Although this article is called 5 reasons you aren’t ready to be a life coach, we can take it as SOUND ADVICE FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR A COACH.
One of the aspects of coaching that I take more seriously (I take it to heart better said) is client education. In this world where being a coach is so easy (looks like at least), we find many people who call themselves coaches because they have “life experience”. What is life experience? What’s the point of hiring a coach for “life experience” when you could just ask your parents or grandparents, or anyone older than you for the matter?
A coach is there for you NOT to teach you how to live, but to unblock you, motivate you, support you, hold your hand so you don’t have to do it on your own, and even kick your ass when needed (trust me, my coach does this to me over and over again and I couldn’t be more thankful to her!), so that you can CHOOSE how you want to go about your life, business, or whatever the topic the coaching is about.
Your coach will ask you 1001 questions (after all, that’s what we do) to help you towards the goal you have fixed for yourself. The same way, when you’re choosing a coach, you are 100% entitled to ask questions. It is your right as a client to know who you are going to work with and put yourself in the best available hands for you.
Coaching education is extremely important for the coach. A coach that has gone through a coaching program respects themselves and respects their clients. If anyone can be a coach, what’s the point of investing all this time, effort and money (and it’s a lot of money) to become one? I’m talking from my own experience when I say that I thought education was just a title when I started my coaching program, oh how wrong I was! After finishing the program, I realized I was in diapers at the beginning. Not only I became a better coach (well, I became a coach, that I wasn’t before!), I also became a better human being and a happier and more content person overall.
Please, please, please. Make informed decisions. Educate yourself before hiring a coach, find the best fit for you, ask questions. Have a session with them before committing to anything. If you wouldn’t hire an architect to build your house just because of life experience and because they liked playing with Legos when they were kids, don’t hire a coach because of the same reason.
