What does it take to become a Life Coach?
What does it take to become a Life Coach?
Life Coaching is a service to others. That is the baseline. If you are thinking about becoming a Life Coach for any other primary reason, I urge you to re-think your choices and make sure you have the commitment to follow through. Life Coach training is quite arduous, and can be personally demanding. Life Coaching itself as a job is very demanding. If you are going into it for easy money or as an easy career choice, forget it! - it won’t be!
Before we get to a deeper explanation of the training and development you will need to become a life coach, it’s worth considering some of the aspects of your new vocation? Remember that unless you plan to work as an employee of a corporate entity that offers life coaching (and there aren’t many of them as yet), you are going to be self employed. Which means that you are going to have to find your clients and manage your professional activities. In short, you are going to be running a business, which means that you will need to have, or develop, the skills necessary to carry out certain business functions.
Now, it’s unlikely that you will want to do all of this yourself, and there are certain responsibilities that you may not be able to do yourself, but in general terms, somehow this all has to be done:
The Life Coaching 'Personality Type' The first thing to note as there is no such thing as a life coach 'personality type'! We are all different and our differences offer our clients a wide choice so that they can find a life coach to suit them. There are certain attributes that help though:
Life Coaching Core Competencies
What does it take to become a Life Coach - To learn more about this author, visit Robert Neely's Website.
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Clearly, it is not the same journey for everyone, and I don’t believe that everyone is suitable ‘material’ for becoming a life coach. I believe that a Life Coach should achieve a level of their own personal development in order to have the right attitudes and approach to become a really good life coach. However, I will not deny that sometimes a person has specific life experiences that, if integrated successfully, can render a person of immense value to others.
Life Coaching is a service to others. That is the baseline. If you are thinking about becoming a Life Coach for any other primary reason, I urge you to re-think your choices and make sure you have the commitment to follow through. Life Coach training is quite arduous, and can be personally demanding. Life Coaching itself as a job is very demanding. If you are going into it for easy money or as an easy career choice, forget it! - it won’t be!
Before we get to a deeper explanation of the training and development you will need to become a life coach, it’s worth considering some of the aspects of your new vocation? Remember that unless you plan to work as an employee of a corporate entity that offers life coaching (and there aren’t many of them as yet), you are going to be self employed. Which means that you are going to have to find your clients and manage your professional activities. In short, you are going to be running a business, which means that you will need to have, or develop, the skills necessary to carry out certain business functions.
Now, it’s unlikely that you will want to do all of this yourself, and there are certain responsibilities that you may not be able to do yourself, but in general terms, somehow this all has to be done:
- Marketing - finding prospective customers
- Sales - turning prospective customers into paying customers
- Accounting - recording your business transactions, expenses, and receipts
- Finance - budgeting, managing cash, meeting statutory requirements for legal trading entities
The Life Coaching 'Personality Type' The first thing to note as there is no such thing as a life coach 'personality type'! We are all different and our differences offer our clients a wide choice so that they can find a life coach to suit them. There are certain attributes that help though:
Life Coaching Core Competencies
Listening
Can you give your complete attention to another person, and really listen to what they are saying. Can you focus on them so closely that you can pick out the signals they are giving you about what is really going on. Can you assist them through a process of discovery without leading? Can you help them to explore possible outcomes without steering them towards your own preferences? Can you help them to gain a greater and deeper understanding of themselves without 'installing' your own understanding?
Staying in the Moment.
Can you give your complete attention on your client and what is going on for them? Can you stay with it regardless of how long they take in their process?
Keeping Yourself Out of It.
Can you really 'get yourself out of the way'? By this I mean can you listen to someone and keep from judging them, or making assumptions (based on your own lifetime of experiences) about what is going on for them? Can you assist them through a process of discovery without leading? Can you help them to explore possible outcomes without steering them towards your own preferences? Can you help them to gain a greater and deeper understanding of themselves without 'installing' your own understanding?
Asking Questions.
Can you ask questions that develop their own understanding? Can your questions be neutral and not 'loaded' with your idea of a right answer, or leading the client towards what you think is right? Can you ask open questions that help thje client to create options, rather than close them down?
