Did you know that not all Life Coaches are created equal? Haha! Of course they aren’t…. Here are some guidelines that could help you if you are considering life coaching for yourself:
1). Don’t hire someone who you’d like to be friends with.
I’m not saying you don’t like them… you should like them. The qualities that you would seek in a friendship are different from the qualities you should seek in a coach. A coach should not be your ‘yes’ person–meaning, they should not agree with you all the time and tell you want to hear. The opposite is true, actually. A good coach will call you out on your BS and challenge you to grow. That, in turn, will require getting uncomfortable sometimes.
2). Realize that you are often getting what you pay for.
This means that if you pay someone $25 a session vs. $175 a session, then you will probably be getting a limited version of coaching. A good coach has invested much time and money into their education to become a coach. Their time and expertise is valuable. As such, what you pay should be commensurate with what you are getting.
3). Understand that there is a Certification process in order to become a Professional Life Coach.
Had I just hung a shingle that said ‘life coach’ prior to 2013 and my education and subsequent certification, then I would have only been mildly effective with my clients. What I came to learn and understand through the all of my training was that the skills, techniques, and presence required to really help people in a deep and powerful way, were learned. A professional coach takes their clients desires and needs very seriously and applies researched-backed methods in their sessions.
4). Don’t assume the coach will tell you how to change or what to do.
This is a huge misunderstanding people can have when hiring a coach. A coach partners with their client by helping them to get clear on what it is they want for their life and how to get it. A therapist gives advice; a coach does not. A coach helps create an environment for deep self-work and exploration so that answers and direction in life can come from the
client…who is the authority of them own life. Ultimately, changes that come from this place, the client’s own thinking, will be the changes that have a lasting effect in their life. The client will have ‘buy-in’ because the ideas/changes will resonate with them to the core.
5). Don’t expect that change can happen in a few weeks.
When entering into a coaching relationship, one should seek to make a commitment of time, money, and effort. Real and lasting change happens over time. When you make a change or achieve a goal, often there is a saboteur (often fear of some sort), that shows up and wants things to go back to how they were. A great life coach will be there to make sure you understand what’s happening so that you can move forward and not succumb to the usual ‘stuckness’ or self-sabotage that you have been playing out in your life for years. A coach who allows you to go ‘week by week’ with sessions to ‘see how it goes’… is not serving you powerfully. There is a real commitment in this work. A commitment to change takes time, patience, self-love, and a coach that will hold you accountable and be in it with you for your long-term success and not short-term gains.
