What is wellbeing coaching?
There are many different forms of coaching available, either through work or in our personal lives. This incudes executive, business, life, career and group coaching. You may be familiar with some if not all of these, and you may have experienced them personally.
Wellbeing coaching is also one of the options available to individuals. This form of coaching is based on the work by Martin Seligman who identified the PERMA model as a way to support our wellbeing. Each element of the PERMA model (Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment) are measurable and can be improved. This provides an easy to understand framework for people to take new perspectives on what they’re going through.
Background doesn’t matter in wellbeing coaching, with people completing it who are between 20 and 25 (and just starting out in their careers) to those between 55 and 59 and even those who are about to retire. This method provides valuable insights for everyone, regardless of their background or current situation. It also doesn’t matter what people are going through, whether struggling with particular challenges or feeling as those their wellbeing is in a good place.
Why introduce wellbeing coaching?
After over a year of coping with COVID-19 and having to deal with lockdowns that impact daily life, people have been left feeling disconnected from both work and their personal lives, feeling disconnected from their friends, family and colleagues, and experiencing a range of other stressors including childcare, bereavement and job insecurity.
Wellbeing coaching moves people from a reactive to proactive approach – providing tools, skills, knowledge and resources that can be turned into actionable steps and meaningful goals. The focus is on human flourishing and thriving, moving past just ill-health or poor performance.
Through wellbeing coaching, learners are empowered to take actions that will improve their own wellbeing in a way that is relevant and unique to them. Some of the biggest learnings individuals have taken include thinking about questions we can pose to ourselves to better view our priorities, understanding how to better play to our strengths for energy, reflecting on our motivations and values to help us progress goals and differentiating what you can and can’t influence.