By Pete Liska https://www.linkedin.com/in/peteliska/
Coaching fits like any training, leadership development, self-help, or forward thinking idea. The benefit with coaching is that the ideas, dreams, goals, or way forward comes from and are decided on by the client. The coach listens, rephrases, and asks questions. The thoughts and ideas come directly from the client in his or her own words. The way forward, meeting a goal, or getting to a dream happens most effectively when it is from an individual’s own ideas or thoughts. The research on the ROI of coaching shows such incredible results (an average ROI of 600%) because in coaching the goal is the client’s.
Someone who has a coach (versus a mentor or trainer) comes to an answer independently with the help of their coach.  Using a coach to explore possibilities, consider challenges, list resources, create solutions, and then define actions for moving forward is a process of partnering with a coach while still having control of personal choices and decisions. The coach can be used as sounding board, creating the time to think out loud, and then to expand thinking because of the questions the coach asks.
Coaching is a tool that helps a client in life decisions, in business, executive leadership or management roles, career change, or anything else in between. The use of coaching empowers a client to explore their possibilities and create their solutions. Coaching sessions also empower the client to create a plan for moving forward.
One thing to remember when hiring a coach is to ask if they have had coach training and if they are a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF). Coaching is a valuable tool maximized when the coach has training.
