What is a Life Coach?

By dougnau on Mar 1, 2008 in Life Coaching

In 2005, I had personally begun hearing more and more about coaching, specifically ‘Life Coaching’ from my friends and colleagues. As an athlete that has worked with coaches for as long as I can remember, and because I was a tennis coach for many years myself, this whole concept of a ‘life coach’ was very intriguing.

I was well aware that a coach could motivate you, teach you, and push you to go further than you would if you were on your own, but isn’t coaching sport a far cry from the rest of life? The truth is that procedurally it is absolutely different, but in concept it is very similar. As I began to learn more and more about coaching, and eventually elected to become a certified life coach myself, it became very apparent to me just how powerful it can be to have a knowledgeable expert in self discovery, motivation and success with a completely objective viewpoint support you in taking your life to the next level.

So How does Life Coaching Work?

Every life coach has a unique personality, a different way of working with people, and a unique background and expertise. Depending on the coach you are working with, you might see a number of possible formats in which you may opt to be coached. The first and most clear format distinction is between individual and group coaching. If a coach is working in group formats, usually these coaching sessions are packaged as a seminar and may last from 1-5 days, or as a meeting/teleconference that will meet on a recurring basis (such as weekly or bi-weekly). Such a coaching format can be an amazingly powerful experience, and you also have the opportunity to share your experience with others. Of course, one size does not fit all, and its most important that you find a coaching format that you are most comfortable with.

Life coaches also work with individuals. When an individual enrolls a coach - expect to sign a contract for a certain number of coaching sessions (meetings). The contract is very important as it brings clarity to what services will be rendered, but most importantly it represents a commitment that you will be working at reaching goals and it establishes a timeline within which you will see results. If a contract makes you uncomfortable - read this article about contracts and ask yourself if the goal you’ve got in mind is important enough to make a financial commitment to make it happen. If you are not required to sign a contract, ask the coach what kind of results you can expect when you can drop them at any time. How do you ensure that you are not wasting your money?

When you enroll with a life coach as an individual client, typically you will set a schedule for meeting. Often this is once per week, or once every two weeks (or a number of sessions agreed upon per month). Typically you will be offered a phone line to call in with ‘after hours’ questions or an email address you can check in with. With regularly scheduled meetings, your coach becomes your guide to self discovery, your partner in your life journey, and a knowledgeable mentor.

Life coaches are generalists - You have your own answers!

Many people ask - What happens in a life coaching session? Logistically this is a very good question. While everyone’s style is a bit different, generally in the first coaching sessions the client and coach discuss life visions, goals, what they would like to accomplish as a result of coaching. Throughout the coaching relationship the client will have the opportunity to share their experience as formal goals and action plans are agreed upon. The coach will have the opportunity to provide empowering tools for achievement and mentorship that help their clients get past roadblocks which may present themselves. In essence the coach supports a client in getting past the point in which they have become ’stuck’ - up until now!

The most important thing that I can express in this article is that a life coach abides by the principle that YOU - the client has your own answers. This is huge. The life coach has been trained to ask empowering and relevant questions and to create an open and spacious environment such that you see clearly for yourself the actions that you need to take. This role is clearly different from a consultant who may tell you what they think you should do and explain to you how to do it. This is why a life coach can truly say that they are trained to work with everyone regarding every situation. They are not consulting, they are simply helping the client to clearly find their own answers. To this respect, life coaches are generalists.

If you find yourself working with someone that calls themselves a coach, and you notice that most of your conversations involve them telling you what they would do given your situation, then that person is not acting as a life coach in that moment. This does not mean that they are not providing value and good advice, but they are not acting as a coach. Ask yourself in this case if you are looking for a coach or for someone acting in a different role.

What if I really don’t know the answer?

OK Doug, what you’ve said so far makes a lot of sense - but what if I really don’t have my own answers? I am obese and I am looking to lose weight and I don’t know anything about nutrition or exercise - I have questions and need answers!

Point taken. If you were to work with a true and pure life coach, they would coach you to find the appropriate action. As you explored these questions with the coach you may see that you would be willing to hire a trainer, to go to a nutritionist, or buy a low fat cookbook. The coach makes no assumptions. Now this conversation may or may not be what you are really looking for. If you hired a coach because you had a life goal to lose weight and you expected that the coach would be able to help you design a specific plan to do so, then you may be looking for both a mentor and a coach rolled up in one.

Picking a life coach by background

While there are many pure life coaches out there, their market and function is limited to working with people to get beyond ’stuck’. Don’t get me wrong - this is huge - almost everyone feels stuck in at least one area of our lives. Regardless, if you’ve got a particular area you’ve been stuck at, a coach with a background in that area might be able to provide coaching beyond where a coach could that is not educated in that field. For example, a client looking to change careers may be better suited speaking with a coach that has a career counseling background rather than a life coach that has never been employed. A business looking for executive coaching is most likely to be better off hiring a coach that has been an executive (or at least has coached in the executive environment).

Now this is not to say that the coaching relationship has changed. The coach still assumes the client has their own answers. However, in the event that a purely factual based question comes up (for example - what is the recommended amount of cardiovascular activity someone should participate in each day?), the coach with a background in the field can take off the coaching hat and provide appropriate mentorship. This may increase the value of your time with that coach as it will reduce your time required to understand what actions you want to take to reach your goals. It should be clear when a coach is providing factual information and when they are coaching.

In Summary

A life coach is a trained professional that supports their client in connecting with their life vision, setting goals, designing action plans, and going beyond the point where they normally would on their own. Coaches will meet with clients individually or in groups either in person or by phone. The primary goal of a life coach is to support the client in discovering their full potential and in developing their own clear path forward. The coach recognizes that you have your own answers and is trained to empower you to see this clearly yourself. Often for best results a client can enroll a coach with a background such that the coach can provide both coaching and mentoring in the area they are wishing to have extraordinary results.

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