Chapter 1 PDF
Chapter 1 PDF
Chapter 1 PDF
Coaching
Since that time, there has been a virtual explosion of books and training
on the principles and practices of coaching. It seems there is no end to
where people will go with the science of facilitated human learning.
Today more than 30,000 coaches have pursued coach training and
serve a $1.5 billion market – mostly executive/corporate and life
coaching.
We are particularly moved by the vision of Tony Grant, PhD, the first
coaching psychologist who founded the Coaching Psychology Unit at
The team which developed a theoretical model for relational flow – the
intuitive dance of coaching – brought important background to support
our coaching model, including Margaret Moore, David Drake, PhD, Bob
Tschannen-Moran, Francine Campone, PhD, and Carol Kauffman, PhD.
Carol and Margaret developed the material which is the foundation for a
new chapter called Coaching Presence which teaches the being skills of
coaching.
The final draft of this manual was reworked in 2007 and 2008 by Bob
Tschannen-Moran and Margaret Moore. We would not have completed
the manual without the tireless efforts of the Wellcoaches operations
team to support all of us, led by the indefatigable and one-of-a-kind Jeff
Cramer.
All of us enjoy using these principles and practices every day to support
both our own and our clients’ health and well-being. Not only have we
all undergone personal transformations, we are incredibly fortunate to
be partners in the small and large transformations that our clients
experience. It’s rewarding beyond compare. Coaching is our future.
Introduction to Coaching
What Is Coaching?
Wellcoaches has clarified the scope of three coach types in the health,
fitness, and wellness arena.
Even though this manual was written for coaches working with clients,
we all share the need for partners on the journey if we hope to be
healthy and well. Even coaches need coaches in order to be our best
selves.
Coping well with stress and increasing life satisfaction (e.g., a sense of
purpose, gratitude, and meaning) are joining exercise and eating well as
“lifestyle medicines.” Two thirds of healthcare costs are driven by our
daily choices (Institute of Medicine, 2006) – we are in the driver’s seat.
But knowledge is not enough. Only one in twenty adults engage in all of
the top-six health behaviors (Berrigan, 2003): regular exercise, healthful
fat intake, at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, limited
drinking, non-smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight.
The health and fitness industry has been working hard to help us. Never
before have there been more experts, assessments, resources,
guidelines, technology, books, web tools, and beautiful high-tech
facilities. The wellness revolution is underway (Rochaska, et. al.,1994),
with a welcome new emphasis on enabling long-term behavior change
or “changing for good” (Pilzer, 2002). New interventions focus on
assessing readiness to change for each health behavior, and then
tailoring interventions and education to match readiness.
There are two other important things we need. First, without a heartfelt
higher purpose, there is rarely deep and lasting change – we need to
connect wellness, health, and fitness to what we value most. Second,
we need to develop a wellness, health, and fitness behavioral plan that
is personally tailored to our circumstances and capacities.
• analyze problems,
• give advice,
• prescribe solutions,
• recommend goals,
• develop strategies,
• teach new skills, or
• provide education.
It can be difficult for health and fitness professionals, who have been
trained extensively as experts and who are armed with large quantities
of authoritative, knowledge and written materials to support their expert
Using the coach approach, rather than the expert approach, coaches
generally don’t direct the client’s goals and strategies (although they do
guide the coaching process). Instead they engage in coaching inquiries,
asking powerful and insightful open-ended questions (What? How?),
rather than closed-ended questions (Do you? Will you?). They use
reflections to mirror back to the client what they are hearing (You’re
feeling unhappy about your life balance. You want to have more
energy.). And they listen, listen, and listen with empathy and curiosity.
These and many other shifts, described in this manual, represent the
practical side of coaching psychology that can assist people to
successfully master the health and wellness challenges of the present
day.
In addition to the energy lift that comes from the strength-based focus
that coaches follow, clients also appreciate the holistic approach that
coaches take to human well-being. Most people who struggle with
wellness face intertwined psychological and physical challenges that
lead to ambivalence or chronic contemplation. However, therapists
generally don’t work on the physical side of the equation (such as
designing a new eating regimen or exercise habits). Understanding this,
coaches seek to work holistically with all aspects of well-being.
One’s best self includes high self-esteem, the belief that one has value
and self-worth, as well as self-efficacy, the belief that one has the
capability to initiate or sustain desired behaviors (see Chapter 6). These
behaviors may support a general sense of well-being or they may be
related to specific area of health and fitness. In whatever way these
1. Values
Skilled coaches believe that we are able to figure out what we want and
need, and to find our way, given a safe, non-judgmental, challenging,
and invigorating space. This space enables the thinking and feeling
work we do to support self-determination. Aligned with Michelangelo’s
quotation “I saw an angel in the stone and carved to set it free,” coaches
help us chip away at layers of clutter to reveal “my best self.”
