The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.

a)    Challenge to expand the thinking process and make bold new decisions.
Someone daring you to go further than you ever have before is also an extremely powerful way to break old habits and forge new boundaries.

b)    Direction in times of confusion, opinion and if necessary, advice.
Once again, the power of a fresh set of eyes to interpret a new perspective on a situation is often invaluable during the coaching process.

c)    Brainstorming to flesh out new ideas.

d)    Acknowledgement and validation
This cannot be stressed enough. The coach who only focuses with the client on what is missing and what needs to be done, deserves to lose the client. 

Here are some interesting statistics from a past ICF client survey:

* Role of the Coach:  84% believed that the major role of the coach was as a sounding board, whilst 78% focused on motivational aspects. 56% viewed their coach as a friend, 50% as a mentor.  46% viewed their coach as a business consultant, with 41% as a teacher.