“Without a specific goal, there can be endless drifting, a floating on the winds of this good idea and then that one…” (Whitworth, 2007, p.95)
For many clients, the mere act of identifying and clearly articulating goals is an important result in and of itself. It’s not often that we are asked to pin down exactly what it is that we want to achieve. It’s not uncommon to have much more clarity about what we don’t want, than what we do. There’s a simple reason for this, which is that most of us put far more energy into avoiding the things we don’t want than into causing the things we do.
The problem is that we don’t always consciously realize how much energy we have invested in avoiding certain outcomes — and how little energy we have invested in creating a future that we really desire. As Sir John Whitmore eloquently stated, “We tend to get what we focus on. If we fear failure, we are focused on failure and that is what we get”(2009, p.63).
Coaching presents an opportunity to shift your focus onto what you really, really want — and to invest energy into the creation of whatever that is. The coaching relationship is designed for exactly this purpose — to flesh out your goals and give life to your vision for the future, so that you can align your thinking and action with what you really want to achieve.
Two Types of Goals in Coaching
There are two types of goals that each play a central role in the coaching process — Session Goals, and Coaching Goals. Understanding the difference, and spending some time reflecting on both types of goals, can help you get the most out of your coaching.
Download this reference sheet to help you explore and articulate your Session and Coaching goals.
