Benefits of Coaching

May 30, 2022 by Britt Fulmer

By Britt Fulmer, John Andrew Williams, & Lauren Gombas

Coaching Benefits

Coaching as a distinct profession began around the 1980s and has expanded into hospitals, military bases, academic settings, corporations, and almost every other profession since. In 2019 alone, the coaching industry's total global revenue estimate was 2.849 billion dollars, a 21% increase from 2015.

With the industry's growing size, people are eager to learn of the benefits one might experience from a coaching relationship. Below, we've compiled a few of the most prominent coaching benefits, their correlation to coaching, and why they matter.

Self-awareness

Self-awareness is at the heart of Coaching Training EDU's definition of coaching. The coaching process is one of deep exploration in an effort to help clients reach their goals. However, if a client lacks self-awareness, it can feel impossible to build and establish the mindset and skills needed to achieve these goals. In other words, if your client is interested in discovering powerful insights that enable them to move forward, they need to first start with developing a strong sense of self-awareness. 

The key insights clients derive from their sessions may be why self-awareness increases the consideration of different perspectives, supports self-control, helps identify goal-related barriers, and provides more accurate self-evaluations. In other words, self-awareness helps one meet their own set of standards and become a more effective leader.

Confidence

Like self-awareness, we believe that confidence, or the belief that one can achieve something, is essential for becoming our best selves. Confidence is a facet of optimism and a major part of one’s agency. When a client has a stronger grasp on their agency and a more profound belief in their ability to achieve the goals they’ve set for themselves, they are exponentially more likely to remain motivated and perseverant, even in the face of setbacks and challenges. This is crucial to goal achievement as people with lower levels of confidence and agency tend to give up or become discouraged when things become difficult. 

From a larger perspective, confidence and agency have also been linked to enhanced performance and healthier, longer lives. These outcomes become part of a cycle that feeds one’s confidence and ability to perform, making them more likely to be successful in their endeavors. 

Wellness

Wellness is often considered a subjective indicator of how someone is doing physically and mentally. Sometimes, a person’s ability to assess their wellness can lead to discoveries about areas of their life in which they feel they are lacking. In coaching, both positive and negative indicators of wellness are explored and discussed, making coaching an effective tool for helping clients manage their mental and physical health, reduce burnout, and enable cognitive hardiness. 

In addition, overall well-being can have a significant impact on one’s productivity and retention in a work environment. For all of these reasons, coaching is an effective tool to help clients assess and bolster their wellness. 

Resilience 

At Coach Training EDU, we understand how the coaching process can be an emotional, time, and financial investment. Throughout the process, progress ebbs and flows as challenges and successes arise. This rollercoaster ride of progress requires endurance and resilience.

Resilience is often considered a protective factor against stress and adds to our ability to adapt to change in our lives. Research shows that coaching can help clients build resilience to stress in a work environment, and during organizational change. Regardless of the situation in which a client finds themselves, resilience can maintain and improve mental health and be a source for longevity. 

Implementing the Benefits

For Coaches

Coaches are responsible for creating a safe environment, implementing a straightforward process, and developing solid skills. This requires regular training to stay up to date on the most current research and tools in the coaching world. One way to do this is to seek out continuing education courses (CCE) through ICF-accredited training schools to stay up-to-date on the cutting edge of the coaching industry. Unfortunately, not every coach follows these guidelines. The ICF 2012 study lists untrained practitioners as a future obstacle, as they are untrained in ethics, core competencies, and responsibilities only offered through credentialed coaching programs. This makes it imperative to seek out accredited and credentialed coaching programs to learn the proper way to implement coaching benefits for clients.

For Clients 

One of the best ways a client can prepare for the benefits of coaching is to ensure that they are open-minded to the process and ready to work toward their goals. It’s important for potential clients to assess if they feel they will be open-minded to the tools and strategies often used in coaching (such as visualization or personification exercises) and to assess their current mental space. For example, someone struggling with a major mental health concern may want to consider counseling or therapy prior to starting the coaching process. 

Some questions for reflection are:

• What barriers might I have to receiving the benefits of coaching?
• Am I ready for coaching?
• What do I want to get out of coaching?
• What do I need in a coach? 
• Am I open-minded to the coaching process?

Evaluating the Benefits of Coaching

One final note that’s important to mention is the coaching evaluation methodology. At the present moment, there is no established universal method for coaching evaluation. However, coaching is a growing field with many connections to the theory and practice of positive psychology. Much research is still needed into the world of coaching, and we look forward to sharing all of it as it is published. 

We would love to hear from you! In the comments, tell us which benefits you or your client have received from coaching.