Barton Insights. Coaching and cross-cultural consultancy.

What is Coaching?

A coach is a professional skilled at asking the right questions to guide you towards identifying what you really want and how you are going to get there.

A coach can also act as an objective outsider who facilitates a process of introspection, self-reflection and learning. Often we know the answers to our challenges, or have lessons and ideas for ourselves to improve our communication, performance or work/life experience - we just need to be faced with thought-provoking questions and to take the time away from our regular routine.

Coaching is a practical tool that keeps individuals committed to getting the best for and from themselves, be it at work or in a personal context. Finding a coach is a positive, decisive action that can be a powerful first step in embarking on a path of change or self-improvement.

Extremely capable people work with a coach because, although they already have the skills and competency to fulfil their goals, they want to take a step that will kick-start or focus them. A scheduled coaching appointment makes it easier to prioritise the important, but non-urgent issues at work or in life. It offers a regular opportunity to step back and reflect, or to re-commit and get specific about achieving an objective.

Even top performers have coaches - world-class athletes to name just one example. Unlike the sports coach, however, in this context the coach is not necessarily an expert in the field of interest. The role of the coach is not to advise you, but to question, challenge, support and encourage. Above all, a coach ensures that individuals gain new insights or move towards clarifying or achieving goals every session.