Your Coach Won't Give You The Answer - here's why

I'm coaching every week as part of my role as Coaching Services Manager, at Lifecraft, and also through my independent coaching practice. One question I often get is -

“I don’t know what to do, what should I do?”

Coaching is not about giving or telling someone the answer. Sorry.

The answer exists and maybe alot closer that you think, working together you get to the answer yourself. When we are under pressure, it can be quicker to look outside ourselves for the right answer and sometimes that’s the right way and exactly what we need for example learning a new skill, trying to understand a process or looking for specialist information I will look it up or get an adviser, teacher or mentor.

Coaching is different.

Rather than telling you what to do or advising you what to do coaching helps you explore what matters to you, the context and what you want to change or gain. It really is all about you. Through incisive questioning, reflection and maybe some techniques depending on your coach and your context, you begin to see your situation more clearly. Then you can start to identify the next steps right for you. So I will not make decisions for you or tell you which option is best.

Coaching is an equal professional partnership. We work together on what you choose to explore, whether that is confidence, boundaries, motivation, change or a particular decision. You may have no clear goal and maybe it has nothing to do with goals, most people just need off load their burden, see things differently, gain some perspective and clarity before starting to move forward.

Coaching helps you develop your own understanding, raising your awareness around the choices you have that fit your values, circumstances and priorities. It helps you recognise strengths, patterns and possibilities that are easy to overlook when you are feeling stuck or overwhelmed.

This is true both in my work at Lifecraft and in my independent practice. The context and purpose of the work may be different, but the underlying principles are the same: people move forward confidently when they have the space to think for themselves and trust themselves.

Coaching offers that space to make sense of what is happening.