Not everyone needs (or wants) to become a professional coach
who sees clients and earns a living through coaching. If the only realm in which coaching could be
used were the professional coaching world, the world would be missing out some
wonderful applications for coaching. Here is my list of the big four applications of coaching.
- Evangelism. If you are a Christ-follower who wants to see
others follow Christ, then consider coaching your best tool. Since coaching is a way to engage without
controlling, it makes perfect sense in evangelism. After all, you are certainly not in control
of any evangelism moments; the best you can do is engage others and leave
plenty of room for the Holy Spirit to work. - Discipleship. Coaching is a superb approach to discipleship
since what most Christians need is to discover the right next step in their
walk with (and toward) God and to commit to taking that step. If you’re like me, most of your spiritual
growth comes not from fill-in-the-blank studies you’ve done but by reflecting
on God’s activity in your life and by agreeing to join God in what he’s doing in
and through and around you. Coaching is
an excellent way to help others discern God’s activity and call. - Management. In professional coaching, the coach has zero
agenda for the client’s life or topic, so you might wonder how coaching can be
applied to management and other supervisory roles. Well most wise managers follow Marcus
Buckingham’s advice in the book “First, Break All the Rules” and refuse to
treat all employees the same. Everybody
is different and smart managers invest time finding out what makes each
employee different and what the path to success will be for that employee. Of course, coaching is an excellent set of
skills for this kind of management. - Parenting. Nobody does what you tell them to do, and
nowhere is this more obvious than with children – especially as they grow and
mature. Parents who use coaching
approach ask questions and listen well to their children to help their children
make better decisions, learn from mistakes, and be more intentional about
life. Not every parenting situation
calls for a coach approach, but parents who use coaching liberally inhabit a
far less anxious space and focus more on being a support and influence than on
controlling their children.
What about you? Where
other applications do you see for coaching? Where and how are you using it with success?
