What
should you look for when choosing a life coach?
At present there is no governing body managing coaches. This does not
mean that you should not go ahead and find a coach but you should be
mindful of the skills, background, experience and qualifications that
your coach comes with. Here is a list of frequently asked questions,
terminology and facts that will help you navigate your way through the
available choice.
What is coaching?
In a nutshell coaching is a question and answer session. The
difference is, the answers are not for the coaches information but the
coachees. Coaching is all about you, the coachee, finding your own way
to solve your own problems and to enter your future happy and
self-assured. The coach asks you questions in a way that you maybe
have not, this opens up a new way of thinking a different perspective
which allows you to see your own reality with new eyes. Often this new
perspective can offer a ‘light-bulb’ moment, a flash of understanding,
learning, growth and/or change. This transformation of thinking will
mean you never see the situation in the same way again and a ‘shift’
has taken place which resonates in many areas of your life.
“If the coach and the coachee are travelling companions, then the
coach’s questions and listening are the quality of light by which they
travel” (The coaching manual, Julie Starr p147)
55 things a coach could
do for you
1. use highly developed communication, relationship and intuition
skills to help you set and achieve BIG goals
2. partner with you to convert your vision and your ideas into reality
3. evoke Excellence
4. challenge you to stretch beyond what you think is possible,
"widening your gap" between where you are and where you can be
5. partner with you to build a bridge to your (new)(stretch) goals
6. map out a strategic plan for your business
7. map out a strategic plan for your life
8. work with you to "get over yourself"
9. help you create new patterns for yourself, new ways of being
10. invent new possibilities for yourself and your life
11. stop you from getting stopped by habits that do not serve you
12. help you "Play a Bigger Game"
13. work with you to generate more energy
14. work with you to generate more enthusiasm
15. work with you to sustain your enthusiasm
16. partner with you around your learning
17. partner with you to encourage your creativity
18. partner with you to create empowerment in other’s
19. get you to think in terms of transformation versus change
20. work with you on your focus
21. partner with you to increase your revenue
22. partner with you to increase your "value add"
23. assist you in eliminating tolerations
24. partner with you in obliterating barriers to success
25. partner with you in building a Support Team
26. partner with you in creating an Environment that supports you in
what you are up to
27. cause you to think about the best use of your time every moment
28. model what is possible for you
29. share distinctions with you that make a difference
30. LISTEN
31. ask provocative questions you are not asking yourself
32. provide you with tools to enable you to accomplish more
33. provide you with language to enable you to accomplish more
34. provide you with competencies that enable you to accomplish more
35. provide you with practices that enable you to accomplish more
36. provide you with the structure that gets you to accomplish more
37. work with you to increase your social competence and interpersonal
effectiveness
38. act as a sounding board/mirror
39. inspire you and champion your endeavours
40. support you whilst you build your confidence
41. provide feedback
42. elicit internal commitment, motivation and self-directed learning
43. facilitate renewal and resilience
44. model what S T R E T C H I N G looks like
45. develop myself extensively so I can be MORE for Everyone
46. focus on solution
47. lead by example
48. help you to learn to say YES!!
49. help you to learn to say NO!
50. raise your standards
51. change your strategy
52. help you hold yourself accountable
53. facilitate alchemy
54. provide a different perspective
55. provide tools for self/business discovery
This list is ever growing, please contact me if you can think of any
more
Who becomes a life coach?
Those who want to walk their walk and talk their talk maybe. Those who
have a genuine desire to help people and have found coaching to be a
powerful tool to do this, most certainly. Coaches come from all walks
of life, from business, the arts, psychology, counselling and
spirituality. The important thing to remember is it is not necessarily
important for a coach to be just like you, in actual fact the less
like you they are the more challenging their questions could be. When
choosing a coach don’t be afraid to tell them if the relationship is
not ‘working for you’ or if there is something you are not comfortable
with (if the coach doesn’t mention it first). Coaches pride themselves
on their success rate and they want coaching to work for you even if
the journey is not with them.
Directive v Non
Directive Coaching?
Directive coaching is when a coach tells you what to do. The
suggestions the directive coach makes are based on their own
knowledge, background and perspective, not yours. A directive coach is
a consultant. You are paying to consult someone who has an opinion you
value. The question is, who do you blame when the suggestions the
consultant made do not perform to your expectations? Non Directive
coaching is the opposite. All the ideas, timeframes, strategies and
learning’s come from you. If they don’t work it’s down to you. On the
flip side of course is that the success is also down to you and one
success opens up a success pattern and a change in a way of thinking.
Success with a directive coaching style will lead you back to the
‘consultant’ and a belief that you can’t succeed without their input.`
How much does it cost?
Depending on the requirements it can cost as little as nothing for an
initial complementary session to £1,000’s for an executive coaching
programme. Speak to your coach once you have made your decision to
work out a programme which works for you financially.
Where does it take place?
Coaching can take place in your home, the coaches home or office, in
your office, on the phone or via e mail. You and your coach will work
it out to make the sessions work for you.
How long
does the coaching relationship last for?
It can last from one session to infinity (well almost). Again talk to
your coach once you have made a decision to work out a programme that
works for you.
What is the difference between a life coach and a business or
executive coach?
Executive or Business coaching is ‘Life coaching with a suit on’ An
organisation will take on the services of a Coach to build on the
skills of executives that training can’t. This maybe to do with
Work/Life balance, goal achievement and promotion coaching to name but
a few. The ‘process’ and the commitment from the coach is exactly the
same which will produce a positive change for the coachee.
Is coaching just another word for counselling or therapy?
There are some similarities between coaches and counsellors and
therapists. All work with people, do a lot of talking and listening
and look at people’s problems. However they are not the same thing.
Coaching supports general life situations, improve overall performance
and raising the bar on our goal expectation. Counselling and therapy
look at trauma and mental illness. Counselling and therapy will look
to solve the problems of the past to take an individual to the future.
Coaching allows an individual to stand still, nod in reference to the
past and realise that it can’t be changed and so set goals to move
forward in a way that suits the coachee. How long before I
start to see results?
Most coachees feel more positive even after the first session. Unlike
training where the ‘learning outcomes’ are pre-defined and dependant
on the course content and the dynamics of the group, coaching outcomes
are defined by you the coachee. You will set the goals that you know
you will attain which makes success the only option and your coach
will support you every step of the way.
