The word “coaching” is very often spoken these days. Wherever you look or what magazines you a read, the term “coaching” is widely used in many contexts: sports coaching, nutritional coaching, job coaching, etc ..

It appears coaching as a universal tool for many problems, target reaching in professional and private life.

I often hear “coach” him or her as the only solution. It appears that the need in many ways is big and it is fashionable to use “Coaching as a panacea.”

But what exactly is “coaching” in the original sense? Coaching is a way to open up someone to several options for the next steps (i.e. problem solving). Within the systemic coaching method the coach is considering the system in which the coachee is located (for example, family, work, friends, …). Only the coachee knows about his or her system perfectly best and thus consciously decide what course of action may seem to him or her makes most sense.

The responsibility for the actions is always on the coachee-side. The coach is here more a process facilitator and posts hopefully the right questions to stimulation new perspectives to the discussed topics. The topics can be of private or professional nature. Therefore coaches talks about a concern, a mandate to support and thus keep everything open. Therefore coaching is not “couching” (i.e. “red couch” as you look at the situation from a psychiatrist sometimes imagines). As a coach, you responded to the coachee and his concern, but not as a therapist. Coaching is a very healthy and vital way to provide support services. No more and no less!