I keep a notebook where I jot down ideas for future blog posts. Sometimes I refer to it for inspiration for that weeks post, while other times it can go weeks before I glance at it again. Glancing at it recently I noticed I had written: “Why is a coach like Santa?”

Apart from sounding like it potentially could be the first line of a joke you could find in a Christmas cracker I had neglected to make any further notes about my original train of thought when I made that note! Re-reading it now I suspect that I was thinking about presents and gifts rather than flying sleighs and climbing down chimneys. (Though I did write recently about the magical aspects of coaching)

The word present itself is an ambiguity, in the fact that it can have two meanings. It will obviously depend upon each individual coach, the way they work and each client but coaching can often have connections to both meanings of the word.

It’s not at all unknown for a coaching session to bring a client back to being in the present moment – not focusing upon the past or having thousands of thoughts about what to do in the future. (For clarity, I perhaps should mention that there will also be times when a coaching session may refer to a past event or achievement. Just as a coach may bring focus on the future e.g. establishing a goal to work towards.)

Coaching can also bring added benefits, or presents, that a client was not expecting. Perhaps they were motivated to work for you to move their business forward and also find that they are more energised and less stressed in the process. Perhaps they approached you to increase their confidence and also find that they have also got more business.

Coaching can also be about an individual’s gifts. Often these are attributes and talents that have gone un-noticed by the individual themselves. Normally they are things that the person finds easy and the value that others, who do not find them as easy/enjoyable, goes unrecognised.

While I suppose there are coaches who do enjoy a glass of milk and a cookie – I think that is one of those optional similarities with Santa.

If you can think of any other reasons why a coach is like Santa feel free to share and I wish you a very happy Christmas.