Life Coaching: Maximising the Reach and Impact (Part 1)

 

After 15 years working to promote this life transforming industry, I’ll admit to a persistent, ongoing frustration.

Amongst the broader general public, life coaching remains widely misunderstood, and its profoundly positive effects largely understated.

I’ve spent a great deal of time reflecting on why this is and I believe there a number of factors that play a contributing role. For the sake of simplifying the message, I’ve lumped these in to two general “buckets”.

In the first bucket we have issues of integrity and consistency relating to the training on offer. Responsibility for these issues can be laid squarely at the door of our very own industry.

The second ‘bucket’ contains issues that are less straightforward and more of a reflection on the current human psyche and the obsession with finding what I call ‘silver bullet’ solutions to ‘problems’ (that simply serve to mask the symptoms).

Let’s tackle the first ‘bucket’ in this post and I’ll follow up with a discussion about the second \’bucket\’ next time.

1. Lack of appreciation of what it takes to become a life coach

Quite recently, I was chatting with an interested prospect. Her first concern seemed to be the duration of training. It was clear that she wanted to become a life coach in the minimum amount of time possible.

I explained that our training programme is self paced but, realistically, she should be prepared to invest the best part of a year, perhaps more, to complete what is a comprehensive programme and certification process.

There was an awkward silence before she responded: “Why so long? I’ve seen other courses that you can complete in six weeks or even less. I\’ve got loads of life experience. I mean, surely I don\’t need much training to become a life coach?”

And therein lies a two-headed problem monster.

The first head is representative of a misplaced view that life coaching is simply a form of mentoring. The reasoning goes that if you\’ve been through the school of life you are ideally placed to be a life coach and pass on your superior wisdom, advice and experience to others.

Wrong!

Life coaching does not involve mentoring or advice giving. And, without proper life coach training, your extensive life experience can easily translate into entrenched views and opinions, which subconsciously get passed on to your clients.

The second head of the monster is representative of manipulative marketing, driven solely by the profit motive.

Such marketing targets a growing number of people who are looking for what I call ‘quick fix’ qualifications, and has spawned a confusing array of life coaching courses, many of which – at best – can be said to do no more than superficial justice to life coaching.

One recent graduate of our certification training programme made what I thought was a telling comment in his post certification feedback: “I never knew life coaching could be so complex.”

I don’t want to talk for him … but I’m fairly certain that what he really meant by “complex” was “in-depth”.

Life coaching is certainly not complex. But there is a great deal to learn and practice when it comes to human motivation and the various tools, techniques and processes that can be brought to bear in circumstances that differ widely from client to client.

Let’s face it, life coaches are tasked with the critically important duty of helping transform the lives of their clients for the better. Designing a highly effective coaching intervention requires two things:

• A deep understanding of the unique requirements, nature, and frame of reference of each individual client; and
• A finely tuned ability to explain, get ‘buy-in’ and then help each client apply the appropriate tools and techniques for best effect.

This life coaching capability is founded on a well developed sense of self awareness and an authentic commitment to act ethically, in the client’s interests, at all times.

A few weeks, or even months of exposure to a short course with limited, if any, opportunity for practical application and reflection, simply won’t cut it!

Client results will inevitably be substandard, and this spells disaster for any coach in an industry where word of mouth is by far the most potent marketing tool.

Look at it this way. Would you build your dream house on substandard foundations, simply because it is cheaper and quicker to do so?

Of course not!

If you wish to pursue life coaching as a career, it is essential to build a strong foundation for your future success by exposing yourself to training that is comprehensive, broad based and subject to rigorous assessment.

You will ultimately be working with some clients over a period of many months to bring about the fundamental transformation in their thinking and behaviour, that\’s necessary to achieve exciting yet challenging goals.

It should be clear that to do so effectively, you will need to have been through a similar process yourself, only in a lot more depth, and over a longer duration.

To cut to the chase, the quality of training and preparation required to be a successful, professional life coach should never be underestimated!

As an industry, it’s obvious we need to do a lot more, and do a lot better, in communicating this.