Many articles about coaching come to us and we found two recent papers from the Association for Italian Health Coaches in Italy very interesting.
They are doing deep, thoughtful work which is we have found fascinating. Here are some interesting takeaways that we thought worthy of sharing.
Did Health Coaching Come from Executive Coaching?
The first question is whether health coaching is similar to executive coaching. At first glance, they seem alike because both aim to achieve goals. But to see the differences, we need to look back. Coaching began in sports. Tim Galway, a tennis player, wrote about improving performance through inner dialogue in his book “The Inner Game of Tennis.” Sir John Whitmore, a race car driver, created the GROW model, focusing on performance improvement. Locke and Latham’s research on goalsetting connected coaching techniques more firmly to the corporate world, emphasising performance. Thus, coaching traditionally focused on achieving sports, corporate, and social performance.
Performance vs. Wellbeing
However, executive coaching may not meet individuals’ needs for wellbeing because performance and wellbeing don’t always align. A sense of purpose can come from different areas of life, not just work. Success without personal wellbeing can cause conflict and lack of true peace. This understanding led to a new version of the executive coaching model. Seligman’s work in positive psychology highlighted the importance of focusing on strengths and individual needs.
Personal Development – The Main Goal
This leads us to consider Health and Wellness Coaching as a humanistic approach to personal development. The goal is to help clients grow healthily, avoiding a solely performance-based approach. Erich Fromm’s work from as early as 1947 aligns with health and wellness coaching. A report from the Association of Italian Health Coaches expands on his ideas, suggesting that health coaching focuses on the person’s wellbeing, balancing social success with personal happiness. Health coaching empowers individuals to develop their potential and aim for personal happiness.
Uncovering Personal Values
Another paper from 2023 from the same group goes into more detail about the challenges health coaches face. It emphasizes that health coaches need to understand their own values and be self-aware to work effectively with clients.
Balancing clients’ drive for self-realization with their need to relate to others is crucial. Coaches must ensure clients’ goals align with their true values, not just external influences. Coaches may need to challenge clients’ beliefs to help them find a clear sense of purpose.
Although this might seem complex, the message is simple. Values are key to motivation and must be understood for individuals to make choices that enhance their potential and wellbeing.
We can learn a lot from what other international groups strive to clarify.
REFERENCES
Fromm, E. (1947) “A man for himself”, Rinehart
Patania, S. (2022) “Erich Fromm and the Health Coaching Identity”. AIHC Meeting
Lab – Turin – October 2022
Patania, S. (2023) “Ethics and Practice in the Human Tech approach – The
methodological evolution of Health Coaching”. AIHC Meeting Lab – Florence – 2023.
