Frequently Asked Questions
Co-active® Coaching model is based on the principle that everyone is naturally creative, resourceful and whole. The customer is put in the center of the process as the star. "Coachee" or "client" are also somewhat synonymous with "customer", however we prefer "customer" because it highlights the principle.
A therapist, is an expert trained to diagnose and treat the problems and illness of the client and treats to heal the emotional and mental wounds of the client. Most theraphy methods focus on the past life of the client in order to detect the causes of the current state.
Coaching focuses on the present and the goals of the customer. The coach is neither trained for nor has the mission to diagnose the problems or analyze the past of the client. The coaching relationship is a relationship of equals, in which the coach and the customer collaborate for the growth and transformation of the customer. Coach is interested in the “how” rather than the “why”. Customer arrives at own solutions by accessing the resources within. Often the customer breaks free of limiting patterns and makes courageous choices. Experiencing transformation may cause a feeling of healing in the customer.
Although coaching and therapy are completely different processes, it can be beneficial to get coaching in parallel to therapy.
A certain time is needed for the coaching relationship to develop and be powerful and in order to trigger change and transformation in the customer. The minimum duration is 3 months, but the recommended duration is 6 to 12 months of meeting twice a month. After the first 3 months of coaching, the customer and the coach can evaluate together and can decide to continue the coaching relationship as is, determine new goals, or end the coaching relationship. For exceptional situations, shorter coaching focused on a specific topic can be planned.
For coaching to be successful, the customer has to be willing and ready for change. Forcing someone to get coaching will not be useful. For coaching to be beneficial, the customer has to be open to learning, honest and have an open heart in the coaching process.
Homework helps the customer to:
- Take responsibility for their own growth, development and transformation,
- Reflect about and work through their issues and goals independently,
- Deepen the learning by understanding and applying the take-aways from the coaching,
- Reach additional awareness and new learnings,
- Create momentum by starting to take action.
Coach and customer agree on the homework together. If the customer does not want the homework suggested by the coach, he/she must propose an alternative, that would cause similar results.
Homework can be a variety of things, depending on the needs of the customer. Some examples are:
- Pondering on important questions (this is called inquiry),
- Prioritizing values,
- Reading a book or other material,
- Journaling on an issue,
- Completing a questionnaire,
- Experimenting with a behaviour,
- Starting spefic actions on an exercise goal,
- Creating a collage of dreams.
Coaching over the Internet with camera or only voice, via Skype or similar tool, is common and quite effective. Virtual tools or telephone is utilized in order to avoid travel time in the big cities or to work with a coach in another city or even in another country. If:
- Technical resources are sufficient,
- Both sides are able to talk from a quiet environment with privacy and
- Your coach is experienced in working this way ,
coaching over telephone (or Skype) is as productive as face-to-face coaching.
If you want to change somethings, such as:
- changing a habit,
- developing new behaviour,
- being more successful at work,
- improving your work/life balance,
- making a career change,
- improving your relationships,
So that the Blog can be followed internationally. Over fifty percent of the content in the Internet is in English. Also generally, English is the language most commonly used to communicate among people from different countries.