Life Coaches
Life Coaching has certainly been on the increase in recent years. Many people we have coached have turned their hand to life coaching after taking some kind of formal qualification in the subject.
Carole Barr
I am a professionally qualified Coach and Training Consultant with 12 years experience of training, coaching and project management within a leading Life Assurance organisation. I work with individuals who want to get the very best out of life and themselves.
Richard Bisiker
Richard Bisiker is a personal development Coach, trainer, and author. His experience is well rounded across the private and public sectors in the UK and Far East. His 15 years experience covers strategic to operational management, personal development and 'Personal Coaching'.
Michele Armstrong
Michele is a Certified Life Coach, Head of Association for Coaching Scotland and now heads up developments for the Youth Coach Scotland project. Michele is the first ever AC Accredited Coach in Scotland (from June 2005) and has now taken on the role of assessor for other coaches who wish to become accredited by the Association for Coaching.
Carole Barr, who until she graduated from The University of Strathclyde with her Certificate of Professional Development in Coaching, was busy Coaching staff, managers and analysts in a large Life Assurance Company, has written the following article. Carole talks candidly of her early days and of the value of the process.
"Life would be so wonderful if we only knew what to do with it" - Greta Garbo
This wonderful quote was on a card given to me by a very good friend who added her own comment, 'looks like you're one step ahead of Garbo'. She wasn't referring to my acting skills; I had recently decided to go 'public' as a Life Coach. After years of coaching managers and staff in business and dozens of friends, I had taken the huge step of setting up my business. How did I get here? Years of badgering and telling from friends hadn't made me make the move. It was only after one very powerful 'life' coaching session that I could see that I could do it. Of course these friends were exasperated but very pleased for me. I needed someone outside of my life to help me unlock my thoughts and faith in myself and kick start me into action.
Why was this life coaching session so powerful? The coach asked me some very direct questions about what it was I wanted, what was holding me back and what I planned to do to make the change. In this way I felt able to say out loud what my fears and hopes were. It helped me to put in order thoughts and plans that had been travelling at great speed in my own head. I faced the fact that I could do this, I was on the right track and also what was stopping me taking the next steps. He had faith in me and helped me prioritise my next steps. I felt energised and excited about the future.
We seek assistance from professionals such as Independent Financial Advisors to help us organise our insurance and mortgage needs. They have specialised skills in their field, they know the market and can find the right products for us much quicker than we can. They know the questions to ask us to make sure we get the right cover for our needs. A life coach is another professional who is there to enable you to achieve your life goals using specialised questions and tools.
So, why do we need life coaches now when a generation ago we managed without them?
- There are increased demands and roles for people, time is precious and we need to make the most of the time we have
- We have increased expectations of ourselves and our lives
- We have more choices and decisions to make i.e. family, career, home and leisure
- In general people have more disposable income with which to spend on self improvement
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us."
Excerpt from Nelson Mandela inaugural speech.
People nowadays don't want to just 'make do' they want to make the most of their lives. They want to achieve more and reach for the skies. However, this is not always easy to do alone. What is it they want to achieve, how do they make the decision, what if it is wrong and how do they prioritise goals with so many other demands on their time? That's where working with a life coach can help. The life coach is independent and objective. There's no hidden agenda or emotional links with the client. My own experience proved this worked as I felt more able to express my fears and hopes to my coach. He made it possible for me to look closely at what I wanted and what I had to do to get there. Specific questioning techniques and tools and models are used to unravel the client's issues and help provide clarity and understanding of a situation.
We've all been in situations where we are too close to see possible solutions and actions. When I was initially thinking about starting my own business as a Life Coach I spent hours pondering various questions. How do you start a business? Can I do that? Who do I speak to? Is it too big a step? What do I need to think of? Etc etc. I had pieces of information, had various thoughts about my ability to take this step and was ultimately staying stuck. I couldn't move forward, I was unable to see what it was that was stopping me. If I hadn't had that coaching session I would've still been asking myself these questions.
My own definition of life coaching is that it's about unlocking people's potential and enabling them to move forward. The life coach will give an objective and fresh viewpoint. Ultimately it's about believing in the client's ability and untapped resources and galvanising that into action. As a coach, I am with the client on their journey, believing in them, not judging them but supporting them.
This is what one of my clients has said about our coaching sessions;
"When I first went to Carole, I didn't know what to expect. I assumed that a Life Coach was someone that would be very dynamic and pushy and would set me goals and deadlines which I would need to stick to or I'd get a row. However, it was not like that at all. We started by trying to establish what it was that I wanted out of life and where I wanted to be. This was done in a really calm way, not the kind of "go getter" way that I had envisaged.
We talked around what my life was like now, what I didn't like about my life or myself and what I wanted to change to get to where I wanted to be.
At these initial meetings I was all over the place, waffling away, completely confused and throwing all these ideas and self-analysis thoughts at Carole. She acted firstly like a diffuser - she has a very calm manner that brought me right down from my 100 mile an hour lifestyle to a manageable 10 mile an hour meeting. She next acted as a filter - while I verbalized all my thoughts, aspirations and feelings of inadequacy she asked questions to make me hone in on what it was that I really wanted to change."
As each client is very individual, the sessions are flexible and tailored to meet their needs, expectations and learning styles. I offer a free first session, at that the client can find out more about what to expect from coaching and from me. We can also start to explore what the client wants from coaching. During the sessions we set goals and then reset goals as necessary. I use questioning and exercises to aid the coaching process. The client will also do work at home as this helps to incorporate the changes into their everyday lives. We are looking at strategies for life and not just quick fixes. Life coaching is powerful and produces significant results, this takes skill and experience on the part of the coach and commitment and input from the client.
Life coaching, unlike Counselling is currently not regulated, however there are ways to make sure your life coach has been trained to a high standard. CFM Consulting run a very robust certificate in Performance Coaching which is supported by Strathclyde University. Academies such as The Coaching Academy and Coaching University run accredited courses for Life Coaches. A client can also ask to see a copy of the coaches Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance. It can only be for the good if the Life Coaching profession was regulated in the same way as Counselling currently is. As it is, checking on appropriate training and insurance as well as personal recommendations is the best way to ensure you have a good Life Coach. Many coaches offer free initial sessions so that the client can decide if they can work with the coach and to also find out what to expect from life coaching. Life coaching is not therapy and a good Life Coach will make this very clear and will not try to counsel someone, but recommend seeking other forms of help if this is felt to be the best option.
Would I recommend Life Coaching to help you reach for the skies and to maximize your quality of life, yes.absolutely!