1. When should I choose to work with a coach?

You can work with a coach for many reasons: when there is an important challenge, a professional promotion, start-up of a business, when you want to achieve higher and higher performance or when you feel locked in, when you cannot see a clear goal. What is important is always the assumption  of responsibility and awareness of the whole process.

2. What happens when you work with a coach?
Many things. First and foremost, a decision has been made to invest solely and exclusively in yourself. You are therefore motivated and determined. Coaching makes it possible to take yourself more seriously, repositioning yourself at the centre of your life. With a coach, there is more focus on action, obstacles (especially internal ones) are removed, and better goals are defined.

3. Can you talk about anything with a coach?
This is the very premise of coaching. The coaching relationship is a “protected area” where the coachee must feel completely at ease, safe in knowing that he will not ever be judged. Confidentiality is absolute. The coach may tell the coachee that the course is to be interrupted in the event that the coachee's goals are in conflict with his values.

4. How can you choose a coach?
The coaching relationship is a question of immediate harmony. We always advise people to seek out and select coaches that best meet their needs, and to interview them. Many coaches propose a free exploratory session.

5. Does coaching create dependency?
No. Effective coaching allows the coachee to grow and make a  real transformation, that will enable him to handle future situations independently. In some situations, consecutive coaching paths may be organised according to the coachee's skills and goals.

6. What can be expected of a coach?
You need to be aware that the coach is not a problem-solving consultant. He is an ally who stimulates, challenges and helps to open new horizons. He does not give judgements but offers honest and constructive feedback, participating in finding the right tools to reach excellence.

7. How long does a coaching path last?
The path varies according to the type of coaching and the objectives. Work on self-esteem, for example, will almost certainly demand more time compared to a well-defined goal. Generalising, we could say a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 9.

8. Can coaching be suspended?
Yes. Coaches usually put a stop to coaching (and sometimes ask for it to be stopped) if coaching is not giving adequate results.

9. Can I hire a coach for a specific, short-term project?
Certainly. Some clients hire a coach to be helped to reach specific goals or for specific projects. Generally, however, the client continues to work with the coach afterwards because even more interesting objectives to be reached are discovered.

10. Where does the coach usually focus with the client?
The coach focuses where the client has most need. In general, coaches tend to cover the following areas:

• strengthen the client’s personal foundations;
• express their own potential;
• help the client to overcome their own limiting beliefs and barriers;
• help the client to define goals based on personal values. 

Including these  areas with what the client wants, the coach helps the client to have fewer problems and to focus on what will bring success.

11. Can in-company coaching be done with people who don't want it?
No. The effectiveness of coaching lies in the assumption of awareness and responsibility. If coaching is imposed, then it does not work. In our experience, however, this happens rarely. If the tool of coaching is used genuinely as an investment in the growth of human resources, once the potential has been perceived and the fact that it represents an opportunity for development, coaching is always well-welcomed.

12. How can you understand if coaching is the right way to solve your problems?
Coaches work with people who are psychologically balanced and able to set out on a road of growth. If during coaching stalemate situations arise that demand another type of work then it will be the coach, with honest feedback, to recommend another method, such as therapy, counselling etc.

13. What should I do to become a coach?
We are profoundly convinced that there is a difference between acting as a coach and being a coach. You therefore need to look inside yourself and understand if some essential pre-requisites are part of your bring: always believe in the potential of people, be prepared to serve, and have a lightweight ego. If you feel that these characteristics are natural, then coaching abilities and competencies can be acquired through specific paths. We recommend choosing the schools that propose full programmes, checking that there is a correspondence between what they teach and what they do: interview them and choose who is most convincing.