Coaching has been described as crucial to human capacity development, because it is exceptional in its employment of real-world issues for an individual an organisation.
The Chairman, Steering committee, Life Coaches Association of Nigeria, Mr. Fifehanmi Bankole, said this during the inauguration of the association in Lagos.
He said though training was equally important, life coaching could go deeper to address biases, and other worldviews which were detrimental to organisational goals, and vision, which affect staff performance and ultimately the bottom line.
While he described the profession as highly sophisticated and specialised, he added that it drew inspiration from disciplines such as sociology, psychology, positive adult development and career counseling.
He said, “Life coaching is not consulting, mentoring, therapy, training, teaching or counselling. It is a professional practice globally recognised as a powerful tool for helping individuals and orgnisations, including Fortune 500 corporations, to set smart goals, clarify purpose, optimise performance, identify and overcome barriers while achieving set goals in record time, thus improving productivity at a significant rate.”
While he explained that contemporary life coaching could be traced to the to the teachings of Benjamin Karter, a college football coach turned motivational speaker, Bankole said the practice of the profession in the country has witnessed increased participation in the last five years with practitioners employing their skills to help individuals and organisations.
He added, “Certified life coaches believe that the emergence of the coaching profession is a welcome development in a nation like Nigeria with many social issues that can be adequately resolved through professional coaching. We are also very concerned about many other enthusiasts who are parading themselves as coaches with neither the training nor the certification of a professional life coach.”
On her own part, member of the steering committee, Mrs. Laila St.Mathew, said coaching helps realign members’ of staff belief and values with that of corporate goals. She said, “Training addresses the capacity building, coaching addresses the issues in the minds of the people in an organisation. It addresses their belief system and values. It realigns all these with corporate goals.
“If these people are not on alignment with the corporate brand, returns on investment cannot be achieved.”
She said life coaching makes a worker in an organisation what he or she is supposed to be.
Bankole said that the association would conduct its affairs in a disciplined and respectable manner that is characteristic of trained coaches all over the world.
He stated, “We will ensure the professional development of our members among other benefits of membership and quality assurance through strict adherence to ethics and global practices.
We are always available to discuss, take suggestions and answer questions from current and prospective coaches, as well as from the public.”