The first aim of a coach is to help the client set a clear and realistic goal. Often clients tell me what they don't want, but until you know EXACTLY what you do want, you won't be able to work out how to get there. Also, we need to uncover what's stopped you from attaining the goal in the past. There will be both conscious and unconscious obstacles.

The coach is there to help the client use the resources they already have. The paradox is this: if the client already has everything they need to succeed, why do they need a coach? Working alone, many people get stuck in the same old ways of thinking. Faced with a new challenge, it can be hard to tell the best way to approach it. It might be difficult to break out old habits, or the thinking process might get into an endless circle of non-productive worrying. The client may be problem-focussed, but the coach can help them to be solutions-focussed.

The job of a coach is to provide a process to help the client move forward in his/her thinking. This means listening and asking the right questions to help the client clarify her own thoughts, also providing a framework to ensure that a new idea is considered from all useful angles, such as when goal-setting. Sometimes it means taking a systematic approach to overcoming a mental block.

If the client is stressed or dealing with the results of major changes, it can mean guiding the client through a process to release negative emotions and restore the mind to a resourceful state.

Often, coaching works with behaviour patterns that are normally outside of conscious awareness. Anything you can do really well, you can do without thinking. Unfortunately, there are also lots of things we do less well, that we also do without thinking!

Of course, I’m talking about coaching where the coach has the full range of NLP tools and techniques to draw on. NLP is an excellent addition to any coach’s skills, because it actually enables the client to re-wire their thinking. It creates new neurological pathways in the brain.

The more of this kind of coaching a client participates in, the more the mind is re-trained to use the processes unconsciously to resolve issues before the client is consciously aware of them. The key to success is nearly always in the unconscious habits.

The aim of coaching is to replace habits that lead to stress and failure with habitual processes that lead to success and satisfaction.

And the real value of coaching at the unconscious level? The client does not have to remember to do anything different, there is no fighting against natural inclinations, often clients forget that they ever had a mental block in the first place!

Coaching is a relationship between a coach and a client that enables the client to access the resources they need to succeed and to achieve their full potential.