“What is Coaching?” with Doug Gfeller, MCC

Why is it that when people ask “What is Coaching?” the response always starts with a description of what coaching is not. You know; it’s not consulting, it’s not mentoring, it’s not training and it’s not therapy.  Or even worse the response is a detailed list of what coaching does not do. I can’t think of another situation where we fall into this trap. For instance, if I ask you what kind of car you are driving; you don’t tell me it’s not a Ford or a Chevy. No, you tell me what it is and if I have never heard of that brand and want more information then you proceed to give me more details on what it is. 

Our objective here today is to create a definition of what coaching is, define how it works and identify what it produces. If we can’t even describe what it is in a compelling way, then why would anyone want to buy it? The Five Ws and one H, are questions whose answers are considered basic in information-gathering. They constitute a formula for getting the complete story on a subject. We will look at the response to each one of these questions as they relate to coaching in an attempt to build a better definition of coaching. A definition or story that will make people want to use coaching services now!