of success. Ideally, both are incorporated.

Examples of external measures include achievement of coaching goals established at the outset of the coaching relationship, increased income/revenue, obtaining a promotion, performance feedback that is obtained from a sample of the individual's constituents (e.g., direct reports, colleagues, customers, boss, the manager him/herself), personal and/or business performance data (e.g., productivity, efficiency measures). The external measures selected should be things the individual is already measuring and has some ability to directly influence.

Examples of internal measures include self-scoring/self-validating assessments that can be administered initially and at regular intervals in the coaching process, changes in the individual's self-awareness and awareness of others, shifts in thinking that create more effective actions, and shifts in one's emotional state that inspire confidence.

Working with a coach requires both a personal commitment of time and energy as well as a financial commitment. One should consider both the desired benefits as well as the anticipated length of time to be spent in coaching. What is the investment that you are willing to make to develop your people, achieve your goals and realise your dreams? What are you willing to invest to reach potential?