Because coaches know potential clients have tightened their belts, they’re responding with free workshops, group sessions and reduced individual rates. So now could be a better time than ever for some professional soul-searching. Life coaching, a relatively new and largely self-regulated industry, evolved in recent decades from executive coaching. Coaches develop a relationship with clients in a series of in-person or phone sessions, asking questions and encouraging personal discovery to help people realize their visions or goals.  Read story.

In executive coach John Agno’s blog article, Why Every CEO Needs a Coach, he argues that “every CEO is ‘on the stage’ for the majority of his or her work life but needs pre-performance quiet and confidential time to be creative, bounce their ideas off someone in a same environment and explore the unintended consequences of future actions.” Agno goes on to quote Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Google, who said that his best advice to new CEOs was “have a coach.” Schmidt goes on to say “once I realized I could trust him (the coach) and that he could help me with perspective, I decided this was a great idea…”  Read story.

But it was time to leave and time to say goodbye. Time to say thank you, too.

As I heard the sounds of last minute doors slamming and children calling, I walked over to the front of the house and stood on the deck, my arms wide open.

I said goodbye.

Goodbye to the lake that had been my daily inspiration. Goodbye to the summer screeches of people playing on the water, music blasting and reminding me of how much fun can come from speed and loud toys. Goodbye to the sweet little farmhouses on the other side of the water who had provided me with a sense of human companionship as I spent winter days cocooned up in my cozy home, writing or painting, the lake a quiet shade of Payne’s gray. Goodbye also to the eagles who had flown so close to me that I could see their eyes and who knew to perform the perfect dances at the perfect times. Finally - and that was maybe the hardest part - goodbye to The Mountain.

Mount Baker, in its faraway beauty, had once again been my companion through many pieces of life. Big, strong, somehow strangely feminine despite its male-like strength, Mt Baker had shown itself to me in eerily bright pink morning light, in barely there ghost-like presence bathed in thick fog, in glorious white snowiness; it had often hid behind the Washington clouds and yet, somehow, its majesty remained palpable. I could count on Mt Baker to remind me of how small whatever was bothering me really was and I could count on Mt Baker to celebrate how important what was thrilling me really was.

Starting tomorrow morning, I would have to do without.

I was ready.

So, moved we did and within a few days we were happily settled into our new home, excitedly discovering its own set of gifts.

The water, once again, was part of our daily delight as we watched the tankers cross the channel pulled by tiny tugboats.

Summer was mostly spent on the deck and I still got to connect with “my” mountain during frequent trips to town. I missed its constant presence and yet, having said goodbye, I was resigned to the form of our new relationship.

And then, one day, it happened.

A friend was visiting from out of town and he was standing on the deck, enjoying the sweetness of the late summer.

Casually, he turned towards me and said: “nice mountain.”

My mind stopped for a second as I wondered if he was being facetious. Did he know about my determined goodbyes of late? Did he know about my loss? What was he trying to say?

Before my mouth could catch up to my thoughts, my eyes followed his and landed… right on the tippy-top of Mt Baker.

My feet were decidedly anchored onto the deck of our new home and I was looking straight at It. At Him. At Her.

It took me a little while to explain to my guest that, well, really, I did not know that the mountain was there. He seemed slightly surprised and his attention moved on to other things.

That gave me a chance to take a second look at my old companion - who might very well have been smiling - and to breathe deeply. Granted, this was no longer the breathtaking, full-on view that we knew. This was a more intimate view, framed perfectly by two swooping branches of pine trees who might have grown exactly for the purpose of doing just that.

As it turns out, and upon overly casual questioning, everyone in the home knew about our Mountain view. No one had deemed it worth mentioning because… heck, no one had said goodbye.

So here you go, the Gift of Mt Baker:

I did not see the Mountain because I had said goodbye to it.

The day that we decided to move, I had began mourning its presence.

Never, did I consider the possibility of it coming with us. And so, when it did, I could not see it.

Mt. Baker had once again accompanied me on an important journey and that felt very right.

That’s a big deal and the magnitude of its message was not lost on me: Where else was I NOT seeing something because I had decided that it would not be there? Where else was I deciding in advance the way something might turn out?

