Cathy Liska Answering, telling, and advising are easy in comparison to the skill and patience required for empowering. Coach training is all about empowering others to achieve.
Many people love being asked for advice and giving it. Our society has taught us that knowing the answer is a good thing. We consider it a compliment to be asked for advice. Typically it is easy to answer and tell.
How effective is answering, telling, or advising? There is a time and place for providing information – after all education is about acquiring knowledge and that starts with being given the information. What happens next is what really counts – when individuals are given the space to figure out and plan how they will use the information, then there is growth and meaningful change.
That is what coaching is when done right – empowering people by giving them the space to figure it out and plan.
It takes skill and patience to empower people to find their answers and create their plans. It requires really listening, asking powerful questions, and silence. The impact is profound. And it works.
What is the research behind this claim? In coach training a few statistics are provided and then as homework students do their own research on the Return on Investment for coaching. For example:
- Personnel Management reports:
- Training = 22% improvement in productivity
- Training + Coaching provides an 88% improvement in productivity
- The ROI for Coaching is, on average, 600% according to Forbes
Coaching certification provides the education – the information – and then empowers coaches to explore, figure out their process, plan, grow, and get the results.
