Origin and Evolution of Coaching (Life/Wellness/Business Coaching)

Introduction

From its beginning in the 1930s as a process designed for executive development and sales, coaching has evolved from these original applications to include a much broader range of disciplines. Coaching now encompasses a virtually unlimited variety of niche specialties, ranging from wellness and fitness to relationships, life management, and business performance. In some cases, coaching even serves in matters of spirituality and life purpose. All this to say that the coaching profession has exploded and in the process has created a diverse population of passionate individuals committed to leading lives informed by personal choice while advocating for others to do the same.

Although the profession is relatively new in terms of accreditation and officially sanctioned standards, the roots of coaching run deep. Indeed, countless pioneers, thought leaders, and seminal theorists have contributed to and shaped the myriad styles, or modalities, of coaching that are widely used today. In this article, I will provide an overview of coaching’s evolutionary path and its ever-growing list of applications that have transformed contemporary views of successful living. I’ll end with a brief look at Whole Person Coaching®, a modality I developed in response to the growing need for coaches to equip themselves with tools to shift clients’ deepest fears and take them beyond the struggle into the uncharted territories of their future. .

Origins of the term “coach”

We are all familiar enough with the common definition of the term related to athletics, which according to Merriam-Webster is its second definition, as “a private tutor” or “one who instructs or coaches, especially one who instructs players in the fundamentals of a direct sports and team strategy.” However, coaches (sports, life, wellness, or other) are much more than tutors who convey information in a one-way communication pattern. Instead, a professional coach works with an individual to bring out the best in themselves personally or professionally by leveraging their unique skills, some of which are often latent or unrealized.The coach then helps set clear goals and helps design a roadmap for the client successfully achieve those goals. From there, she stays active as a behind-the-scenes partner, serving on the client side to help them achieve r success.

Interestingly, some believe that the origins of the term coach have more to do with the main meaning of the word in the dictionary, such as “a four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage, a passenger car intended primarily for day trips, a bus or trailer, ” etc. This sense of the word refers to the physical transportation of an individual from one place to another. Although it is no longer standard practice to use brute force to motivate our clients, the crux of this concept still holds true. A professional Whole Person Coach®, for example, uses physical, emotional, mental and even spiritual movements to transition a client from one place to another. And all of this is done with the customer behind the wheel, driving himself to his self-proclaimed destination.

Dictionary meanings aside, the term coaching has come to represent a highly specialized career path for those dedicated to collaboratively creating positive change for others, whether personal or professional.

Theoretical roots of coaching

It could be argued that the roots of coaching go back to the Socratic method. While Socrates’ process may not have been fully appreciated in classical Greece, as evidenced by his death sentence, his method of using inquiry to challenge oneself and gain understanding left a permanent mark on the culture. and is now considered a powerful tool that improves life. tool. It has been in use in the business arena for decades.

An expert in the field, Vikki Brock, PhD, MCC, provides the big story behind the conception, birth, and maturation of coaching in her Sourcebook of Coaching History, in which she traces the evolution of the foundational disciplines over time. of the history of the profession. .

In fact, we see that numerous disciplines, ranging from the personal growth and development industry to accelerated learning and development theories and practices, have contributed to modern coaching. According to Dr. Brock, coaching also has its roots in biology, philosophy, linguistics, psychology, and many other social sciences.

Key theorists in the coaching profession

According to Dr. Brock’s research, we see original thinkers like psychotherapist Alfred Adler in the early 1930s imagining people as creators of their own lives. Adler discussed goal setting and life planning processes to help people create their future.

In addition, great innovators such as Dale Carnegie in the field of self-improvement, Erik Erickson in psychosocial development, Carl Jung with future orientation, Abraham Maslow with Carl Rogers’ hierarchy of needs and motivations, and client focus all contributed. to the profession. . His influences began to show in the 1950s, generating many reflection processes known as coaching.

Organizational development theorists, including Ed Schein, Peter Block, Chris Argyris, and Ken Blanchard, burst onto the scene in the 1960s and 1970s, along with Werner Erhard and Neurolinguistic Program (NLP) theorists Michael Grinder and Richard Bandler.

Together, these individuals contributed greatly to the theories and practice of human effectiveness and success, as well as to the disciplines of business and organizational development and leadership. The breakthrough in personal effectiveness, fulfillment, and success in the second half of the 20th century is largely attributed to the innovations in coaching and its specialized practices that still shape and inform coaching methodologies today.

But it wasn’t until the 1980s that coaching really took off, backed by the popular work of Tim Gallwey, John Whitmore and Stephen Covey. In the 1990s, coaching also flourished with authors and contributors such as Anthony Robbins, Daniel Goleman, Martin Seligman, Peter Senge, David Cooperrider, Ken Wilber, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and Marshall Goldsmith to name just a few.

Today, the coaching profession is flourishing in almost every industry, constantly evolving as companies small and large continue to use its learning and development tools for everything from leadership and team development, to sales, customer service , strategic planning, effective communications, process improvement and conflict resolution. More recently, coaching has even been used to promote the health and well-being of employees in organizations, serving as a proactive way to improve workforce productivity and general well-being.

Professional coaching also continues to find its way well beyond the large corporate organizational environment, which is just one aspect of the industry. Since the mid-1990s, the refined practice of coaching has been so successful that it is now a widely accepted profession, with educational programs offered through universities and training institutes around the world.

Supported by professional associations such as the International Coach Federation (ICF), the European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC) and the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC), the coaching industry is protected by established guidelines related to best practices and ethics. As a result, more and more people from all walks of life are seeking professionally accredited coaches to help them achieve their goals and give practical expression to their dreams and visions.

One of the fastest growing segments in coaching today is in the area of ​​personal growth and development, which requires specialized programs and techniques for individuals seeking a wide range of personal goals including happiness, success, career transition and work/life balance, as well as personal health and wellness, relationships, family issues, artistic pursuits, and life purpose, to name just a few.

Whole person coaching

The Whole Person Coaching® (WPC) system is one such refined and specialized holistic approach. With interdisciplinary roots in models of adult development, emotional intelligence, neuroscience, archetypes, myths, and storytelling, as well as somatic theory, the WPC® process invites wholeness into the client’s life by integrating all that is, as well as as the most important thing, in all aspects of your life. With this combination, the individual not only learns to live from a place of personal power, but also positions himself to continue to navigate and chart the course of life that feels most congruent. In doing so, WPC® clients master trust and competition, thriving intellectually, emotionally, physically and spiritually from their own unique gifts and resources.

conclusion

The range of professionals using coaching now extends far beyond the fields of business, human resources, and communications, to include doctors, alternative health and wellness professionals, teachers, nurses, and thought leaders and experts. who seek deep processes to develop their expertise in better clothing for total life. In fact, as a result of the professionalization and popularization of coaching in recent decades, more and more people are discovering that their knowledge and life experiences are valuable not only for themselves but also for others. For these practitioners of the coaching profession, the needs, applications and benefits of coaching are limited only by the imagination. In fact, as coaching’s popularity has grown, as many specialized coaching models, methods, and styles have developed as there are specific coaching niches. There is no limit to coaching as a powerful tool for change. The future of coaching only gets brighter as do those who use it to tap into all that they are.