These days everyone has a coach, isn’t it too much?
Coaching in all its different forms has developed massively over the last decade. Once reserved to athletes and celebrities, now mostly everyone has been coached once in their life, whether to find the perfect lover, get the perfect body, find the perfect dress, get the perfect job and simply be the best you can be!!
There clearly is a longing in our societies to live better and feel good and coaching has blossomed in our world of marketing and consumerism.
A good coach is someone who is an expert at helping others create positive change in their lives. For some clients, the positive change they most want may be focused on personal goals such as relationships, time management, work-life balance, stress reduction, simplification, health, etc., but other clients may be more interested in professional or business goals such as leadership, getting a promotion, starting a business, etc.
A good coach works with the client to help them live a better, richer life – regardless of their type of goals.
How to find a good coach?
Coaching is in general a collaborative process which means that the process and its success rely on both the client and the coach working together as a team.
Finding the right coach for you is all about having a genuine connection. You will want to have a good feeling about the person from deep within you, from your intuition, that tells you that this is a good coach for you to work with. You will know when it feels right. Coaching is a very personal and intimate work. The coach is here to guide you, offer support, inspiration, motivation and nurture but it is really a process of self discovery and empowerment so that you stop looking for answers around you and find those answers within.
You will only grow, evolve and heal as much as you are open, willing and ready to. Therefore, you will need to be able to be completely open and honest with your coach, so that they can speak to whatever core issues you might have. You want to make sure you feel comfortable with your coach, that you can trust them. The more that you can let your guard down and just be your normal, natural self, the more your coach will be able to work with the “real you”.
If you’re not feeling comfortable, start looking for another coach.
With that in mind here are a few things you can ask yourself when looking for a Life Coach:
- Read through their website and see if you resonate with their words.
- Ask for a 20 minutes mini consultation over the phone to get a feel for their voice, energy and personality. See if you feel you would enjoy speaking and sharing your story with this person.
- Listen and trust your intuition- how do you feel when you read their words or listen to them speak.
- Take your time.
- Check their qualifications. Have they certified with a Coaching School? Are they registered with a Coaching organization?
How long does one need to be coached for?
There are many different coaching options with different types of coaching. Every Coach has its own style and approach and each client its own pace and needs.
I take an integral approach to coaching, by looking at a person as a whole, and forming with them a deep partnership so that they realize their full and true self. Integral coaching isn’t about giving solutions or “blueprints”; it is about working with my clients to develop their ability to generate options for themselves.
I create, for each client; personalized development plans to help them see their way of being in the world and the benefit that can be reaped from changing that view. I invite them into new ways of thinking and doing things and new outcomes and possibilities.
My goal as a coach is not to coach my clients forever, but that they grow and evolve so that they develop their ability to truly connect with themselves, let go of their insecurities and find the answers they seek within.
A 4 to 6 months Coaching programme is generally the time needed to create change that feels effortless and natural, so that clients can create happiness from the inside out.
Depending where you are in your life and what you need, a couple of session might also provide you with the clarity you are longing for.