Have you ever felt unsure of yourself as a coach? Scared that you might not have an answer for someone? You have the qualifications to be a coach so what makes you so hesitant? It often all comes down to confidence. What if you have - right now - much more to offer a client than you think? What if you could make a big difference to someone's life right now? Here are some valuable things that you can offer a client immediately:
Most people listen in 'waiting for my turn to speak' mode or they are busy noticing whether what they are hearing is boring or entertaining. But the coach listens with undivided attention. A coach listens and thinks, 'is this moving forward?', 'are there actionable steps to take?' Simply by both of you coming together to look for ways your client can progress, you are giving your client something he or she doesn't normally get from a conversation.
It's amazing how much a person will do because there is someone to hold them accountable. They know next week you are going to ask them, 'Did you do it?' Just by being there, you are helping them to discover what is important in their life. It's like having a running partner. Without your partner there, you might not go very far or even bother to get out of bed to go for a run. With your partner, your attention is focused on the running and you will run further, faster and with more excitement.
Being able to talk about their issues lends clarity to your clients. Just discussing what has been clanging about their heads all week is valuable. Have you ever tried to solve a problem and got nowhere until you had a chance to talk about it with someone? You are giving your clients an opportunity to do that every week.
You may be able to see what they are doing in a new light. You may have a different perspective allowing you to see their blind spots. Some things may be obvious to you but don't even occur to them. You might have different ideas. These are just a few of your amazing qualities. You can make a difference to the people around you and the best thing you can do right now is to believe this yourself.
Applying the above can help you to feel more confident with your Coaching skills and build stronger relationships with your Coaching clients.
The Coaching Academy was established in 1999, and is now the world's largest coaching school.
In that time we have trained over 14,000 people to become life coaches.
We are accredited by the International Coach Federation and the Association for Coaching, and we're rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
