What Coaching Is — and What It’s Often Mistaken For

Coaching is one of those words that gets used loosely - and that’s exactly why many people misunderstand it.

At its core, coaching is not about giving you answers. It’s about helping you access better ones...the ones that already fit your context, values, and reality.

Coaching is :

• A structured thinking space where you slow down enough to see clearly

• A partnership, not a hierarchy - you’re not being fixed (and truthfully you don't need to be) or advised

• A way to surface patterns, assumptions, and blind spots that quietly drive your decisions

• A discipline that strengthens self-awareness, judgment, and ownership - especially in complex situations

Coaching is not :

• Therapy (it doesn’t diagnose or treat mental health conditions)

• Consulting (no playbooks, prescriptions, or 'best practices' imposed on you)

• Mentoring (it doesn’t rely on the coach’s career experience as the main asset, though it might help)

• Motivation or cheerleading (clarity often comes before confidence, not after)

Good coaching can feel deceptively simple. But simple does not mean easy.

The work happens in how you think - not in how much information you receive - and because it targets your core and mindset, its potential is transformative.

So Why Do Individuals and Organizations Invest in Coaching?

Because clarity compounds.
When people think better, they decide better. And when decisions improve, results follow.

What the evidence consistently shows (ROI of coaching):

• Improved performance & goal attainment
  Studies show coaching significantly increases goal clarity, follow-through, and achievement — especially for senior leaders managing ambiguity.
  

• Stronger leadership effectiveness
  Leaders who receive coaching demonstrate measurable gains in emotional intelligence, decision quality, and stakeholder trust.
  

• Higher engagement & retention
  Coached employees report greater ownership and job satisfaction — reducing costly attrition, particularly in high-pressure roles.
  

• Better change outcomes
  Coaching supports leaders through transitions (new roles, restructures, growth, exits), increasing adaptability and reducing resistance.
  

• Return multiples that justify the investment
  Multiple large-scale studies report positive ROI, often cited in the range of 5–7x the initial coaching cost, when factoring productivity, retention, and leadership impact.
  

What’s important:
The ROI doesn’t come from just 'feeling good'.
It comes from thinking clearly under pressure - when stakes are high and answers aren’t obvious.

It is a practice that keeps giving, building muscles that enables smoother decision-making and thinking on your feet in a way that is values-aligned.

The Bottom Line

Coaching isn’t for people who lack capability.
It’s for people whose thinking load has outgrown the space they have to think.

If you’re navigating complexity, change, or decisions that don’t have clean answers — coaching isn’t a luxury.

It’s a leverage point.