September 2021
Everyone is familiar with coaching: Our favorite world-class athletes wouldn’t be where they are today without exceptional sports coaching. Many CEOs, entrepreneurs, business leaders, executives and business professionals would not be as successful without business coaching. But there’s another type of coaching that sounds more foreign to many people: life coaching.
WHAT IS A LIFE COACH?
The life coach definition is someone professionally trained to help you maximize your full potential and reach your desired results. They are like a supportive friend and a trusted adviser rolled into one. They’re someone who will push you to identify your goals, hold you accountable and provide encouragement throughout your journey to become a better version of yourself.
Life coaches complete extensive training that teaches them how to ask the right questions, communicate effectively and get to the heart of your needs and desires in life. Do your research about different methods and the training hours – not all coaching programs are created equally.
WHAT DOES A LIFE COACH DO?
A life coach encourages clients on a range of professional and personal issues. Life coaching is distinct from giving advice, consulting, counseling, mentoring and administering therapy. You hire a coach to help you with specific professional projects, personal goals and transitions.
A coach helps you grow by analyzing your current situation, identifying limiting beliefs and other potential challenges and obstacles you face and devising a custom plan of action designed to help you achieve specific outcomes in your life.
The relationship between a client and their life coach is more like a creative partnership than a one-way street. From your first meeting, you will:
- Identify, clarify and create a vision for what you want
- Use your coach’s expertise to modify goals as needed
- Encourage self-discovery and growth
- Nurture and evoke strategies and a plan of action based on what fits best with your goals, personality and vision
- Foster accountability to increase productivity
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF LIFE COACHING?
The exact life coach definition and the benefits you will experience depend on what your specific goals are. Some of the most common areas clients improve while working with a life coach include:
- Identifying goals and defining a vision for success
- Creating professional and personal growth plans
- Identifying limiting beliefs
- Working toward financial independence
- Obtaining work/life balance
- Learning to communicate more succinctly and effectively
- Fostering more powerful connections professionally and personally
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- Improving relationships and communication skills
- Getting promotions
- Achieving weight loss and/or fitness goals
- Starting a new business or growing an existing one
- Managing an important life or business transition
- Articulating core values
Ultimately life coaching allows you to maximize your potential in any area.
- Research shows that coaching and training is a far more effective combination than training alone. Training alone can increase productivity by 22.4%, but when combined with weekly life coaching, productivity is boosted by 88%.
HOW DOES LIFE COACHING WORK?
Now that we know the answer to the question “What is a life coach?,” let’s get into more detail about what exactly you can expect. Life coaching typically works in a specific, structured format, although your coach will ultimately work with you to create a custom action plan.
First, you will work with your life coach to define your vision. Your coach will ask you questions like:
What is it that truly drives you?
What’s at the basis of your goals?
After answering that question, you’ll work alongside your coach to identify barriers and limiting beliefs that have been holding you back.
What negative things have you been telling yourself?
How have these patterns gotten in your way and how can you move past them?
Finally, you and your coach will set challenging, but achievable, goals. Your coach will ensure that you are not settling for limited goals or being too negative as you assess your position by helping you calibrate your long- and short-term goals against your core values.
Assessing your current position helps you and your life coach measure your progress and identify current and potential obstacles. After this important step, you and your coach will review your resources and all courses of action available to you in order to create a plan of action. You’ll then decide which specific steps you will take and when you will take them. You will prepare for potential obstacles and decide how to cope with them. At this time, you will ensure that each step supports your end goals, while your coach will help you stay on track and monitor your progress. If your plan needs modification at any point, your coach will help you with this as well, which will empower you to stay committed.
WHO SHOULD CONSIDER WORKING WITH A LIFE COACH?
Anyone who wants to do more tomorrow than they can do today should consider hiring a life coach. Life coaching clients are typically ambitious people who want to improve their output and see more growth – and they want to do those things quickly and to the best of their ability.
