I’ve seen quite a few posts recently about a side of coaching I really don’t like. And I know I’m not alone, within the coaching community and outside of it.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that one exists; my former professional life was in HR, a profession that can also get quite a lot of stick and a bad reputation - policy police, Human Remains, “sssh, HR (not your name!) are here so be careful what you say” ... that kind of thing. But at least in my 16 odd years’ experience, any of that was minimal, generally light-hearted and I was fortunate to work the majority of my HR career somewhere where HR was genuinely valued, recognised and appreciated, which sadly isn’t the case for many in HR.
what is the dark side of the coaching world?
So what am I talking about with coaching?
- Pressure tactics
- Pushy sales techniques
- Disingenuous connection requests
- Big assumptions
- Outrageous promises
And it’s other coaches that are experiencing this too. Personally, I experience no end of people telling me I can reach £xxx income in xx timeframe if I invest £xx thousand in myself and my business. They may not be entirely wrong, but when that message is delivered via or with any of the above points, I’m sorry but that’s a big fat ‘no’ from me.
The coaching industry is unregulated, for now, and that’s a whole other topic. There are sharks out there for sure! But there are some really brilliant ones out there and I can say that confidently because I know a few!
One specialises in coaching outdoors for wellbeing, one has moved more towards the mentoring and consultancy arena in mental health and his straight talking is just a great match for what he does and how he does it, and another is a genuine, authentic and talented coach who shares some brilliant nuggets of wisdom. They all come from the very best place in coaching in my opinion, the one in which we genuinely care about who we work with, how we work with them and who we are too. Basically, as one of the above would say, ‘don’t be a di**’.
So if you’ve experienced the dark side of coaching, please be reassured that there are some shining lights still – those with whom coaching can really be a positive, uplifting and worthwhile experience. If you are curious to know if I may be the right coach for you (I’ve not converted to the dark side, promise!) then please get in touch: kathryn@kbmindfulcoaching.com
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