Mastering Coaching

Coaching Tools and Challenges

Imagine the letter T as a symbol of professional coaching. The horizontal bar represents a coach’s variety of clients, assignments and challenges. The vertical bar represents the selection of professional tools, systems, techniques and approaches available to coaches. To strengthen their vertical bar, coaches can adapt proven concepts from a variety of fields, including “neuroscience, sports psychology, positive psychology, mindfulness” and “experiential learning.”

Neuroscience

Neuroscience finds that brains remain plastic or malleable. The brain can rewire itself and develop new brain cells. Understanding the brain’s regenerative capacity can help coaches in their work. Brain researcher Jeffrey Schwartz refers to coaching as “facilitating self-directed neuroplasticity.”

Neuroscience also offers insights into the process of personal change. For instance, it has established that visualizing yourself engaging in an activity sparks the same part of the brain that becomes alert when you physically perform that activity. Urge clients to clearly visualize themselves doing something they want to accomplish.

“PETTLEP...