by Samson Umurhurhu 
The role of the Coach is different from other professionals. Â Examples of roles often mistaken for coaching include teaching, counseling, consulting, and mentoring. Â This chapter makes the distinction amongst these roles, clarifies what professional coaching is, and explores its value
I highlighted the benefits of professional coaching in my personal life as well as in my roles of a leader as a coach. I share how it helped to advance my progress, resulting in me achieving results with diverse people and cultures across multiple countries whether one-on-one or in resolving common and collective issues of my teams.
I present my experience that people generally are getting to know more about the benefits of professional coaching, hiring a professionally certified coach to help with their personal and professional development, and using coaching to fast track the accomplishment of their goals. This becomes especially relevant in our rapidly changing world and the associated disruptions to our lives and workplaces, and in which we must constantly adjust and adapt in order to remain relevant.Using a coaching situation I had with a client I call Matt (the name has been changed to protect confidentiality), I present a practical illustration of how professional coaching works to enable you to have an insight into the process. In the end, Matt said, he had the opportunity to see the challenges from new perspectives, leading to the difference he wants to create with the execution of his agreed actions steps.
My chapter on Who Wants a Coach? establishes that everyone will benefit from a professional Coach.  Professional coaching will give you an edge and help you thrive against the odds and be an effective support in realizing your goals. Read Coaching Perspectives IX to learn more.
