Abstract

The practice of coaching, as one of the methods of developing human potential, is characterized with a great deal of variety or even arbitrariness. This is why every precise definition of coaching is always incomplete, because it does not (and even should not) take into consideration all the facets of the coaching practice, as well as highly specialized, because it describes in detail only one aspect (or some aspects) of the coaching practice and distinguishes it (them) from others. However, the incompleteness and specialization of any precise definition of coaching is not a flaw, but a virtue. It enables to see coaching not from a descriptive viewpoint, which tries to describe common features of all the approaches to coaching, including the ones that are based on mistaken premises, but from a normative viewpoint, which proposes theoretically sound, verified in practice and therefore popularize-worthy approaches to coaching. One of these approaches is an evidence-based approach, which is a basis for the dynamic development of all professions that involve helping other people, including psychologists, psychotherapists and coaches. The article describes interpersonal skills coaching as an example of the evidence-based approach to the coaching practice.

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