Life Coach - Real or Fake?
With the growing trend of life coaching, everyone is calling themselves a coach these days. I'm on twitter , a cool social networking site. It's amazing how many people who are in sales and network marketing call themselves "coach".
Elsewhere in this blog you might have read that my personal prejudice is that a life coach does not have to be certified and does not even need formal training necessarily. I learned more from receiving good coaching than I did at my very expensive training school.
That being said, if you want to hire a life coach and you find someone who calls themselves coach but has nothing to offer, it will become apparent to you when you interview the coach - whether in person or on the phone.
An authentic coach will offer you a sample session or will have an in-depth conversation before either of you could possibly consider whether you are right for the coaching relationship with each other. I used to offer a sample session but since I don't know you and don't know enough about you, I find that if we ask a lot of questions of each other, if we are forthright in our communication and I understand what you want from your coaching, I can then tell you what I can offer. I often tend to tell a potential client what I've worked on with other clients and what I've changed in my life in relationship to their needs.
Many who call me have told me that they talked to lots of coaches and they felt "sold". It takes a high level of confidence in ones self, a lot of trust in the Universe to provide the material goods required by the life coach and a strong sense of intuition to not feel fearful of not being hired. I told you in another post recently that I "fired" a client when I realized I was beginning to totally resist our appointments.
Since I usually look forward to each session with anticipation and joy and leave feeling focused, centered and empowered, I knew something was very wrong. I realized that I had been blinded during our initial interview by my ego in agreeing to work with this lawyer because he is my ex-husband's nephew and I thought it was such a "special compliment" to me seeing what our marriage status is and has been for 25 years. Well, that didn't work out. We ended on a positive note but I fell into a very human trap of satisfying my ego but not seeing that we weren't a good match to start out with.
So, again, hopefully you will know immediately if you have the right person or not to hire as a life coach. But certainly you will figure it out quickly and that's why I advise - keep interviewing until you are sure.
YOU University Coaching/Life Coach Training and Life Coaching
YOU University Coaching/Life Coach Training and Life Coaching
[...] it comes to sharing your spiritual beliefs with a stranger. These suggestions will help you… Who’s A Fake Coach? October 6, 2008, By All About Life Coaching With the growing trend of life coaching, everyone is [...]
ReplyDeleteGreat post Maia.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to make two points --
1) I agree that certifications do not make a coach. In fact, sometimes, I think that certifications can lead people who have no real experience in helping others to adopt a cokkie cutter approach to coaching. In my experience, one size does not fit all.
2) A good coach does not sell too hard. He or she will maintain his or her sense of self and personal ethics.
I recently lost a corporate coaching assignment because the client was not willing to have her boss participate in the goal setting phase of the coaching. One of my hard and fast rules is that if a company is paying for a client's coaching, the company has a right to be involved in determining the desired outcomes for the coaching.
My point is that good coaches have standards. Beware of coaches who will do and say anything just to gain you as a client
All the best,
Bud Bilanich
The Common Sense Guy
This is great. Helps in my search. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteVery useful advice Maia. I have only once had to "sack" a client and it was on the basis of a gut feeling that she was holding back something deliberately. Despite telling her how I felt it continued and ethically I could no longer work with her as I did not feel it would be of any use to her.
ReplyDeleteI need to have some discussion with potential clients - at the very least to build rapport - before starting work together. I agree there is no one size fits all - for qualifications or how coaching is delivered. Anyone thinking of hiring a coach should ask around to find a coach who is a good fit with them - and trust their instincts when they do.
This is a great posts. I too made a decision to no longer work with a client. I am new to coaching and through working with my coach I realized that she was (1) not ready to be coached and (2) may need counseling. Plus she was abusive of our relationship. She was a friend and felt that she could pick up the phone at anytime and say she needs a session, when I specifically gave her a time for coaching. My time is very important to me and should not be abused.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Maia. I too have 'let go' of clients when I don't feel that we are getting anywhere. Some people come for coaching because it is the 'right' thing to do but don't really want to make changes in their lives. When you are hearing the same story over and over and there is one step forward and 5 steps backwards you need to question a)whether this person does really want to move on and b)whether you are the right person to work with them if you are not achieving the results.
ReplyDelete