Introduction to Self-Coaching: Benefits and Challenges

Personal Practice as a First Step

Having acquired the basic notions to develop professionally in the world of coaching, you are in a position to begin working with your first clients.

However, before applying the techniques with others, it is always strongly recommended to apply them first with yourself.

This process is known as self-coaching, and consists of simultaneously exercising the roles of coach and coachee on yourself.

This initial practice with yourself is extremely useful for several fundamental reasons.

Benefits of Self-Coaching

Undertaking a self-coaching process offers multiple advantages, both on a personal and professional level:

• Familiarization with the Techniques: it allows you to become intimately familiar with the tools and methodologies of coaching from the user's perspective. Experiencing their application firsthand will give you a deeper understanding of how they work and their possible effects.
• Development of Empathy: By experiencing the process from the role of the coachee, you will have a greater ability to put yourself in the shoes of your future clients when the time comes to work with them. You will better understand their possible resistances, doubts or discoveries.
• Positive Personal Impact: Beyond the professional practice, self-coaching will have a very positive impact on your own life, helping you to clarify your goals, overcome your own blocks and generate desired changes.
• Acquisition of Experience: It works as a practical exercise that allows you to acquire experience in handling the tools of work as a coach before facing the responsibility of guiding others. It is a safe training ground.

The Challenges Inherent in Self-Coaching

Despite its benefits, it is important to recognize that self-coaching is not as straightforward as it might seem at first glance. It presents specific challenges arising from the merging of roles:

• Dual Skills Required: You need not only to handle the tools of a coach (questions, planning, etc.), but also to possess enough mental flexibility to dialogue with yourself objectively , self-observe yourself and your behavior without bias, and maintain the discipline of the process.
• Autonomous Change Management: Perhaps most difficult is managing your own change process without the external guidance, objective feedback and support of an independent coach. It requires a high degree of self-awareness, honesty and self-discipline.

A Rewarding Effort

Although a self-coaching process tends not to be an easy task and requires a conscious effort to overcome its inherent challenges, it is something that will pay off, but in spades.

The combined benefits of personal improvement and professional development, along with th