Then a fellow broker referred her to a career coach-a sort of sounding board, confidant, time manager and business mentor, all rolled into one. Sullivan pulled out of her slump and went on to have an extremely successful rookie year. Today, she runs the office where she started out. Paula Giobacchini of Phoenix had her own problems. Today, she runs her own consulting company, and credits her coach with helping her make the transition.
Coaches are hot.
Rather than try to sort out deeply rooted emotional or behavioral problems, coaches deal with clients as they come to them, capitalizing on strengths and minimizing weaknesses. Coaches insist that if clients have severe enough problems, they will refer them to specialists for help. A new playbook Coaching seems to be on the rise precisely because it's not psychotherapy, and therapists are taking notice. Fed up with managed care squeezing their practices, some therapists have even opted to leave the field altogether in favor of the flexibility coaching offers them. Coaches say working with clients over the phone makes more efficient use of everyone's time and allows them to focus more closely on clients' needs.