Have you ever wondered,
"What is life coaching?"
If you've ever wondered, "What is life coaching?", or "What is a life coach?", then welcome to one of the fastest growing professions and helping services in the world!
You deserve big kudos for doing some research and stopping here!
That tells me that you are someone who likes to get the full scoop before jumping into something new. New concepts or ideas don't necessarily scare you off--I'm guessing that you're generally willing to try new things, right?--and that's great!
As you read through this page you will learn the definition of life coach, how to choose the best coach for you, and what life coaching is not.
When you hear the word "coach", do you picture a red-in-the-face baseball manager screaming at one of his players?
Or do you think of your pee wee league manager who doled out only compliments and "Great job!", after every strike out or missed catch?
Luckily, life coaching is not at either extreme or it wouldn't be the thriving helping profession it is today!
Definition of Life Coach
What is life coaching? A general definition of life coach is a thinking and accountability partner. What does that mean? It means that you and your coach collaborate to come up with what will work best for you. Your life coach doesn't tell you what to do, doesn't judge you, and doesn't have her own agenda. With a good coach partnership you truly act as a team to further your personal goals and vision!
You bring the agenda to each session, you are responsible for making your own action and changes, you are in charge of being open to change.
Are you wondering if you could benefit from life coaching? To find out, complete this
Coachability Assessment!
Some life coaches specialize in a particular niche while others coach on a variety of topics and issues.
All good life coaches should:
help the client set and achieve goals
ask powerful and pointed questions
listen deeply to the client's words and the feeling
behind the words
operate under the belief that the client is his/her own
life expert
Choosing a Life Coach
I believe the most important factor to consider when choosing the best coach for you is your connection. If you don't connect with your life coach on a personal level, will you feel comfortable opening up and allowing yourself to be coached to your best ability?
Ask yourself these questions:
1. What was my first impression of her? Was she kind,
interested, concerned?
2. Did I sense that she cared about my situation?
3. Would I feel comfortable sharing personal information
with her?
4. Will her personality and style work in my life right
now?
5. How did I feel after our first correspondense--
relieved, anxious, excited, on edge?
6. Can this coach do what I need her to do for me?
This is why it is such a great idea to take a coach up on her sample session. A good coach will offer one. This session gives you a chance to chat and share some of the reasons you're interested in hiring a coach. The coach then has the opportunity to share with you what she can provide and how it can help.
Working with a life coach is a very personal and powerful relationship, one that requires your trust in the coach to respect, understand, and challenge you to powerfully assess your goals and successes.
If you have a good connection, great! Take it from there!
But maybe now you're wondering how you'll know if coaching is working for you. You might be asking yourself what
successful life coaching looks like.
Hiring a
life coach for personal development
may be just the door you need to open to start feeling happier, more fulfilled, and more in control of your life.
What Life Coaching is Not
Because life coaching is so new, it is often confused with counseling or consulting. While there are some similarities, it is essential to understand the differences.
In general, counselors assess a client's problem, issue a mental health diagnosis, and create some sort of treatment goals. Their sessions often focus on the difficulties the client is facing and what past experiences brought the client to that point.
Life coaches, on the other hand, approach people from a very different angle. In the coaching relationship, the client brings his own agenda to each session. Coaches primarily focus on the client's present and future, helping the client set goals and concrete action steps to move toward. The client's progress is completely up to him as he is accountable for his actions and successes.
A coach's job is fun and rewarding as she gets to help people make important life changes in a very proactive and forward moving way. Nobody needs a life coach, but many people want one!
Consultants are experts who are paid to accomplish certain goals and give answers. Their success is tied up in if and how established goals are reached. They provide invaluable services for many organizations and individuals.
Coaches are experts in coaching. Sometimes a coach may provide, when asked, some education on relationships, or marketing, or stress, or on whatever topic the coach has some additional knowledge. This information, however, is a supplement to, not replacement of, the client's own decisions and vision.
No matter what, a life coach is in no way tied to any particular outcome for her client. This means that there is no judgement passed on whatever a client may choose to do or not do. The coach is there to assist her client to move forward in whatever direction he chooses.
Talking with a coach is also very different from talking with your best friend! Have you ever really needed to vent to your friend only to discover that she needs to vent to you too? Or maybe your friends just aren't there for you as much as you'd like. Or maybe your friends are too involved in your life to provide unbiased and judgement-free support.
With a Life Coach, the focus is all you, every session!
What is life coaching? It's an amazing experience that will change your life...for good!
If you'd like to get more useful information on life and life coaching, sign up for my FREE E-zine, "Focused Momentum!"
Return from What is Life Coaching to Homepage
|
