How to Apply the Coaching Approach in Everyday Life
Coaching is a powerful tool with recognized benefits across multiple areas of our lives. In time of crisis such as the one we are facing today, the need for a support system like coaching grows stronger than ever.
You can support others as a coach if that is your career or you can seek the help of a professional coach. However, there are a lot of ways in which you can apply coaching in everyday life. Each one of can be a friend, partner, manager, colleague, or parent. This means that others rely on us in one way or another, or we wish to be able to support people in our lives even better during dark times.
With the coaching approach, you can help others when you wish to do more for them in difficult times, but have run out of ideas about what to do or say, or when you are not sure what they need.
What does it mean to have a coaching approach?
When we listen to somebody, oftentimes the first thing we do after we listen is to bring ourselves into the conversation and talk about how something similar happened to us too.
The coaching approach is the opposite of this: it means being focused on what the person in front of you has to say and listening actively, without the intention to talk about ourselves or interrupt. It means not giving advice, but trusting that the person in front of you knows what they are doing and are perfectly capable to handle the situation.
How do you apply this in real-life conversations?
By asking questions which will make the hearer aware of their own power to find a solution to what troubles them. Make sure you are fully present and focused on the other person. DON’T give advice unless you are asked to, and maybe not even then. 😊
- What worries you the most about this?
- How do you want it to be?
- What did you do in a similar situation in the past that worked?
- What do you have in you, to help you solve this problem?
- What do you want to do now?
- How can I help you?
Applying the coaching approach will make you a trustworthy friend, a supportive partner, a sympathetic manager, a reliable colleague and an attentive parent and it will deepen your relationships with those around you.
- With whom do you want to apply the coaching approach in your next conversation?
We invite you to join our module The Coaching Approach where you can develop your skills in order to be better at your job and in your personal life !
