One of the first things that people tell us when they attend the Introduction to Life Coaching training, is that they always thought of life coaches as a wise older figure. More like Gandalf or Gandhi, then your friendly neighbour. A figure with varied life experience so that they can lead people through their challenges.
But the truth is, it doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t before coaching! The job of a life coach is to ask insightful questions and listen to their client and age or life experience has nothing to do with that.
Yes, you will start seeing things from a different, wider perspective but what matters is that you have the skills and abilities needed to do the job as a life coach!
This is one of the most common myths out there and that’s why we address it first thing at our free life coaching training. A coach is not a mentor and it is not a coach’s job to give answers.
A mentor will usually share some useful information with their client, give them advice based on their experience and generally be someone who has gone through the same journey before – a hero leading the way.
A coach, on the other hand, is a guide who is helping you find the right path. A coach will ask you insightful questions so that you can uncover the answers to your problems. Whether the coach has been on that path before doesn’t matter – you are the hero in this story.
When you first start coaching, you might think that your job is to ask questions and once your client has got the goal nailed, you’re done.
Asking questions is an important part and with experience, you’ll start to ask better and better questions.
But what is equally important is to listen. Listen actively and listen deeply. There is no better feeling than catching a perceived limit or a counterproductive story within your client's words and only then asking the right questions.
The origins of this myth might be from sports, where star athletes were the only ones with coaches and so people came to associate high-performers with this kind of additional support.
But coaching can help in many areas of life and business, and we’d argue, it’s especially useful for those who are unable to reach their goals.
Going even further, it can make the biggest difference for people going through the biggest challenges of their lives, where their goal might be simply survival and the thought of success seems like a distant memory.
So many have lost their jobs in these challenging times, many are struggling to keep afloat, and too many are struggling through health issues.
There has never been a bigger need for the support of a coach than there is right now.
We’re not contradicting ourselves here but you might notice two kinds of people in the world: the ones who ask for help and the ones who prefer to do it all alone. Many times, those who do it alone believe that their strength comes from pushing themselves and no one else can help them on the road to success.
But case study after case study reinforces the argument that the support of a coach leads not only to better and faster results but to a sustainable success built on a solid foundation – in life and business.
Some coaches might think to themselves, ‘I’m a coach, so I better know how to implement these tools and strategies on myself. If I have a coach that only shows people that I’m not good at my job.’
We’re here to expose this myth for the nonsense that it is.
The first thing we tell our new students here at The Coaching Academy is to get themselves a coach.
The first thing a mentor will ask you on your coaching study journey – who is coaching you at the moment?
Yes, all coaches can coach themselves to a certain degree but having your own coach will give you additional accountability, plus they will help you fit the studies into your busy life, to start with.
As coaches, we often won't (or avoid to) ask ourselves those tough questions that actually hit the bullseye to creating the insight and awareness required to unlock the combination code to achievement.
On an additional note – if, as a coach, you don’t have a coach yourself, how can you tell your clients to get a coach? It’s an invaluable experience to go through, to feel what your client will feel because it will only make you a better coach. Not just talk the talk, but walk the walk.
Coaching can be a life-changing experience but it’s not for all circumstances, or for everyone for that matter.
There are certain situations where it might be useful to get therapeutic help instead of coaching. Good, qualified coaches like the ones who study with The Coaching Academy know the boundaries between coaching and therapy and are prepared to recommend other interventions as needed.
On the other spectrum, you might find yourself with a client who keeps asking for your direct advice. Mentorship might be a better solution for some who need hands-on guidance with an aspect of their life or work.
Take your first step towards a rewarding & fulfilling Coaching career with our Introduction to Life Coaching online training.
If you would like to know more about what Coaching is and how it can benefit you and the lives of others, or if you feel that Coaching could be a potential full or part-time opportunity for you, join us in this live training. Choose from available dates here.
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.
