Coaching

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. – Proverbs 27:17

Coaching is a focused, personal relationship, usually between two individuals. Christian coaches bring their theological, scientific, and organizational expertise to help a person analyze their goals, avoid blind spots, and achieve the Lord’s purposes in their lives and the lives of others. Christian coaches listen to the Holy Spirit, base their convictions on the Word of God, use guided inquiry to diagnose problems, and organize a plan for development and growth.

Christian Coaching is a service provided by Seattle Christian Counseling in which a trained, professional coach partners with an individual client to increase inspiration, set goals, work toward desired outcomes, and achieve personal change. The overall goals are to develop strategies for personal and professional growth.

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. – Psalm 127:1

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. – Psalm 37:4-5

Christian coaching goals center around living and working well within the parameters set before us by the Lord. These parameters are focused on our mission to be salt and light in this world. Our acts reflect our Creator and have an important influence on others. Coaches are invaluable in making changes in both our inner and outer world. They seek to expedite change, transition processes, and pilot us to help build God’s Kingdom. Coaches act as an audience for vision casting, change management, and action planning. By navigating through the tempestuous waters of contemporary culture, Christian coaches offer spiritual discernment to clients looking for direction and guidance.

Additionally, we focus on three aspects in our coaching services:

• Action – planning, implementation, assessment of desired results
• Accountability – wisdom on change processes and outcomes
• Follow-through – after action review and ongoing assessment of initiatives

We’ll ask questions like,

What is your vision?

What is your mission?

How do benefit from organizational thinking?

What are realistic goals for the short-term/longer term?

Where do you want to go with your life?

What would you want your future self to look like?

What are the areas of success that you would like to replicate?

Based on your responses, your coach will provide a framework to encourage you toward attainable solutions. Your coach will continue to offer the necessary feedback as you progress, which increases the likelihood for personal follow-through and goal accomplishment.

Coaching is quite different from therapy, primarily in that it is forward moving and future-focused, as opposed to dealing with issues from a person’s past. In general, coaching does not address psychological concerns such as anxiety or depression, but rather seeks to focus on change toward desired future personal and professional achievements.

While therapy may work through painful or harmful situations in a person’s past, coaching looks at the present and hones in on potential.

Instead of asking, “Why did this event or situation happen to me?” the coaching relationship will opt for “How are we going to get where we want to go?” and “What new doors is the Lord opening for me?”

Do I Need Coaching? 

Are you motivated to create a better life for yourself by setting and achieving attainable goals? If the answer is yes, then you would benefit from coaching services.

You don’t need to have something “wrong” in your life to start a coaching relationship – all you need is the desire to improve your life and get some support and accountability along the way.

What are the Benefits of Coaching?

Numerous case studies point to the effectiveness of coaching. Coaching boosts employment well-being, personal accomplishment, work quality, and interconnection with colleagues. Your knowledge, skills, fulfillment, and the ability to work with change are strengthened through the coaching process. One study suggested that the rate of return on coaching investment was around 5.7 times the original investment!

What is Executive Coaching? 

According to LifeCoach.com, “Many of today’s most successful business leaders, professionals, executives, entrepreneurs and CEOs use the services of a life coach to take their lives, careers, or businesses to the next level.” (http://www.lifecoach.com/what-is-a-life-coach)

Executive coaching is for professionals who are asking questions such as:

• What direction should I take in my career?
• What can I do to better manage my time?
• How can I improve the balance between my work life and home life?
• What steps do I need to take to grow as a professional?
• How can I decrease my stress levels at home and at work?

If you can relate, call us today to begin your coaching journey.

Coaching is a one-on-one conversation between a coach and an individual. During the first session, the coach will take time to assess the client’s current situation and identify unique challenges and opportunities. The coach will then define the scope of the relationship, establish an action plan, and outline desired outcomes.

Specifically, coaches will:

• Propose the framework for the work
• Assess and diagnose
• Reach agreement on the diagnosis
• Partner to actualize the action plan
• Materialize the action plan
• Review the effects of the action plan

Between scheduled coaching sessions, the coach may provide tasks for the client to complete in order to work toward specific desired achievements. 

How Long Does a Coach Work with an Individual?

The length of each coaching relationship varies depending on the needs and preferences of the individual. The duration may be impacted by the types of goals involved, the manner in which an individual prefers to work, and the frequency of the coaching sessions.

At Seattle Christian Counseling, we desire for you to develop your strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results (S.O.A.R.) to reach new heights.

…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. – Isaiah 40:31

What is the Next Step? 

If you’d like to move forward with coaching services from Seattle Christian Counseling, either give us a call or fill out this online contact form. We look forward to meeting you!

References

Cummings, T. G., Worley, C. G. (2015). Organizational development & change

(10^th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.