The Shadow Side of "Niche" Coaching

Some people say it rhymes with "stitch", others tip toward the French and say it with a long "e" and a "sh" at the end. I think there are even some combo folks out there who would say it rhymes with "squish" or "screech". 

However you say it, having a niche may, or may not be an asset in coaching.

Good coaching, as defined by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), or Christian Coaches Network International (CCNI), does not include the coach sharing their expertise in a niche field as the means forward. Instead, good coaching draws out from the coachees the best way forward.

Having experience, or education, in a particular field is not always beneficial to good coaching.

If the coach has a certain bent toward how they think the plan should roll out, they tend to ask leading questions to prompt the client toward their own preferred outcome.

Sir John Whitmore in his foundational coaching book "Coaching for Performance" shares about an experiment he conducted where he studied whether tennis coaches who understood the game would do better at improving the performance of a control group of athletes than coaches who didn't really know much about the game. Turns out the experienced coaches tipped toward trying to solve whatever the client was focused more by diagnosis and prescription than by actual coaching.

This is good news (and bad news).

The good news is that a skilled coach can help anyone! They just need to be curious and have in their tool belt the skills of Active Listening, Asking Empowering Questions, and making SMART goals.

The bad news is the older you get the more experienced and educated you become. 

BEWARE the tell! 

When you just flat-out tell people what to do it is risky! While you may be right, you may not be helpful. When you "tell" you are most likely right or wrong. If you're right they will keep looking to you for answers, if you're wrong you risk hurting them. Learning to ask better questions changes all that!

(BTW: Offering is okay, but only in limited doses and preferably in threes.)

Coaching helps people choose their priorities, and build their own pathways at their own pace! Coaching helps people mature. Coaching makes disciples not dependents!

For more on our next coaching cohort check out our webpage, there's a ton of other stuff there too. 

 

 

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