Is your coach a medicine or a diet? As promised in my previous post about leadership, let’s look at coaching from a distinct perspective.
A good doctor wants to get rid of her patients, not to keep them. She knows that she will never run out of ‘cases’ that need her help. And yet, a good cook does not confuse perfect timing with rushing when preparing soufflé. Coaching too, should empower to move on, not create dependency. You don’t want to get hooked on medicine, nor drop it prematurely.
The best coaches work on the principle of turnover: those who have grown move on, and sometimes send others. The coach helps, then lets go. Other coaches often resemble a diet. The real question is: do they help you integrate change or just keep you coming back for another round? The former empowers, the latter entangles. Choose wisely.
Think of the raft: you use it to cross the river, then leave it behind. You don’t raft back and forth endlessly carrying new loads and never reaching the other shore, or drag the raft with you forever on the other side.
“One more thing…”
The finest coaching doesn’t look like coaching at all. Like in Chinese poem, good coach would be the one who enters the forest without disturbing a blade of grass, or steps into water without leaving a ripple. There’s a quality of anonymity in it, so attuned, it goes unnoticed. Yet, something is transformed.
– Greg