Can you be coached? Yes, No, Maybe…
The question may seem easy at first and surely someone can give an immediate answer like “anyone can be coached” or on the contrary “it’s not for me” or “I am good on my own” etc. But the truth is that this question is a bit more complex. Can a person be coached if he doesn’t want to and can he be coached if he wants to but his goal is not “realistic”?
1. Coachee must want to change.
According to coaching practices a person will get no results if he has no will to change or if his goal is set by someone else. This means, for example, that a coach cannot help a student get motivated to learn a foreign language if the goal of learning this language is set exclusively by his parents. In this case the coachee (the student) will not be open for conversation because the topic is not interesting to him.
2. The goal needs to be achievable.
Sometimes we dream of things which in reality cannot be achieved easily, either because it requires special circumstances or because naturally it is not possible. For example, in order to become an astronaut, the person needs to comply with specific health and physical requirements. So the person who dreams of exploring the outer space should at first make sure that this goal is achievable.
3. The achievement of the goal should depend only on the coachee.
It is not easy to reach a goal if its achievement depends on other factors which are out of control of the coachee. The more factors depend on the coachee, the better the results will be. Learning to overcome the nervousness of public speaking is something that depends on the coachee. But if the person wishes to get a promotion when there is no future opening for such position, then working on improvement of personal skills and knowledge may not necessarily lead to reaching of the desired goal.