All kinds of people use life coaches, including actors, business leaders, creatives, entrepreneurs, executives, homemakers, managers, professionals, small business owners and start-up pioneers. These people all identify a gap between where they are and where they want to be, and turn to coaching when they want help reaching their goals.
If you’re asking yourself, “What does a life coach do, and do I need one?,” it’s likely that coaching would benefit you. Here are a few more signs:
- You’re stuck in self-destructive habits like excessive drinking or overeating
- Your inner self-talk is very negative
- You’ve recently made a major life change or undergone a stressful event
- You suffer from fear of failure that keeps you from reaching your goals
Recognize yourself here? Think you could benefit from Self-Development and become a Coach? Make the decision to contact The Life Coaching Academy today and begin the journey to a happier, more confident and fulfilled self.
WHY CHOOSE THE LIFE COACHING ACADEMY OVER OTHERS?
When I first became a coach, I had no idea what I was getting into.
At the age of 47, I had just lost 70 pounds naturally, I was unemployed, and I had begun my entrepreneur journey — again. (I had been a serial entrepreneur most of my life.) Working out of my mother’s home, I had started teaching small groups of people what I had done to lose weight. That led to me publishing my first book, a cookbook, with the recipes I used during my weight and wellness transformation.
Many people who haven’t started coaching come have one common question:
“Does life coaching use special techniques to increase effectiveness in transforming people’s lives?”
Although it’s not a simple yes-or-no answer, after practicing coaching for so many years, we can definitely concur that life coaching differentiates from other self-development methods and therapies basically because of one simple but powerful competency: active listening.
According to the ICF Core Competencies, active listening is one of the handiest and most practical tools a coach needs to master in order to enable intimacy and build trust with their client.
Active listening consists of the ability to focus entirely on what’s been said by the coachee. The client, after all, is the one who exclusively holds the agenda throughout the session. In other words, a coach is there not only to hear, but to listen to their coachee, cultivating honesty and empathy for their challenges. The coach is there to truly listen to the client’s goals, values and beliefs of what they can or can’t achieve.
Through active listening, the coach can even interpret the client’s body language and tone of voice, as well as mirror back to them their words to ensure clarity and understandability during the session and confidence that the coaching relationship is inspiring, true and compassionate.
Moreover, active listening includes helping the client hit the nail on the head and not get confused and disorientated by the ambiguity of their own words. But most of all, active listening is all about ditching judgment.
It’s not a pingpong discussion. Because compassion is key, the client’s self-expression isn’t subject to criticism of any kind. Sure, we are allowed to have our own opinions and thoughts. But it is also extremely crucial to keep those thoughts silent and within our heads.
Otherwise, we will have our own ego raving, and we will have lost connection with what our client needs and wants to say. A coach should speak only 20% of the time, leaving 80% to the client. It’s not that we don’t care or don’t have anything to comment on. It’s that we aren’t permitted to do so, and, simply, this is not about our beliefs and perceptions. It’s all about the client.
Active listening enables 100% presence during a session, but it proves itself rather useful in everyday life, as well. I have seen and urged many of my student coaches to adopt this lifestyle in general, to listen and read between the lines. Becoming a better listener contributes to becoming more compassionate for other people’s challenges.
To achieve this, you need patience and training.
So, next time you feel you want to state your own point of view, even if not asked, apply the three-second rule. Allow three seconds for your mixed thoughts and emotions to rest before replying to your discussion and putting them in the mix. You will be amazed at how much more confident and sincere your level of communication will be simply by activating active listening.
As a coach, it’s not news to you that the pandemic brought with it a unique set of challenges for the industry. From meeting new needs to finding new ways to connect, it’s been a year of anxiety, adjustment and adaptation.