And really, where else might we all be doing this?

Leadership and career coach Tamara O’Neill just helped a client land a high-level position that doubled his salary by coaching him through 13 interviews with the same company in 11 weeks. Each interviewer had different expectations. “You’ve got to be strategic about matching your experience and strengths to that manager or unit’s needs,” said O’Neill, president of Careers on Course. Use the Internet, your network, associations, recruiter and other resources to gain a better understanding of company structure and challenges. A coach can help you gain insight into what you do best.  Read story.

Before the participants took the field, Rick Singer, CEO of The Edge, a life-coaching and college-admissions program, focused on how to prepare for and find the right college setting as both an athlete and a normal student. Singer spoke to the group on hand, which included parents, on the importance of educating oneself on the process of getting admitted into the college of one’s choice. Unlocking student-athletes’ potential and creating opportunities for them to succeed in college and for the rest of their lives was the main point of emphasis.  Read story.

Lucas categorizes any activity in which the supervisor and employee work toward employee performance improvement as coaching. Some of the skills he sees being used in coaching include:

• Instructing
• Communicating
• Analyzing
• Training
• Facilitating
• Directing
• Delegating
• Assisting
• Collaborating
• Guiding
• Motivating
• Nurturing
• Supporting

While these skills are quite broad, the qualities he sees in an effective coach ring more true for me. They include:

• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal)
• Excellent listening skills
• Compassion
• Technical proficiency
• Enthusiasm
• Ability to organize
• Flexibility
• Receptivity to feedback
• Nurturing disposition
• Goal orientation
• People orientation
• Creativity
• Team-player mentality

With the key focus of this type of coaching being to improve employee performance, it is no surprise that the eight step coaching model is what we now call a performance improvement model. Lucas’s eight steps include:

• Establish goals
• Collect performance data
• Analyze performance
• Review and modify performance goals as needed
• Identify developmental resources
• Devellp an action plan
• Implement strategies
• Evaluate performance.

Feedback and documentation are required at every step.  I know that as I read this book I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up - it reminded me of the performance review systems from the 1970s-1980s - the difference being that the supervisor had the qualities of an effective coach.

What response do you have to this approach?

Vikki Brock, Ph.D., MCC
Director, History and Archive Division
The Coaching Commons

Wakefield said her goal is to focus the majority of her time on legal coaching. “This allows me to focus on what I’m most passionate about and love to do — work with people one-on-one to see them through a difficult time,” she said. Read story.

Business owners new and old are increasingly turning to private business coaches to overcome growing pains or to get an edge in a weak economy.
Coaches look at the entire picture, helping owners prosper in all aspects of the business, said Max Jones of The Entrepreneur’s Source, who has been a business coach for three years. Read story.

Five years ago, Erin Owen traded smart suits and a six-figure salary with all the perks for flexible hours, more modest pay, and loose Eastern-style tunics and slacks. She hasn’t looked back.

Certified to practice nutrition and health counseling, Owen joined the growing ranks of the thousands who call themselves lifestyle coaches, a field that continues to attract customers despite the economic doldrums.

Her business, Health Catalyst, includes one-on-one counseling and has expanded into workshops in nutrition and yoga. Since her son was born, Owen has gone to a part-time practice, taking on a couple of new clients each month but working with only eight at any one time.

Read story.

Great seminars or moving speeches can inspire people to change their lives. The only problem is they arrive home excited about their possibilities only to return to their old habits.
Coaching bridges the gap between knowledge and implementation. Being coached means one is held accountable for her dreams and aspirations. With the coach’s help, the client creates a roadmap that will lead her to her goal.

Many people believe that to be successful one only needs intelligence, diligence and talent. Although those attributes are necessary, the missing link to the puzzle is confidence. A person can have all the attributes in the world, but if she isn’t confident, her successes will not match her potential.

Confidence is contextual. A person can be very confident in one area of her life, but needs to increase confidence in another. Studies have shown that companies and individuals with confidence are able to rebound more quickly from setbacks and disappointments.
People who want to be more successful, productive and fulfilled in their professional lives seek coaching.

Read story.