The two types of coaching

Coaching is a widely used term.

Often when we think about coaching, we think about sports. The coach leads the team, directs practices, develops plays, makes game-day decisions, and holds players accountable for their performance.

This is one style of coaching. Outside of sports, this same style can show up in health coaching, financial coaching, and other areas where advice and accountability help clients get started and stay on track.

This is what’s known as transactional coaching. Transactional coaching is focused on actions and usually involves the coach telling the client what to do.

Here are some examples of transactional coaching:

• A health coach creates a meal plan for her client to help him lose weight.

• A financial coach provides a budgeting template to help her client save money.

• A productivity coach shares a list of apps to help her client track time and organize projects.

Big changes happen below the surface

On the other end of the spectrum, there’s transformational coaching. Transformational coaching goes beneath the surface to address the root causes of what’s getting in your way.

Transformational coaching might look like this:

• A health coach guides her client through an inquiry process to help identify any painful thoughts or limiting beliefs that are influencing his body image.

• A financial coach encourages her client to write down any negative perceptions of money he’s holding onto.

• A productivity coach asks her client to identify the bodily sensations that come up when he starts to feel behind on a project.

You can think about the differences between transactional and transformational coaching as above-the-line vs below-the-line:

Transactional coaching

Transactional (above-the-line) coaching helps you take relatively straight-forward actions to produce relatively quick (although not necessarily long-lasting) results.

Examples of above-the-line actions for someone struggling with low energy might include increasing weekly exercise, decreasing processed food intake, and performing daily prescribed acupressure.

Transformational coaching

Transformational (below-the-line) coaching helps you tune into your bodily sensations and thought patterns to identify—and ultimately remove/adjust—any limiting beliefs or misalignments that are blocking you from what you want.

Transformational coaching is not always as cut and dried as transactional coaching, and it usually asks more of you as the client, but the effects can be more profound and longer lasting.

Examples of below-the-line actions for someone struggling with low energy might include thought work to examine limiting beliefs, journaling, visualizations, or conscious breathing.

All coaching is valuable

Transactional coaching is just as valuable as transformational coaching.

In fact, sometimes above-the-line actions make below-the-line work more effective because you’re in a primed state.

The reason it’s important to understand the difference between transactional and transformational coaching is so you can find a coach who can meet you where you are.

All coaching helps us bridge the gap between where we are now and where we want to go next.

There’s a season for everything.

If your bridge at the moment looks like a budgeting template, awesome. If you’ve tried budgeting and feel there’s something bigger holding you back from achieving the abundance you want in your life, transformational coaching might be a better fit.

When deciding who to work with as a coach, try and determine (on a discovery call or through their website) how they typically approach whatever it is you’re struggling with. You can use this language of transactional vs. transformational to inquire and see if you’re a fit.

If you’re interested in transformational coaching, let’s connect.