As a follow-up to its 2020 ICF Global Coaching Study, the International Coaching Federation (ICF) committed to perform a snapshot survey to continue gauging the depth and range of the impact COVID-19 has on coaches around the world. The results of the initial COVID-19 and the Coaching Industry survey were released in June 2020. Last week, ICF released the results of the follow-up 2021 ICF Global Snapshot Survey, which includes an update on how coaches continued to fare beyond the initial analysis.
The 2021 snapshot survey yielded more than 10,000 responses from 140 countries and territories, enabling a side-by-side comparison with the previous study conducted at the beginning of the pandemic.
The new study assessed the prevalence of various effects experienced by the coaching industry, the impact of pandemic key indicators, changes coach practitioners have made to their businesses, perceptions about the future of the coaching industry and more.
Here are three key takeaways you should know about the state of the coaching industry at this point in the pandemic. Included are ways your own practice can continue to thrive despite a continuously changing landscape.
1. Coaches Adapted to New Technology Tools
The coaching industry, along with the rest of the world, quickly had to navigate new ways to connect. Coaches needed to hold sessions with clients while keeping themselves and others safe. As a result, many coaches quickly adopted new technologies into their engagement routines. Just as remote work prompted millions to utilize online platforms and digital communications tools to stay in touch during the global pandemic, coaches did the same to remain accessible too clients.
According to the survey, 83% of coaches increased their use of audio-video platforms for coaching, while 82% indicated a decrease for in-person sessions d Over the course of the pandemic, both coaching professionals and their clients adapted to the circumstances of the times, with more and more utilizing technology tools for coaching sessions.
It is always recommended to stay ahead of the latest technologies, especially in a highly communicative industry such as coaching. The pandemic offered a reminder of how technology can keep us connected, even when we are forced to be socially distant.
2. The Coaching Industry was Resilient
Even beyond its use of new technology tools, the coaching industry is demonstrating resilience. The latest data show coaching practices bouncing back, with a decrease in the percentage of coaches who experienced a negative impact on their business and an increase in the percentage of coaches who said the pandemic had a positive impact on their practices.
Indeed, coaching became more relevant than ever as people everywhere openly struggled with the mental and emotional stresses of the pandemic, including increased pressure on work/life balance and the need to find optimal approaches to managing change. Today more than ever, coaches have much to offer.
3. Coaches are Optimistic for the Industry’s Future
The latest study revealed that while the coaching industry still has challenges to address, coaches are feeling optimistic about the future. Top concerns included untrained individuals who call themselves coaches (23%) and concerns about a global recession (21%). Regardless, 70% of coaches are either somewhat or very confident that coaching will emerge stronger over the next six months.
As the world inches toward a new normal and more people gain access to a vaccine, there is noticeably more optimism compared to a year ago.
The coaching industry is projected to grow even stronger post-pandemic. Because of this, there is a great opportunity to showcase the power of coaching with clients by sharing relevant studies and testimonials about how coaching has helped so many people navigate challenging times.
Posted originally on Coaching World Web page, From ICF Member & Industry Research: The Member and Industry Research Department at the International Coaching Federation (ICF) exists to arm coaches with the knowledge they need to excel at their craft and their business. ICF invests in industry research to demonstrate the highly effective nature of coaching. This allows the coaching community to stand strong with fresh knowledge of industry trends to inform their daily decisions. Some of ICF’s research includes the Global Coaching Study, COVID-19 and the Coaching Industry and subsequent snapshot surveys, as well as Building a Coaching Culture. Learn more about all of these research initiatives here.
Not only do life coaches have opportunities to help people release limiting beliefs, move through challenges, discover their core purpose and fulfill their cherished dreams that they may have once thought were impossible, but they can also earn abundant incomes in the process!
In fact, there’s never been a better time to be a life coach.
Forbes Magazine recently called life coaching one of the fastest growing industries capable of producing six figures in the world.
There’s an ever-increasing demand today for life coaching services because so many people want more out of their lives, and they know now that coaching can be a substantial way to move in that direction.
