The roots of professional coaching can be traced back to the Inner Game Books of the mid-1970's. In these books, W. Timothy Gallwey suggested a paradigm shift in sports coaching. He had noticed that players self-corrected when he coached with open questions, instead of catching errors and offering suggestions. In fact, when a player listened to a suggestion and tried, performance diminished. When a player relaxed and held a picture and feeling of the end result, and allowed the body to create that result, the player improved. The system had corrected, without knowing it had ever been in error, unselfconsciously.

The underlying message in the Inner Game of Golf, The Inner Game of Tennis, and Inner Skiing is the same, "...neither mastery nor satisfaction can be found in the playing of any game without some attention to the relatively neglected skills of the inner game. This is the game that takes place in the mind of the player, and it is played against such obstacles as lapses in concentration, nervousness, self-doubt and self-condemnation. In short, it is played to overcome all habits of mind which inhibit excellence in performance."
(The Inner Game of Tennis, Introduction)

As the Inner Game books topped best seller lists and Gallwey's reputation grew, he found himself speaking more often to business leaders in the U.S. and Europe than to sports audiences. As the principles of the Inner Game were applied to professional development, the value of individual coaching became apparent. Sports coaches took the Inner Game skills into the business environment. Coaching for Performance, by John Whitmore, was one of the first books devoted to the practice of professional coaching.

Whitmore describes the essence of coaching in this way, "Coaching is unlocking a person's potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them." (p.5)

Whitmore uses the metaphor of an acorn…"which contains within it all the potential to be a magnificent oak tree. We need nourishment, encouragement and the light to reach towards, but the oaktreeness is already within." (p.6). Coaching, then, is about discovering and actualising a person's potential.

If you are just curious about what might be possible for you, then call me on 0845 108 1238 or e-mail tranquille@o2.co.uk to arrange a complimentary no-obligation coaching session. Lets find out how a coaching structure might support you in achieving your goals.

Life Coaching