Do YOU need a coach?
The short answer here is: Yes, yes you do!
Likely though you aren't here for the short answer or more likely you are not a person who is easily convinced with a short answer. If you make up your decisions based on data then, coaching is for you as it has a staistically significant positive impact on a person across wellbeing, enhanced performance at work, facilitating goal attainment and increasing mental resilience and preparedness. If you are more the person who makes decisions basis feelings then the impact of coaching is shown to be visible to the naked eye as clearly as it would be to notice the difference between a the heights of two children. And the number or duration of a coaching engagement doesn’t affect the outcome. Which means you can gain benefit from the shortest and fewest number of coaching sessions.
A few things to clarify, when considering coaching or any type of personal development it’s important to pretend to be a ‘glass half full’ type of person. Additionally, it helps if you ignore that voice(s) in your head which keep you from exploring your curiosity.
Let’s start from the beginning. Coaching has been considered since the time of Socrates but contemporary coaching ( aka personal and professional) has evolved from professional associations like the one created by Thomas Leonard in 1992, National Association of Professional Coaches. This eventually led to the formation of International Coaching Federation in 1995 (Originally named International Coach Federation, the current name was changed in 2020)
What is coaching?
It depends on who you ask and what your life experience has been. The word coach evokes sports as the space where coaching can be best defined. There are those who often define it as an expert in an arena who can help you tap into your potential.
Functionally, Coaching is a collaborative, goal directed engagement which leads an individual to their desired outcome with the aid of a coach. This allows coaching to exist in fields beyond sports like life ( personal) and work ( professional)
Coaching is about facilitating insights not solutions. The engagement doesn’t result in a ‘fix’ rather it creates space for reflection, regulation, clarity and action. Though for true impact you need a coach.
Who is a Coach?
Origins of the word can be traced to Hungary where it was spelt Koc. The first use of the word “coach” seems to be in an academic setting at the University of Oxford in the 1830s (Online Etymology Dictionary, 2020; Nieuwerburgh, et al., 2018). In this case, the “coach” was used to refer to a tutor who supported students with their academic work. It was initially used informally, suggesting that a tutor would take a student from point A to point B-much like a coach (or carriage), which would similarly take individuals from point A to point B (Online EtymologyDictionary, 2020; Nieuwerburgh, et al., 2018).
In simplest terms, a coach provides insights by way of inquiry to help an individual arrive at their destination without stigma, judgement or manipulation. A coach doesn't need to be an expert in your specific field or have the same experiences as the individual they are coaching as they are not providing answers but helping lead to identifying answers or resources which can lead them to their desired results.
AI vs Human coach
In 2026, AI can function as a coach for individuals who appreciate the low to no pressure environment of interaction. Let me know in the comments if you need suggestions or steps to create your own coach.
Type of Coach AI Human
Environment Low to no pressure interaction Deep empathy and vulnerability
Accessibility On-demand, 24/7 availability Scheduled, dedicated sessions
Focus Data-driven, objective feedback Nuanced accountability & reflection
Those who prefer human coaches, can find one with a simple online search for a human coach or by booking a session with Lofty Sights. There are also platforms which will get you matched with a coach specializing in your specific need like BetterUp, Leland to name a few. You can also find ICF accredited coaches like yours truly and others.
I truly believe any coaching is better than no coaching. This is not a battle about AI vs human delivering the coaching, it's about recognizing you need a coach and then experimenting to see which makes most sense for you or offers you greater safety to be open and vulnerable to get to your answers.
Now, pivoting to the question that brought you here. I promise we are getting there after addressing the following question,
Does coaching work?
Coaching is described as the process of facilitating self-determined and self-directed problem solving or change within the context of a helping conversation (Eliadis, 2023).
There has been a lot of research on the topic showing a significant impact, find papers linked in the citing section below. Sharing also the impressive findings from the BetterUp Labs.
It’s important to recognize that most of the reported impact is self reported. This is an important consideration.
So, unless the horse wants to drink, providing a pond is unlikely to quench their thirst.
Intent and ownership are the key catalysts to make coaching work for you. Depending on where you are, an AI coach or human coach or a combination of the two might work best for you. The good news is that you decide if coaching works for YOU!
The insights you arrive at with the partnership of a coach are only possible if you are willing to give that session a genuine chance. To clarify this point, let me share that if you want good sleep but choose to scroll on your device and social media of choice close to your bed time then it may be worth asking yourself if you indeed want good sleep or you prefer saying you want good sleep while doing nothing to promote good sleep.
And now let’s see if we have an answer to the question
Do YOU need a coach?
And now let’s see if we have an answer to the question if YOU need a coach?
The Action Gap: You need a coach if you notice a strong gap between knowing and doing.
The Blind Spots: You need a coach if you need a spotter to help you with the blind spots.
The Accountability: You need a coach if you need an accountability-buddy.
And yet people who do need a coach lack either the awareness or the self worth to wonder if they need a coach. I had my legs in both those camps. And frankly, most people around me also were in one or the other situation. I believe you are more self aware than I was and which is why you found yourself here. As I said earlier, I applaud your curiosity.
If you are still wondering and you want another way to find the answer to ‘Do YOU need a coach?’ Click on the button below which will take you a diagnostic tool and hopefully, that takes you to getting the support you deserve.
Citing from Resources:
1. Eliadis, A. (2023). Coaching history: The evolution of a profession. Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict, 27(S1), 1–18. https://www.abacademies.org/articles/coaching-history-the-evolution-of-a-profession-15771.html
2. Jones, R. J., Woods, S.A., & Guillaume, Y. R. F. (2016). The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta‐analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2), 249–277. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12119
3. BetterUp Labs internal case studies