9 Key Benefits of Life Coaching Full-Time or Part-Time
If you’re called to help others discover how to live their true purposes and achieve their biggest dreams, keep reading to discover the top nine benefits of life coaching.
1. You can make a difference as a Life Coach
There’s nothing quite like watching another person live out their dreams – to see them overcome the obstacles that have made them suffer for years, and to help them get or create the things they’ve always longed for but never thought they could have.
Every day, more and more people are becoming aware that there’s a hidden pattern to success — a pattern they want to understand and apply to their lives, in a way that helps them to quickly and easily experience extraordinary results.
The topic of building your life around what truly matters to you, and of working with a life coach to help you do this, are becoming part of the normal conversations of everyday life.
As you work with your clients, they break free from cycles of lack, fear and pain that have kept them trapped for years, and overcome the habits, patterns and mindsets that always kept them from reaching their dreams.
They discover their true purpose, even if they’ve spent their entire life feeling lost. And the love, health, impact, abundance and joy that they’ve always desired, but never knew how to achieve, becomes their tangible reality – in a fraction of the time they thought it would take.
2. You can merge your life coaching business with your current career.
If you’re in an industry that complements life coaching, becoming a coach can add another layer to your services, and allow you to serve your clients on a whole new level.
There are many ways you can merge coaching with your full-time job or start a coaching business while you’re working 40 hours a week, especially while balancing work and family.
If you love the job you’re in, you might want to nourish transformation for clients within your existing practice.
Or, coaching can be a stepping stone toward a brand-new, full-time profession.
The important thing to know is this: You’re in charge and you get to decide!
3. You get to set your own prices for your life coaching programs.
If you’re trained in what it takes to build highly successful coaching business and how to be a great Professional coach, you can earn as much as you choose! If you are Accredited with the ICF at their ACTP level you are seen to be an elite coach.
As with all self-employed lines of work, how much money you actually make as a life coach and how many hours you work depends on how you go about building and promoting your coaching practice.
The amount and style of marketing you do, your dedication to learning how to thrive in the industry, and the effectiveness of your coaching are all factors. However, the amount of effort you put in, how much help you get and the methods you use to grow your practice will ultimately determine your level of success as a coach.
4. You meet new and more positive people in your coaching practice.
The people who come to a life coach for help aren’t the ones who are willing to wallow in misery for the rest of their lives. They may have bad days, or times when they’re feeling negative or hopeless and they need help.
But they aren’t so attached to this state that they’re content to just sit in it and drag everyone around them down as well.
Instead, they’re actively looking to make their lives better. They have hopes, dreams, and a will to make those hopes and dreams a reality.
5. As a life coach, you know people deeply, in a way that’s constructive for both of you.
This isn’t a profession where you listen to people complain about their problems day after day, offer a few well-meaning suggestions, and then go home feeling drained and burdened by your clients’ problems.
As a life coach, you’ll be equipped to not only hear your clients’ challenges, but to help them to actually overcome challenges in lasting, meaningful ways.
You’ll get to see them stop suffering, and start living the free, abundant, joyous lives that they might not have even known they were capable of creating.
6. Your own joy and well-being will increase and you’ll attract even more of the same.
The Law of Attraction begins with feelings. What you consistently, repeatedly put your emotions towards, you will attract more of into your life.
If you believe that the world is a hostile place, you’ll subconsciously behave in ways that trigger hostile actions and events in your life. The bad things that happen to you will show up more strongly on your radar, while the good things will go unnoticed.
On the other hand, as you experience the joy and hope that comes with being a life coach, and as you overcome your obstacles and help others to do the same, your happiness and positivity will increase.
As you help other people to see the possibilities in their lives, and encourage them to cross the threshold and take the next action step in their journey, in faith that the step after that will become possible, you will see proof again and again that anything you dream or desire is within your grasp.
Because of this, your own faith and confidence will increase, and you’ll become better equipped to pursue your goals even as you help your clients pursue theirs.
