Lost in Translation!

Recently on a training trip to Oman, I was using a Translator to help translate my English into Arabic, in both written (PPT) and spoken form.

The topic came onto COACHING, and the delegates, all professionals were confused with our discussion, and I was frustrated that they were unable to grasp such an easy concept!

This was the basis of the training, by adopting a coaching culture they would achieve so much for their people.

It transpired, that the Arabic translation for COACHING is TRAINING, and the Arabic translation for TRAINING is...you've guessed it...TRAINING!

So now I understood why there were so many confused people and were unable to tackle a coaching model.

I asked them what COACHING meant to them, after having a long discussion about its applications within business, sport and other disciplines...they started grasping its essence.

I asked for a word that represented our recent discussion, they said it seemed like COACHING was EMPOWERING a person...

I asked if there was a word that could be translated directly into Arabic that meant EMPOWERED. They're simple answer was 'Yes'.

My COACHING sessions in places that speak Arabic are now called EMPOWERMENT.

No more Lost in Translation...I think it's more like...'True Cost of Translation'!