"A coach is a trained partner who helps you achieve fulfilling results in your personal and professional life. Through the process of coaching you move from where you are to where you want to be."

International Coach Federation (ICF)

Emergent Insights recognise that there are different approaches to coaching, and also several roles that coaching is not suited to. The following outline of what coaching is and isn't serves to outline Emergent Insights approaches to coaching – both by what it can be, and what it shouldn't be.

A Coach is skilled in listening and facilitating their clients to search deeper within themselves for the answers that are best suited to them – the client is always the best source for the best solution.

A coach is not a consultant, therapist or mentor - although coaching and these fields can be closely related and sometimes overlapping depending on the coach’s qualifications, experience and expertise.

• A Consultant – Assesses situations, suggests options/solutions, and sometimes executes agreed plans. (A consultant/coach can offer the best of both worlds especially in business coaching).
• A Therapist – Mainly deals with healing the past. Most therapists assist the client to see circumstances and experiences as objects so they can detach from the circumstance. Objectivising allows the client to gain insights to the lessons of the experience and to make conscious choices in how they can choose appropriate responses for both the now, and the future if similar circumstances arise again.
• A Mentor – Is someone skilled and experienced in the specific field in which the client requires support. A mentor can offer specific advice having successfully achieved a similar goal.

There are different coaching specialties depending on the primary area of focus. Specialty Coaching includes such areas as:

• Executive Coaching – often focusing on developing executive leadership that must also involve a level of personal coaching;
• Business Coaching – focuses specifically on the achievement of business goals although this often involves some level of personal and executive coaching;
• Transitional Coaching – focuses on negotiating through the uncertainty of transitions in careers and other major life changes;
• Transformational Coaching – focuses on personal development and can include physical, mental and spiritual dimensions. May also be called Ontological Coaching. This approach is an inquiry into individual 'beingness' and is the basis for a deep understanding of self and the embracing of major developmental stage changes impacting an individual’s way of thinking, values and worldview; and,
• Success Coaching – usually focuses on individual goal setting and taking appropriate actions to achieve those goals.

Emergent Insights views all but the Transformational Coaching approach to be focused on 'doing.' Transformational Coaching is focused on 'being' before 'doing,' and is the preferred approach adopted by Emergent Insights. To discuss Emergent Insights approaches to coaching and how they could be of value to you, please, contact Allen at emergence.net.au.