Coaching Transfers the Skill of Coaching

No matter what particular skills may come up during a coaching session based on what the coachee needs -- note taking skills, for example, or scheduling one's responsibilities, or communication with professors -- there is an underlying skill that is being taught and transferred, and it is the skill of coaching itself. Coaching is fundamentally different from an information session in which an educator explains how to perform an academic skill. Because a coach centers the student -- asking them questions that allow them to identify the issue or challenge, the ideas of how they might address it, and the action or actions they choose to take -- the student is not simply receiving information, they are practicing elements of critical thinking, problem solving, ideation, and evaluation. The more they practice, the more they will find they are moving through these thinking paths on their own, which amounts to becoming their own coach.

When you've worked with a coachee for some time and are seeing the growth of the skill of self-coaching, you can highlight and encourage that growth with questions that invite reflection on the process:

• What about how you manage your life have you changed for the better over the last semester? What are the positive consequences of this change?

• Over the last week, what came up that you handled in a way that moved you forward?

• When you think about who you were as a student when you began your college career, what has been the most important understanding you've gained about yourself? 

• In what ways do you coach yourself in your daily life?

Coaches, as you teach your coachees to fish, you achieve a profound goal of this profession. And even as you may miss coachees who grow in self-management and move on from your meetings, you make room for new students who need what you have to offer. 

Join LifeBound for training that will help you become even more adept at transferring the skill of coaching.

3-Day Inclusive Coaching

Register for July 17, 19, 21 Class

Register for August 7, 9, 11 Class

1-Day Introduction to Coaching

Register for Friday, August 4 Class