Coaching is not what you think it is: Let me tell you why

I was asked the following question by Justas Janauskas, the CEO of Qoorio and Co-Founder of Vinted:

Povilai, coaching still has a poor reputation in Lithuania and is often related to success teachers and semi-scam. Could you explain in your own words what it is, and, given your specialization in IT, explain how it can help a professional to transition from a Software Engineer to a Head of Engineering position?

To answer the question properly, I covered the following topics:

• How do I see the reputation of coaching?

• How do I define coaching?

• How do I do coaching?

• Why do people come to coaching?

• How can a leader benefit from coaching?

Reputation of Coaching

Indeed, in Lithuania, the reputation of coaching is very mixed ranging from negative among regular people to neutral or positive among executives, especially middle or C-Level.

However, in English-speaking countries, the reputation is much more positive and straightforward due to the stronger roots of the profession.

Definition of Coaching

Coaching is:

• NOT success consulting, although some people who promise wealth and luxury may call themselves 'success coaches'

• NOT skills training, although coaching is also based on experimentation and reflective thinking

• NOT mentoring, although the coach often has professional experience in the client's area of specialization (e.g. former exec coaching current execs)

• NOT therapy, although coaching draws extensively from psychological theory and therapeutic techniques (e.g. listening, mirroring, feedback, experimentation)

Coaching is a self-regulated profession as well as a conversational learning tool based on established psychological theories and therapeutic techniques. The main science behind the theory and practice of coaching is coaching psychology as well as positive psychology.

The goal of coaching is to help mentally and emotionally functional people (individuals or groups) achieve short-term or long-term goals in their areas of interest. These include work, career, life, health, and others.

Application of Coaching

We support our clients by asking thought-provoking questions, challenging their thinking patterns, and providing feedback.

Contrary to parents, teachers, friends, life, or business partners, we are much more professional and ethical in our approach. This means that we give priority to scientifically-informed techniques and interventions.

Also, we pay careful attention to the client's agenda as opposed to our own.

Goals of Coaching

The reason why people use coaching services is the same reason why they read books, listen to podcasts, attend workshops, and go to university.

In other words, they want to become better than they were yesterday in terms of their knowledge, effectiveness, productivity, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and wellbeing.

Leadership Example

Speaking of your given example, a software engineer who is new to one's leadership role will definitely have to learn a lot about oneself and one's role in a very short period of time.

Because almost every strategic decision counts, the price for mistakes is much higher than before.

If that is the case, a coaching partnership will help you get a head start in your role. You will have a safe and supportive space to collect your thoughts and feelings around important questions and decisions.

Furthermore, you will build resilience in the face of pressure and failure which, to a certain extent, is inevitable in a new leadership role.

Of course, for a coaching partnership to work, the client should feel intrinsically motivated to succeed and have the necessary organizational support.

Moral of the Story

Due to the mixed reputation of coaching, many people think that coaching is a scam and a waste of money (for a long time, the same was thought about psychotherapy and psychological counseling).

So, it is totally natural and reasonable to have doubts about coaching and its effectiveness, especially if you are living in a country where the profession is still relatively new and unestablished.

Although you will definitely meet quacks who are totally unqualified to do the job, there are many people who are actively seeking credentials provided either by professional organizations such as ICF or EMCC and improving the quality of their services through training in coaching psychology or psychotherapy.