“What’s your job?”

Over the last few days, I’ve enjoyed some seasonal activities with my family, including pumpkin picking . Whilst carving her chosen pumpkin, my 10 year old niece enquires: “Aunty Laura, what’s your job?”. I felt a bit stumped and replied saying “erm, let’s think…how can I explain it…I help people achieve the things they want…”. She looked at me a little blankly and then continued with the carving.

This got me thinking about how best to explain, in a really simple way, what coaching is. I know many coaches feel a bit stumped when asked similar questions.

Personally, I’m a big fan of analogies; as a visual person, I find analogies and visual metaphors help me to process abstract themes and ideas. So, with this in mind - for me - coaching is about supporting people to bridge the gap between A and B: ‘A’ reflecting where they are right now and ‘B’ where they want to be in a practical sense, or how they may want to feel e.g. more confident or less stressed.

Coaching helps to clarify what the gap between A & B is and then supports the individual to bridge it in a way, and at a pace, that feels good for them.

I’d love to hear from you about what coaching means to you, and how you describe it to others.

Laura x