Harmonise Coaching Practice - Frequently Asked Questions

What is coaching?

Coaching a communication technique used to create awareness. A coach helps a client to achieve a goal or desired outcome at a faster rate than if the client tried it on his/her own. Coaching works on the premise that before a person can find suitable resources to achieve what they want, they need to tap in to their own mind and become more resourceful. The sessions are not advice based and neither are they simply a ‘listening ear to your problems’. Coaching is intended to provoke action so that the client can act and change the issue to their desired outcome. The thought provoking questions that the coach gives are the foundations to the goals that the client will set himself or herself. The client sets the goals and the coach acts as a support to ensure that the client achieves them. The client does most of the communication in a 30:70 coach- client ratio.

The benefits of coaching include:

Enabling you to clarify a situation you are unsure about so that you can do something about it.

Helping you make a calculated decision in your best state of mind with confidence and without any doubt.

Helping you to maintain motivation and giving you support to stretch you out of you comfort zone.

How is this different from Consulting?

Consulting has a place where a client has a certain project to achieve and calls on the services of a consultant specialising in a particular field. The consultant effectively takes over the project and produces the results required.

How is Coaching different from Mentoring?

Coaching does not require that the coach is a specialist in a particular field. Infact sometimes the mere fact that the coach does not come from the same background ensures that the work is carried out without bias and from a neutral yet lateral perspective. A mentor is a specialist in the field he is working in. He/She will provide all the necessary advice, suggestions and feedback to work forward to finding a solution. The client is considered as the student.

How does coaching differ from counselling?

Coaching is a personal development process is not therapy. Coaching works on the now, present and future. Therapy is required for treating illness or trauma. Psychotherapy for example works the issues of dealing with the past so that the client/patient can come to terms with the event. Many referrals can exist from post counselling. Once clients are able to deal with the past and required more awareness of how to tackle the current or future.

What is NLP?

NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a collective communication process based on the theory of modelling excellence. Rapport building, visualisation of goals, influencing skills in sales, overcoming phobias and fears. In the case of Harmonise, our techniques are based on the modelling of individuals who have successfully controlled or managed stress in their lives or in their work place. Using these skills clients can define their goals or outcomes, become excellent communicators (especially important in conflict or influencing), and choose the way they respond or react to stress.

What is GAP analysis?

Gap analysis is about measuring the difference between the potential performance and the actual performance of an individual or group. Gap analysts work on the basis of reducing this ‘gap’ or difference. Harmonise process is centred on the theory that it is a stressful interference which creates the gap in the performance equation.

PERFORMANCE (Actual) = PERFORMANCE (Potential) - INTERFERENCE (Stress)

How does and stress and success relate to one another?

To be successful requires an individual to be in a peak physical and mental state so that he/she can perform to their optimum best. This means that it is imperative that stress is managed and controlled. It is important to be aware stress as a loose term, it self should never be negated or eliminated all together. Infact stress in short sharp bursts create motivation. The Health and Safety Executive class this productive stress as pressure and others references class it as eustress (or euphoric stress). However stress as a long-term feature can impair ability to function and have consequences on performance and a successful outcome (also know as distress). We can therefore update the performance equation further to show.

Outcome Stress = Distress – Eustress

PERFORMANCE (Actual) = PERFORMANCE (Potential) - INTERFERENCE (Outcome stress)

We can see that outcome stress, when predominantly consisting of eustress can produce an extraordinary result where by the actual performance exceeds potential performance.