As a Christian coach, what do you believe?

Coaches are not counselors or mentors. Consequently, coaches operate on different beliefs than counselors and mentors.

What are my coaching beliefs? I have 4:
  1. God is growing his people, and the Holy Spirit is at work in each believer. God is already at work in the lives of each of his people. While God may use me to help a person grow, it’s God who is actually growing each of his people. So as a coach, I encourage each person to listen to God.
  2. People want to grow and are empowered to grow by those who believe in them. You and I both want to grow. And people who believe in us empower us to grow—I know this. I’ve experienced it my own life. You have, too. When people believe in me, I can do more. As a coach, I believe in people. So, I listen (instead of talking), ask questions (instead of advising), encourage (instead of criticizing), and empower people to define their goals (instead of giving them goals).
  3. Growing is more about motivation than information. We all know good things that would help us grow. We know we should do these good things—but we don’t. Simply put, knowing doesn’t equal doing. As a coach, I empower people to focus on good things they want to work on.
  4. People grow as they take responsibility by defining, committing to, and achieving goals. So as a coach, I don’t take the responsibility for defining goals; instead, I empower people to define their goals. I don’t take the responsibility for committing to goals; instead, I empower people to commit to their goals. I don’t take the responsibility for achieving the goals; instead, I empower people to achieve their goals. Make sense?
Now that you know what I believe about coaching, what are you going to do? Here are 2 suggestions:
  1. If you are interested in getting a coach, ask your potential coach what s/he believes about coaching.
  2. If you are interested in coaching someone, define 4-6 coaching beliefs and be prepared to share them.
Get a coach, be a coach, or both. Today.