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ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.


Coaching is a client-driven, ongoing partnership that helps clients produce results in their lives they might not achieve alone.


The coach partners with their client to:

  1. Discover and clarify the client’s goals
  2. Encourage client self-discovery
  3. Elicit client-generated solutions and strategies
  4. Hold the client responsible and accountable
  5. Move the client forward in learning and personal growth
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Why should I partner with a coach?

According to the 2014 ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study, the most frequently cited reasons for partnering with a coach were to optimize individual/team work performance (42%), expand professional career opportunities (33%) and increase self-esteem/self-confidence (31%).

Other benefits of professional coaching include fresh perspectives on personal challenges, enhanced decision-making skills, greater interpersonal effectiveness, more productivity, greater satisfaction with life and work, the attainment of life-long goals, and so much more.

The reasons for partnering with a coach are truly endless!


If you're considering hiring a coach, check out our Find a Coach directory for brief bios and contact information for dozens of talented professional coaches in our area.

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BUSINESS GROWTH

“I signed up for coaching because my wheels were spinning with so many ideas, yet I wasn't moving forward. My coach helped me settle myself down, intentionally choose a direction, and create a path to get there. My income immediately increased, and the systems she introduced are still a part of my routine. I loved the time I spent with her!”


~ Annie, Entrepreneur, coaching client

CAREER CHANGE

“I started working with a coach when I wanted help navigating changes coming in my career. She helped me step back and see the big picture during a time when the many small decisions could have had me miss the forest for the trees. Her style of positive reinforcement while providing structure and guidance to let me reach my own decisions gave me confidence both in myself and the decisions I was making. She kept me moving forward much more quickly and decisively than I would have on my own.”


~ Kyle, VP, coaching client

MORE JOYFUL LIFE

"Taking action has always been a calculated, well-researched, hesitant movement for me. However, you’ve shown me the value in taking small, low-resistance actions towards a goal to determine if it is really what I thought it would be. This little revelation will save me so much time and bring me so much more joy over my lifetime. Genuinely, thank you!”


~ Cathy, COO, coaching client


How is coaching distinct from other service professions?

Sometimes it’s helpful to understand coaching by distinguishing it from other personal or organizational support professions.

  • Therapy: Therapy deals with healing pain, dysfunction, and conflict within an individual or in relationships. The focus is often on resolving difficulties arising from the past that hamper an individual’s functioning in the present, improving overall psychological functioning, and dealing with the present in more emotionally healthy ways. Coaching, on the other hand, supports personal and professional growth based on self-initiated change in pursuit of specific actionable outcomes. Coaching is future-focused, and the coaching relationship emphasizes action, accountability and follow-through.
  • Consulting: Individuals or organizations retain consultants for their expertise. While consulting approaches vary widely, the assumption is that the consultant will diagnose problems, prescribe, and sometimes implement solutions. With coaching, the assumption is that individuals or teams are capable of generating their own solutions, with the coach supplying supportive, discovery-based approaches and frameworks.
  • Mentoring: A mentor is an expert who provides wisdom and guidance based on their own experiences. Mentoring may include advising, counseling, and coaching.
  • Training: Training programs are based on objectives set out by the instructor. Though objectives are clarified in the coaching process, they are set by the individual or team being coached, with guidance provided by the coach. Training also assumes a linear learning path that coincides with an established curriculum. Coaching is less linear, without a set curriculum.
  • Athletic Development: The athletic coach is often seen as an expert who guides and directs the behavior of individuals or teams based on their greater experience and knowledge. Professional coaching guides clients to their own inner wisdom. Additionally, the focus is on identifying opportunity for development based on individual strengths and capabilities rather than shortcomings.

How do I find a coach?

According to IBIS World, there were over 18,000 registered life coaches in the United States in 2022. Hundreds of professional coaches are right here in Nebraska, each with unique specialities, strengths, and styles.


If you're considering hiring a coach, check out our Find a Coach directory for brief bios and contact information for dozens of talented professional coaches in our area. We recommend choosing one or two people who pique your interest, even if you're not sure why they do, and reaching out for an initial conversation.


If you have any questions along the way, or want a specific referral, feel free to contact us. We'd love to help you achieve your dreams!

 

Find a Coach