The field of coaching is nascent and still evolving. The technology of coaching is exploding into organizations and into our personal lives. Therefore, there is a need to understand the nature of coaching.

• Coaching is a powerful dialogue between a coach and a coachee within a productive, result-oriented context*
  
• Coaching is all about change and transformation that a coachee aspires, which emanates from asking right questions than providing right answers*
  
• Coaching is about reinventing oneself - creating new stories, new identities and new futures*
  
• Coaching is person-centric, temporal, and set in an organizational context. It draws its resources and skills from various consulting / counseling intervention models
  
• Coaching is specific, need based, time bound and measurable.
  
• Coaching facilitates the exploration of needs, motivations, aspirations, skills and thought processes to assist the individual in making tangible behavioral changes that would enhance leadership skills and competencies together with holistic self-improvement.
  
• Coaching focuses on present challenges and future opportunities by leveraging on strengths and empowers the coachees to achieve goals.
  
• Coaching allows for continuous learning, offering support, encouragement and feedback.
  
• Coaching aims at addressing real workplace challenges and can either be treated as a short-term intervention or a long-term developmental process.
  
• Coaching concentrates on the present context of an individual's work life and personal affect and drives towards competence building in both the areas.
  
• Coaching is usually confidential, allowing people to freely discuss delicate issues; to shed defenses; to explore blind spots and shortcomings.
• Coaching is individually tailored to the person and the current issue or problem as opposed to the "one-size-fits-all" menu.

Source: *Zeus Perry and Skiffington Suzanne, The complete guide to coaching at work, McGraw Hill, Australia, 2000.