Feeding Back
If your client does ask you for feedback, can you give them feedback that is designed to help them to acieve their own outcomes? Can you offer feedback without telling them what to do? Can you offer feedback without being concerned whether they take it on board and act on it all all and be detached from the outcome? It's not helpful to your client of you try to impose your will on them. It may feel like you are acting because you 'really care' about them, but a good coach is outcome oriented on their clients behalf without becoming personally attached to the outcome or assuming they know what the right outcome for the client is.
Staying in the Moment.
Can you give your complete attention on your client and what is going on for them? Can you stay with it regardless of how long they take in their process?
Keeping Yourself Out of It.
Can you really 'get yourself out of the way'? By this I mean can you listen to someone and keep from judging them, or making assumptions (based on your own lifetime of experiences) about what is going on for them? Can you assist them through a process of discovery without leading? Can you help them to explore possible outcomes without steering them towards your own preferences? Can you help them to gain a greater and deeper understanding of themselves without 'installing' your own understanding?
Asking Questions.
Can you ask questions that develop their own understanding? Can your questions be neutral and not 'loaded' with your idea of a right answer, or leading the client towards what you think is right? Can you ask open questions that help thje client to create options, rather than close them down?
Feeding Back
If your client does ask you for feedback, can you give them feedback that is designed to help them to acieve their own outcomes? Can you offer feedback without telling them what to do? Can you offer feedback without being concerned whether they take it on board and act on it all all and be detached from the outcome? It's not helpful to your client of you try to impose your will on them. It may feel like you are acting because you 'really care' about them, but a good coach is outcome oriented on their clients behalf without becoming personally attached to the outcome or assuming they know what the right outcome for the client is.
Keeping Yourself Out of It.
Can you really 'get yourself out of the way'? By this I mean can you listen to someone and keep from judging them, or making assumptions (based on your own lifetime of experiences) about what is going on for them? Can you assist them through a process of discovery without leading? Can you help them to explore possible outcomes without steering them towards your own preferences? Can you help them to gain a greater and deeper understanding of themselves without 'installing' your own understanding?
Asking Questions.
Can you ask questions that develop their own understanding? Can your questions be neutral and not 'loaded' with your idea of a right answer, or leading the client towards what you think is right? Can you ask open questions that help thje client to create options, rather than close them down?
Feeding Back
If your client does ask you for feedback, can you give them feedback that is designed to help them to acieve their own outcomes? Can you offer feedback without telling them what to do? Can you offer feedback without being concerned whether they take it on board and act on it all all and be detached from the outcome? It's not helpful to your client of you try to impose your will on them. It may feel like you are acting because you 'really care' about them, but a good coach is outcome oriented on their clients behalf without becoming personally attached to the outcome or assuming they know what the right outcome for the client is.
Asking Questions.
Can you ask questions that develop their own understanding? Can your questions be neutral and not 'loaded' with your idea of a right answer, or leading the client towards what you think is right? Can you ask open questions that help thje client to create options, rather than close them down?
Feeding Back
If your client does ask you for feedback, can you give them feedback that is designed to help them to acieve their own outcomes? Can you offer feedback without telling them what to do? Can you offer feedback without being concerned whether they take it on board and act on it all all and be detached from the outcome? It's not helpful to your client of you try to impose your will on them. It may feel like you are acting because you 'really care' about them, but a good coach is outcome oriented on their clients behalf without becoming personally attached to the outcome or assuming they know what the right outcome for the client is.
Feeding Back
If your client does ask you for feedback, can you give them feedback that is designed to help them to acieve their own outcomes? Can you offer feedback without telling them what to do? Can you offer feedback without being concerned whether they take it on board and act on it all all and be detached from the outcome? It's not helpful to your client of you try to impose your will on them. It may feel like you are acting because you 'really care' about them, but a good coach is outcome oriented on their clients behalf without becoming personally attached to the outcome or assuming they know what the right outcome for the client is.
What does it take to become a Life Coach - To learn more about this author, visit Robert Neely's Website.
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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