Although the dictionary plainly defines coaching as the job of a professional coach, this activity involves a sophisticated form of teaching aimed to help individuals in the development of inner qualities and physical aptitudes, or just for gaining self-esteem and confidence.
Coaching is a term that was coined in the Great Britain during the mid-19th century in relation to sporting activities. Once the idea of coaching took root in the United States, coaches were hired to encourage sports teams, and the way in which coaches helped athletes to develop their full potential did not go unnoticed by professionals in many other fields.
Derived from sports coaching, nutrition coaching and fitness coaching emerged in the last 20 years to help people develop a sense of wellbeing and a healthy lifestyle. The baby boomer’s generation developed another form of coaching: business coaching.
Combined with teamwork, business coaching has helped literally thousands of people attain their goals by developing their skills in full by means of a designed strategy based on a plan comprising different points of action.
There are also coaches whose mission is helping people to cope with social demands, reducing stress and encouraging spiritual and leisure activities to gain wellness and health.
In fact, coaching work consists of helping people balance their activities and learning to achieve harmony with their family, their work place, or just their environment.
Depending on the coaching program, people can be subjected to different challenges to motivate their interaction with the world, including initiative games, problem solving activities, and team building exercises. These team building exercises promote leadership based on experiential activities.
Today, coaching is so important to the individual that there are associations of professional coaches recognized internationally. Depending on the field of expertise required, coaches may offer synchronous and asynchronous training individually or to two or more individuals.
The range of coaching styles include organizational coaching, systemic coaching, team coaching, executive coaching, business coaching, ontological coaching, individual or personal coaching and dissertation coaching.
Mentoring, supporting, and encouraging people, coaches are committed to help their clientele to analyze and solve their problems, approaching them from an optimistic point of view.
Therefore, coaching is not longer an activity expressly designed to assist students or sports teams. Coaching is a useful aid for any individual requiring professional support in any aspect of their lives, or reaffirming their principles.
Getting closer to a coach is rediscovering the old saying: "where there is a will there is a way".
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