Did you know that the term “coach” was first used in connection with the act of education around 1830, in the slang of the academic environment at Oxford University? He was referring to a teacher who “carried” his student to the exam. It was not until 1861 that the first use of the term in sports language was registered. It is a metaphor because, in English as in other European languages, “coach” means, first of all, “carriage.”

Originally, “coach” has a much more concrete meaning. In the 15th century, the village of Kocs in northwestern Hungary was known that its inhabitants were engaged in the construction of wagons to transport goods between Vienna and Budapest. One of these craftsmen makes a bigger and more comfortable carriage than anything that existed until then. Soon, the whole of Europe adopted the new means of transporting goods, under the name of Kocsi, with its variants in European languages, through which “coach” in English.

The transition to metaphor is easy to guess: a coach is a person who “carries” the one who asked for help until he achieves his goals.
It is believed that the first mention of the term coach in its modern sense belongs to the American Timothy Gallwey, who uses it in his book, “The Inner Game of Tennis,” published in 1974.
But the first theorist of the concept of coaching is considered the Englishman John Whitmore, who published, in 1992, the main coaching manual, “Coaching for Performance.”

Coaching: a fashion or a useful tool for personal and professional development?

Today, the term is used extensively in a wide variety of fields. In general, each field of activity has professionals specialized in this direction. We could say that coaching is not for the mediocre or for self-sufficient individuals. On the contrary, the option of working with a coach comes as a natural consequence of the desire to excel in the chosen profession. Significantly, it has proven to be more effective to manage a career advancement with a coach.
Of course, coaching has become a fashion in lawyers’ lives as well.
What does a (good) coach do?
In short, it gives you personal revelations.
A good coach knows how to use his communication skills effectively, with
to determine you to approach new perspectives on the issues that concern you. It is the one that challenges you to get to know yourself better, to discover your personal potential, and to act according to new paradigms, in line with what you really are. A valuable coach is not a teacher who will teach you, word for word, how you can achieve your goals, but a companion who will guide you to discover for yourself how you can get there.

Is there a need for coaching in law?

I am convinced of this. Clients who have used our services/
coaching sessions confirm it; the feedback we receive from our colleagues and readers encourages us to continue on this path.
How can a coach help you achieve the goals you have set for a successful career in law? Here are some directions:
1. It helps you clearly formulate the issues you want to work on and set your short-term and long-term goals. No self-respecting coach will do that for you.
2. It helps you discover your own path. The coach will not teach you;  will not give you ready advice, will not make decisions for you. A good coach communicates efficiently and harmoniously with you, asking you essential questions that will lead you to new personal discoveries.
3. It incites you to action. It will not tell you, specifically, what to do, but will help you develop your own steps in your personal action plan.
4. It supports you throughout the stages in which you will operate the changes you wanted. The coach is there for you, both at the moment of success and at the moment of defeat.
When do you need coaching?
For me, coaching helped my clients in times of crisis in managing my personal and professional goals.