You’ll find a life coach in virtually every major city in the US.
The same can be said for other metro areas in other parts of the world. These coaches come in their droves carrying fancy titles. They come in all forms as a career coach, a nutrition coach, a health coach, business coach, relationship coach, executive coach, etc.
As of now, there are tens of thousands of coaches around the world and more and more are entering the profession every other day. But, with so many coaches out there, how exactly can you find the right one?
Finding the Right Life Coach
You need to find more than just another life coach.
It’s very important that you find the right life coach for you. The right coach will challenge and empower you. In a sector where there are no strict regulations and anybody can just come in, this can pose a real challenge. But no matter how challenging this may be, that’s the very least you can do for yourself.
Finding the right life coach will be very important as you aim to reach into your dreams and exceed expectations. To make this much easier for you, below are some questions you’ll need to find answers to.
Why exactly do you need a coach?
You’ll come across some life coaches who will portray themselves to you as the one and only solution to every one of your life’s problems –but be wary of this bunch!
Now, ask yourself, what area of your life really needs fixing?
Are you searching for happiness? Is it something that has to do with your career? Perhaps you’re looking for a coach to help you improve your health and fitness, or probably you want someone who can help you improve your leadership or management skills.
Being specific with what you’re looking for will make it easier to for you to find a life coach who can help your particular situation and not just someone who thinks they can take on everything.
What training or certification do they have?
Perhaps you’ve found a coach already, why not ask them about how they got to become a coach.
In the US and most other countries, anybody can just wake up, read some books about self-help and life coaching and then start taking in coaching clients.
Before you sign yourself over for coaching, make inquiries and ask about the training or certification of the coach as well as their coaching model. Although working with a certified coach does not automatically guarantee success, it thus says a lot about their credibility as well as their true understanding of the craft.
How receptive are you to change?
In a life coach, you’ve got yourself a cheerleader who also won’t hesitate to encourage you to be your best self. They’ll be there to help you grow and achieve your set goals, sometimes even stretching you farther than you believe you can.
However, the life coach is not one to tell you what you have to do.
A good life coach will help you explore situations so you can end up making the best decisions. Rather than boss around, telling you everything you need to do, a good coach would rather aim at changing their clients’ behaviors, a practice that has been proven to be undoubtedly better than giving out instructions.
How will you know if the sessions are working?
Although you really can’t place a value on good life coaching, still, this is an investment and so it must also provide maximum value. But how will you know if you’re getting this value?
Your life coach will help you set goals that align with your intentions. Not just that, they’ll help you set a timeframe so you can assess the services based on your current position.
It’s however important that you understand that it will take some time to get out of the issues that have become complicated over time. It will take some time to achieve progress and many coaches offer free consultation sessions before you sign up so you can have an idea of what’s in it for you.
Career coaching: Finding the right career coach
Whether you’re struggling to overcome a career crisis or are in serious need of professional reinvention, a career coach will make a world of difference.
And just the same way it is difficult to find a great life coach in this non-regulated industry; it will also take you some efforts before you can find the career coach for you.
Reaching out at the appropriate time
Granted that it’s a real challenge to find a great life coach, delaying the inevitable till the breaking point is even more disastrous. Many do not take the necessary steps until they’ve lost their job or are on the verge of quitting by which time they are already neck deep in crisis making them easily liable to fall into incapable hands.
Nowadays, your career coach or life coach don’t necessarily have to be local. The cyberspace is filled with all manners of coaches and you can as well look here to find your most suitable match.
You really don’t have any excuse to delay your improvements any longer. Remember, not every problem you have will be within the scope of a career coach. If you’re having an issue you feel is broader, perhaps getting therapy or medical attention would make sense first.
Understand what improvement you want
Identifying and understand what exactly you want to improve should also influence your choice of a career coach. Different coaches have different skills and so they offer different insights.
Whether you want to learn more on how to navigate office politics, transition to a new line of work or any other issue related to your job, it’s always better to work with coaches who have similarexperiences in such situations. This way, your work, together with the coach will be more targeted and better positioned for great results.
Testing the waters
You’re the one that needs the work and only you can determine whether or not the coaching sessions have been successful. But even before you start, you can take advantage of free consultation sessions offered by some career coaches so you can have a glimpse of what their career coaching model and sessions are really like. Do you feel like this is something that will help you?
And remember;
Your goals and expectations as far as your career is concerned will most likely change with time. While what you need today may center on finding your passion, in 20 years time, you may find yourself looking for answers on how you can fulfill a second act in retirement.
Your career coaching will not last forever and remember, certain types of coaches may be well suited to help better with certain types of issues.
The bottom line is; finding a good coach will save you a great deal as this will help you avoid common pitfalls that may be causing you series of frustrations at your job. However, finding the right coach for you is what will make the ultimate difference.
No matter the efforts and challenges, finding the right career coach is well worth it and you’ll be glad you did.
Author’s Bio:
Bijan Kholghi is a life coach with a special psychological education in hypno-systemic coaching. His teacher Dr. Gunther Schmidt is the founder of Milton Erickson Institute in Heidelberg (Germany), a direct student of Milton H. Erickson, and a leading figure in psychotherapy education in Europe. His highly effective coaching and therapy method helps people getting aware of their unconscious pattern and gaining control over them. This leads to a more fulfilled and happier life.