Who and What - personal perspective

Who and What – personal perspective

When people talk about coaching very often it is discussed about coaching on different levels: “what” – focus on specific goal/action/result, “who” – focus on mindset that would lead to certain goal/action/result. The first approach is very practical and that’s where most new coaches start (yes, I tend to slip into this mode too), the second one allows to work on a greater depth and looks at the person holistically and gets those goals more aligned with inner intentions and needs.

Today, after I did my 15km run (first time that distance) and I was resting on a bench in a sunny weather it got me thinking: I have a very specific running goal, and I have those actions aligned to that goal. So, this is the level of “what”. And I thought about “who” – why I set this goal? What am I actually pursuing? How and what do I feel? I think I got the answer, as it really led to a very emotional reaction: it helps me to get some of the stress/painful emotions out via physical exercise. I am still not a big fan of running, but it feels good when the target I set for myself is achieved, and my emotional state becomes better.

Often behind every “what” there is a deeper “who”, it really helps to understand both even though sometimes we are so busy that we don’t even ask that question to ourselves, it is much easier to keep focus on the “what” and just keep going.