What is Coaching?

Coaching is solutions oriented. A coach asks powerful questions to help an individual become their own compass and move closer to their goals and aspirations.

Unlike mentors who often provide advice based on their experience, coaches focus on the future and guide individuals to discover solutions themselves. It is not necessary for a coach to be an expert in the individual's field, as the emphasis is on internal discovery. In contrast, counselors or therapists may focus on understanding past issues, and consultants provide solutions to fix problems. The "coach approach" involves curiosity, non-judgmentalism, and the use of open-ended questions like "What" and "How" instead of "Why." Observing body language and word choice, coaches encourage reflection and vision. See the adjacent figure for a depiction of how these common forms of guidance overlap and differ.

 

A comparison of Common Forms of Guidance: The image has a cross in the middle with the x-axis running from Problem (left) to Solution (right) and the y-axis running from Ask (top) to Tell (bottom). In the middle is a box that says "overlapping forms of guidance". In addition, the word Past is on the left side of the image and Future is on the right side of the image. Therapists are in the left upper quadrant meaning they tend to Ask questions and are problem and past-focused. Consultants are in the lower left quadrant indicating that they Tell and are problem and past-focused. Mentors are in the right lower quadrant indicating they Tell and are solution and future focused. Coaches are in the upper right quadrant indicating they Ask questions and are solution and future focused.

"If you don't make the time to work on creating the life you want, you're eventually going to be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don't want."

— Kevin Ngo

Topics for Coaching

Coaching can potentially help any issue, but below are issues encountered by faculty that may benefit from a coaching session or engagement.

Quality Improvement for Your Career

The MCG Coaching Process

Mine | Cultivate | Grow

Mine

The process begins with an initial consultation to dig deep and understand what issues you want to tackle. This initial phase may include completing assessments and setting goals for the engagement.

Cultivate

This is the active coaching/exploration phase where through active listening and powerful questioning from the coach you will cultivate new insights and solutions and formulate action steps.

Grow

In this phase, you will experiment by implementing action steps generated in the previous phase resulting in growth. Implement QI cycles (Plan – Do – Check – Act) to develop a plan that works for you.

Coaching Events

OFS Coaching Workshops for Departments or College

Women's Career Symposium Coaching Workshop

Family Medicine Coaching Talk

ICF World Coaching Week Celebrations

Social Media Campaign

Coaching Workshop - May 13, 2024

Taste of Coaching

Coaching Resources

What is Coaching?

What Makes Good Coaching Great

Dare to Lead

Brene Brown

Doctor Me First

Errin Weisman, DO

Empowering Women Physicians

Sunny Smith, MD

Physicians on Purpose

Dike Drummond, MD

Sustainable Clinical Medicine with The Charting Coach

Sara Smith, MD