What is a Coach?

Attend any networking event, (when you can go to one in person that is) and there would be at least one or two networkers who identify themselves as a “coach”. Some might have even said that they were a “life coach”. But what the heck does that mean?

For years, the label of “coach,” never really resonated with me, even though much of my personal and professional life has been about helping others identify and resolve the internal dialog that has gotten in the way of them “winning”.

When I think of the word coach I immediately have the image from an episode of Modern Family, where Cam is sporting blue polyester athletic shorts, a white short-sleeve polo shirt, and sweater vest, blowing his whistle to assemble the football players. I often wonder if the image of an athletic coach is what most people think of when they hear the word, coach at a networking event.

Because of that sports image, I have tried every word in the thesaurus to avoid calling myself, “coach”. It just didn’t seem to fit what I do. And when folks asked me what I did for work, I would stumble all over myself trying to avoid saying, “I’m a coach”.

Just last week I was attending one of the first in-person networking events in a long while. The woman sitting next to me asked, “What do you do?” I started to say something like, ‘I work with women to blah blah blah. As I started my reply, my thoughts were, ‘here we go again. How am I going to explain this?’

What she picked up from what I DID say was, “You’re a life coach?”

My brain silently fired off, ‘Dang! There was that word again – coach.’ So, I said, trying to explain how I was different, ‘Yes, kind of. But on steroids.” Since I had her attention, I thought I would continue, ‘I help my clients identify the core issues holding them up and remove them quickly so they can move on with their lives. It’s a little like therapy, but faster.’

It wasn’t until 10 minutes later when we each had an opportunity to introduce ourselves that I learned that she was a therapist. For a couple of heartbeats after she sat down, I felt awkward. Then I realized that we both want our clients to have similar outcomes – healthy self-images and less pain. It’s just that we have different methods of helping get there.

The internet defines coaching as a person who counsels and encourages clients on matters having to do with careers or personal challenges. In my case and because of my extensive business experience, I work in both arenas – careers and personal challenges. I’ve found that the two areas are often tied together.

There it is. I’m a coach.

The next time you run into a non-athletic coach like me at a networking event, ask him or her what their focus is and what makes them different. You’ll likely receive some interesting answers.

What do you say? Just out of curiosity, answer this question:
When you hear that someone is a coach, what do you think it is that they do?
Leave your definition in the comments. I’d love to know how you see those in the world of coaching.
Thanks!

*I do not own the rights to this image