Signs are important. Signs help us find things. Signs help us find our way. I love signs. Many a sign has saved me miles of aggravation at just the right time.

Since launching lookdeepercoaching.com, the question I am asked more frequently than any other is, “What kind of coaching do you do?” I thought that was a question worth exploring here on the blog. This is the first in a series of posts that will attempt to answer the question, “What is coaching?” from my perspective. Signs, if you will. Or a map.

I happen to love maps. In fact, I own a map that is one of my most treasured possessions. It is a map that my grandfather sent/brought home from World War II and for as long as I can remember hung in the guest bedroom of my grandmother’s house. It traces what’s known as the Blue Ridge Path and shows the movement of my grandfather’s division through Europe. I’ve kept it hanging in my office for many years and a few years ago, a co-worker of mine reframed it for me. Currently, it hangs in our master bedroom. Isn’t is cool looking?

(You can find out more on The Blue Ridge Path here: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/homefront-maps.html)

One of the reasons I love maps is that they paint a picture. They show you where you want to go and they show you how you can get there. This appeals to my visual brain very much. And yes, I drive with the POV view on my GPS app. It’s important to know where you are going. It’s important to have a clear vision.

Driving down the street recently, I saw this on the sign outside an office building, “Vision without execution is just hallucination.”

It’s an interesting thought. One that even sounds and feels true. But I wonder… The more I marinate on this, the less confident I am in it’s veracity.

I certainly appreciate the sentiment that if you aren’t taking action, then you aren’t moving toward a vision. We definitely live in the age of motion. We wear our busy lives like a badge of honor or a cloak of identity. Be honest. Don’t you think that people who aren’t as busy as you have something wrong with them? (For a great read on this, check out Michael Hyatt’s take here:You don’t have to work 247 )

What if, though, execution is a result of vision, not a means to an end? Execution could be seen as an outcome in that paradigm. Isn’t execution without vision merely activity?

Perhaps I am splitting hairs.

There is something of the proverbial chicken and egg conundrum here, isn’t there? Which comes first, the vision or the execution? Crafting a clear and compelling vision requires work. Executing on that vision, once crafted, also requires work.

I think I’m getting lost in my own circular reasoning here. This is the point at which having a coach could prove to be helpful. My coach would help me sort through the conflicting ideas by asking me powerful questions and reflecting my own words back to me so I really hear what I sound like. A skilled coach would help me stretch my thinking and push me past the point of being stuck and help me to #lookdeeper. My coach would make it possible for me to move forward.

So that’s lesson 1 in What is Coaching? Coaching is an outside perspective on an internal landscape. The best coaches know they are merely guests and will simply point out what they see. It’s your landscape after all. It’s up to you what you do with it.

Intrigued? Interested? Contact me here: Contact or drop a line to info@lookdeepercoaching.com