Coaching is a little different than mentoring. In a mentoring relationship there is the desire of the one being mentored to find or discover their correct stride for life's journey. Once an individual discovers their correct stride, a coach can be useful when there is a need for improvement or more productivity to one's individual life-stride.

LifeStride Pathways believes coaching is the art and practice of guiding a person or a group from where they currently are toward the greater competence and fulfillment that they desire (improving one's stride). Coaching is not about giving people advice - clients are aware that improvement is needed; it's about support in the process of gaining desired results. A coach helps clients expand their vision, build confidence, unlock God-given potential, increase skills, and incorporate steps that will facilitate their goals, by looking at the past, clarifying the present, and focusing on the future.

• A collaborative partnership between the coach and person being coached.
• It involves dialogue rather than advice giving, discipline, or therapy.
• It is built on trust, integrity, self-discipline, and accountability.
• It is results-oriented, focused on reaching goals.
• It involves discussing weaknesses and obstacles but emphasizes strengths and positive changes.

• It assumes that people are resourceful and able to set goals and reach them.
• It lets the person being coached define and move toward their goals with God's help and the coach's guidance.
• It helps people reach their peak performance (stride).
• It assumes that life is integrated: We can't assume that someone's work, family life, personal history, spirituality, or lifestyle can be put into neat but separate compartments.
• It embraces change as something that is always occurring, sometimes confusing, often positive, and usually growth producing.