The Martha Beck approach to coaching is different to many others in that it doesn't move straight into setting and achieving goals. The reason is that most of us would then be setting goals out of a space of externally imposed 'oughts' or 'shoulds'. These externally imposed ideas are what imprison and make it difficult to discover what it really is that I want to do with my life.

Martha's philosophy of coaching is that we all have something we were born to do and that we have an inner compass that can help us to discover what it is that will make us deeply fulfilled.

Coaching is a process of locating that inner compass which will point us in the direction of what it is that will make us truly happy. When we discover what that is we may need support to begin to make the changes which will move us from where we are to where we want to be.

Martha Beck's method is also based on the change cycle. At several times in our lives each of us will go through periods of significant change. It may happen when we hit a crisis in our life like being retrenched or going through a divorce; it may happen at a moment of opportunity when we are catapulted into a new identity or new responsibilities, such as getting a promotion or falling pregnant, or it may happen when we have simply outgrown our old life. Crisis, opportunity or growth, provide the impetus for a big change.

However necessary or positive the change process is, it is also usually scary and difficult. Coaching can help you to navigate the change cycle by providing help and tools for each of the phases of change so that you come out on the other side enriched and more fully the person you were created to be.