While there are dozens of benefits in coaching, the research shows that there are four key benefits across all coaching niches: self-awareness, confidence, well-being, and resilience.
Self-awareness is the ability to see both strengths and areas of improvement through perceiving how others see us and how we see ourselves. It is a critical element in the coaching process, as it is nearly impossible to pursue meaningful goals without the self-awareness of one’s true desires. The research posits that there are two types of self-awareness: internal and external. Internal self-awareness consists of how well you know who you are and external self-awareness consists of how well you know others’ perceptions of you. These two self-awareness types can overlap with one another, helping to create the four self-awareness archetypes further explained in the Harvard Business Review article linked at the beginning of this paragraph.
According to the research, coaching increases or partially increases self-awareness, regardless of the type or style of coaching. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Effectiveness
Self-awareness is at the heart of Coach Training EDU’s definition of coaching as it’s an essential piece of helping clients achieve their goals. Below are some of the ways self-awareness becomes an effective tool in coaching:
Perception
Self-awareness opens up a consideration of other perspectives and a perception of others' mental states. This can lead to higher levels of self-control and self-esteem (11, 12).
Confidence, or believing that one can achieve something or is good at something, goes hand in hand with one’s agency. When a client believes in their ability and sees a clear pathway toward achieving their goal, an abundance of benefits are bound to follow.
Coaching correlates to increased confidence (13):
Agency
One of the main benefits of confidence is its ability to create a sense of agency (18). This ability to create agency may be why confident people have a higher sense of persistence in professional (19) and academic settings (20).
Wellness, in general, can be considered an indicator that things are going well for someone. The Illness to Wellness Continuum shows that wellness lives on a spectrum, from signs and symptoms of disability or death to awareness, education, and growth toward achieving high levels of subjective well-being. According to the continuum, wellness is an ongoing process and something we strive to achieve every day of our lives.
Research shows that coaching supports wellness and well-being (21) by:
Longevity
Well-being contributes to our longevity in a variety of ways including:
Life Satisfaction & Well-being
Dr. Eric Kim and his team of researchers recently found that those who have a higher sense of life satisfaction have a:
Effectiveness
When people operate from higher levels of well-being, they are more likely to build and expand their social connections and resources. Here are some key benefits on the effectiveness of wellness and well-being:
A recent survey of the research on subjective well-being and happiness, De Neve and his team found the following benefits flowed from higher levels of well-being:
Resilience is the ability to adapt and bounce back despite the circumstances.
Research shows that coaching:
People who demonstrate resilience often display a survivor's mindset and self-compassion, which allows them to problem solve and exhibit healthy emotional regulation.
Stress and Well-Being
Resilience serves as:
The COVID 19 Pandemic, which added pressure to global medical systems and the individual's ability to manage new routines, serves as one example of how resilience partially mediated subjective well-being and stress during the initial portion of the pandemic.
Mental Health
Resilience may be a helpful tool for offsetting the risks that could increase poor mental health, as resilience is associated with:
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