In fact, personal coaching appeals to a wide cross section. In Hillsborough County alone, there's a coach who's also an Episcopal priest, and another who's a former Peace Corps volunteer. All of which was key to Johnston's decision to give up architecture's well-ordered world for the wild and woolly frontier of financial services. Now she trains staff for the Redlands Christian Migrant Association in Immokalee, while developing a coaching clientele. How coaching differs from the traditional responsibilities of being a spouse, a clergy member or a best friend is simple, Brammertz says.
Coaches avoid emotional attachments, and they're trained to separate themselves from outcomes.
But gently, says Moore, the one area coach who other coaches speak of in hushed, almost reverent tones. Characteristically, few coaches report having met him personally, although some have been on the same conference call. And you are perceived as being weak or needy if you take problems to the boss.