Valuing the client’s learning process more than they value their own
expert knowledge, coaches help clients broaden and build their
strengths (see Chapter 4). Coaches know that they don’t know many of
the answers, and they hold a curious beginner’s mind.
3. Coaching Processes
Although people come to coaching for their own unique reasons, twelve
themes are commonly cited by clients when they make the decision to
invest in working with a wellness, health, or fitness coach:
1. Quick Fixes Over – “I’m done with quick fixes and want to make
changes that last.”
3. Get off the Fence – “I am fed up with sitting on a fence and want
to commit to a wellness path.”
4. Not about Weight – “I realize that it’s about wellness and not
weight.”
12. Close the Gap – “I want to close the gap between where I am
and where I want to be when it comes to my health and well-
being.”
• By the end of three months, clients typically reach more than 70%
of their three-month behavioral goals and are energized and
confident to commit to the next stage, whether alone or with a
coach.
While mastery of wellness, health, and fitness are among our highest
priorities, most would agree that managing weight, fitness, and mental
health are among our greatest life challenges, especially today when
the environment is stacked against us. As we age, the challenges get
more complex. Helping those of us whose spirits are buried under
significant excess weight or haven’t moved our bodies with vigor for a
long time is perhaps the toughest arena the world of professional
coaching faces today. It is wise, then, for coaches to seek out the best
training available. This manual helps to set the bar.
Some people are natural born coaches, with amazing aptitude for
empathy, inquiry, mindfulness, insight, or courage. Others have
developed their coaching skills through life experience. Even the best
talents, however, can benefit from formal training, mentoring, and
certification (followed by years of practice, more training, and more
mentoring to improve mastery). Learning and growth for coaches never
stops, just as for clients – it is a lifelong journey. The coach training
industry has plenty of opportunity ahead in developing more masterful
coaches who assist people to become masters of their own well-being and
3. For areas outside your credentials, you may want to review and
point clients to the following highly recommended resources:
References
Bandura, A., 1997. Self-efficacy – The Exercise of Control. New York:
Banks, J., Marmot, M., Oldfield, Z., & Smith, J.P., 2006. “Disease and
Berrigan, D., Dodd, K., Troiano, R.P., Krebs-Smith, S.M., & Barbash,
Medicine; 36(5):615-23
Burns, D.D., 1980. Feeling good: The new mood therapy. New York:
William Morrow.
House.
Glasser, W., 2001. Choice Theory in the Classroom. New York: Harper
Collins
Joos, S.K., & Hickam, D.H., 1990. “How health professionals influence
outcomes”. In Glans, K., Lewis, F.M. ,& Rimer, B.K. (Eds.), Health
Research Proceedings.
University Press.
Pilzer, P.Z., 2002. The Wellness Revolution. Hoboken: John Wiley &
Sons.
change and teaches you how to free yourself from bad habits. New
York: HarperCollins.
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/fact_sheet/2006/FS_311.pdf.
Williams, P., & Anderson, S.K., 2006. Law & ethics in coaching: How to
Williams, P., & Davis, D.C., 2002. Therapist as life coach: Transforming
honors the client as the expert in his/her life and work and believes that
• Discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve
In each meeting, the client chooses the focus of conversation, while the
interaction creates clarity and moves the client into action. Coaching
and what they are willing to do to get where they want to be in the
that results are a matter of the client's intentions, choices and actions,
process.
As a coach:
2) I will not knowingly make any public statements that are untrue or
4) I will be aware of any issues that may potentially lead to the misuse
5) I will at all times strive to recognize personal issues that may impair,
coaching relationship(s).
conduct myself in accordance with the ICF Code of Ethics in all training
with the necessary approval or consent from those involved, and with an
sensitive boundaries that govern any physical contact that I may have
with my clients.
12) I will construct clear agreements with my clients, and will honor all
13) I will ensure that, prior to or at the initial session, my coaching client
as a coach.
15) I will not intentionally mislead or make false claims about what my
client will receive from the coaching process or from me as their coach.
benefit.
18) I will respect the client's right to terminate coaching at any point
20) I will suggest that my clients seek the services of other professionals
21) I will take all reasonable steps to notify the appropriate authorities in
23) I will obtain agreement from my clients before releasing their names
24) I will obtain agreement from the person being coached before
Conflicts of Interest
25) I will seek to avoid conflicts between my interests and the interests
of my clients.
26) Whenever any actual conflict of interest or the potential for a conflict
of interest arises, I will openly disclose it and fully discuss with my client
large. I pledge to comply with the ICF Code of Ethics, to treat people
Ethics or any part of the ICF Code of Ethics, I agree that the ICF in its
that my accountability to the ICF for any breach may include loss of my
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