People Want to be Coached (Part 1 of 2)

Recently, I was in a room full of experienced coaches at a continuing education event when the presenter, Nathan Birdy, posed a question to us, “Who here has a coaching philosophy?” 

The question was not rhetorical. 

I felt a surge of superiority as I was the only one to raise my hand. This is just what I’d flown here for, something highly confirming. I was confident that I could articulate my framework for movement and my personal mission and vision as they relate to coaching. 

As the weekend progressed, I realized that although I have a lens through which I view the movement and working with students, I had never diligently put pen to paper to fully flesh out my coaching philosophy. I also realized how much more effective this would make me as a coach. 

Furthermore, I realized that when articulating my framework, much of it is merely parroted verbatim from other coaches, and parts of it have significant holes that I have not taken the time to account for or consider. 

First, I needed to take time to digest what I believed. Next, I would have to poke holes in those beliefs from all angles. Only then would I be set up to express my unique approach to the art of coaching. 

This is a massive undertaking.

 However, embarking on this quest to fully understand and articulate how I help people go from where they are to where they want to be can only benefit those I strive to help. That’s what any coach worth their salt has to care about, their students.

In writing my coaching philosophy, I’m starting with my most basic beliefs—my points of view or the fundamental things I believe to be true about human movement and the Coach/Student dynamic. 

The first thing I put down on paper was, 

“People want to be coached.”

Before we explore this, I’ve got to define coaching. 

Coaching is a relationship-based practice where one party helps another navigate towards a desired goal, outcome, or progression.

This is not a comprehensive delineation of everything that coaching entails. It’s a simple definition that helps ground us as we attempt to understand something highly complex.