What Is Coaching — and What Makes It Different?
What Is Coaching — and What Makes It Different?
One of the questions I’m often asked is:
What is coaching? And what actually makes coaching different?
There are many helping professions.
There is therapy. Counselling. Consulting. Training. Mentoring.
Coaching is none of those.
Coaching is not about advising people.
It’s not about giving solutions.
It’s not about fixing anyone.
And it’s not about telling people what to do.
In fact, in one sense, coaching has very little to do with us at all —
and in another sense, it has everything to do with us.
Coaching Is About Bringing Out What’s Already There
At its core, coaching is about bringing out the wisdom and expertise that already exists in the other person.
Coaching is not about giving answers.
It’s about helping someone hear their own truth.
That’s why coaching questions are different from everyday questions.
In normal conversation, we ask questions because we want to know something.
In coaching, we ask questions so the client can hear themselves more clearly.
Why Powerful Questions Work
If you ask someone a question they already know the answer to, there’s very little value.
“What’s your name?”
“What’s your address?”
There’s no transformation there.
A coaching question works because it invites the client into a deeper level of self-awareness — a level they weren’t connected to before the question was asked.
A powerful question allows a person to access a level of understanding they didn’t have moments before.
This is why coaching questions often explore:
beliefs
values
identity
meaning
inner stories
Not surface facts.
Awareness Is What Creates Change
We often think transformation needs to be dramatic or miraculous.
But real transformation is much simpler.
It happens through awareness.
Let me show you what I mean.
If you simply bring awareness to your breathing — without changing it — something interesting happens.
The breath naturally begins to shift.
You didn’t force it.
You didn’t fix it.
You simply noticed it.
Awareness itself creates movement.
The same is true with beliefs, values, and inner stories.
When a client becomes aware of a belief — where it came from and whether it’s actually true — something begins to loosen.
That’s where change happens.
Why Coaches Ask Questions (and Not for the Reason You Think)
We don’t ask questions because we need information.
We ask questions because:
The client needs to hear their own truth — not borrow ours.
Often, the first answer a client gives isn’t the real answer.
They’re processing.
Exploring.
Listening inward.
With space and silence, insight emerges.
That “aha” moment doesn’t come from the coach — it comes from the client.
Coaching Mastery Is About Timing and Space
A master coach knows:
where the client is getting stuck
what level of question is needed
and when not to speak
Silence is not empty.
Silence is space.
The coach’s job is not to fill the space —
but to hold it.
In coaching, the client does most of the talking.
Most of the thinking.
Most of the work.
The coach creates the conditions.
It’s Always About the Client’s Agenda
Coaching is never about the coach’s agenda.
It’s about:
the client’s goals
the client’s dreams
the client’s desired outcomes
And the most important thing a coach brings is not technique.
It’s presence.
Unconditional presence is the greatest gift a coach can offer.
Presence creates safety.
Safety allows truth.
Truth leads to alignment.
The Sacred Nature of Coaching
When coaching is done well, something sacred happens.
A person feels:
fully seen
fully heard
completely unjudged
Let me ask you something:
When was the last time another human being gave you 100% of their attention — solely for you?
No agenda.
No interruption.
No judgment.
For many people, the answer is never.
That’s the power of coaching.
Coaching is the art of holding sacred space so another human being can reconnect with their truth.
A Final Reflection
You can spend money on many things.
But the most valuable investment you can ever make is in your own growth, awareness, and development.
When coaching is done well, it doesn’t just solve problems.
It transforms how a person relates to themselves — and to life.
If you’d like to explore coaching further, I invite you to attend our free orientation at Academy for Coaches, where we talk openly about coaching and answer questions live.
If it resonates, explore it.
If it doesn’t, that’s perfectly okay too.