7. You can choose your life coach niche.
There are more coaching niches than you can probably think of! If you love health and wellbeing, you could become a health coach. If you love business, you could become a business or leadership coach. You could also choose to become a NLP Coach.
In short, you can become a coach in any particular area that you’re invested in or interested in.
For example you could coach anybody who wants to grow, particularly with people who are heart-centered and love to build businesses. Whether it’s to find that love of their life, heal a chronic illness or simply live a life they love living, you would work with anyone who would love to transform their life.
So know this: You can work with anyone you choose!
8. You can work your coaching business from anywhere you want.
One of the best perks of being a life coach and having your own coaching business is that you can work from anywhere in the world, as long as you have a computer with a camera, a microphone and a strong internet signal!
As a life coach, you have endless opportunities to support and coach others, and to build a business and a life that you love!
Life coaches can work from anywhere in the world virtually or in person. They can be their own bosses, or they can work at a company part-time or full-time.
9. You can create your own schedule as a coach.
In the corporate world, your career is often influenced by other people’s decisions regarding whether or not to promote you, to retire or quit, or to keep all their current employees. Your income is limited by the number of hours you trade for dollars, and you can easily become stuck beneath a glass ceiling.
But as a life coach, you’re free from those limitations.
You choose how much time you wish to spend working, or with your family, or just relaxing, without worrying about the consequences on your pocketbook. These dramatic changes make our coaches an inspiration to everyone around them who wants to build their dreams. Through your example, you give people a reason to believe that the life they desire can be theirs.
Becoming a life coach is one of the most rewarding roles that one could step into.
If you have the courage and willingness to move in the direction of becoming a life coach, rest assured that your life will be forever changed – for the better.
In addition to helping your clients to move closer to reaching their highest potentials, you will hold their visions for the future as you work together to develop new methodologies for achievement.
You will change lives… and in the meantime, your life will be profoundly changed, too.
You can email me on info@lifecoachingacademy.edu.au
or request a Free Info pack on the website
or download our Brochure or see Payment Options
or Call us on our Free Call number 1800 032 151
https://apps.coachingfederation.org/eweb/dynamicpage.aspx?webcode=tpss&pid=321
Should a person choose a life coach? The answer depends on one’s goals.
A life coach can help a person to identify strengths, develop them, and identify personal and professional goals. Their role is to assist the coachee throughout the change process. As you will discover, this happens in several ways.
Coaching conversations help a person focus attention on their desired goals.
Most of the session involves the coach listening, and then asking powerfully focused questions. Examples are:
- What was your best experience with your goals in the past week?
- What percentage of achievement did you reach for this goal?
- What contributed to this level of success?
- What did you learn from the experience?
- When you think about this goal, what feelings does it stimulate, and what needs does it meet?
The foundation of a good coaching relationship is trust and authenticity. This allows for vulnerability.
Coachees who open themselves to being vulnerable also can experience growth in self-compassion.
Coaches pay particular attention to assisting clients to identify their strengths. Coachees learn to explore and develop them as a means to achieve their goals, and also to cultivate positive emotions. Generating positive emotions leads to “an upward spiral.”
Ten positive emotions:
- inspiration
- hope
- pride
- interest
- love
- awe
- amusement
- joy
- gratitude
- serenity
Coaching creates the space for clients to build on these emotions and flourish.
Most people do not like being told what to do or when to do it. Coaches who understand this will build coaching relationships that allow the client to act autonomously.
Autonomous motivation means the person controls the decision-making process. The coach provides resources and support and nudges as needed, but the coachee is in charge.
People who are autonomously motivated pursue actions that are of interest to them. They view the actions as important. Behavior change happens when the client experiences greater autonomous motivation.
“How do we support autonomy and build accountability?” They are:
- Positive behavior changes last longer
- Increased creativity and flexibility
- Improved performance
- Making changes is enjoyable
- Health and personal relationships improve
