A greater number of people are leaving their 9 to 5 routine in search of their dream job; many are turning to Life Coaching as a preferred option. Many of those taking this option are finding a great deal of success and they are becoming well respected coaches but not without a great deal of hard work.

To some the role of a life coach seems like a nice ‘stroll in the park’ compared to the drudgery of the job they are leaving behind. Don’t be fooled by this perception; nothing could be further from the truth, there is a great deal of hard work and dedication required to follow in the footsteps of the successful coaches. Despite the number of successful coaches, there are however a number who haven’t gone on to achieve the same success as their peers. Having said that, there is a great deal of support available from existing coaches and coach training organisations such as The Coaching Academy, they’ll be more than happy to provide their expertise and knowledge to help your personal development. Some of them will require a payment whereas others may be less demanding; however with a little creative negotiation you may be able to come to some agreement.

The following are 10 steps for you to include in your coaching development to help you become a great coach and move onto the success track.

1. Ask great questions

The process of life coaching is based on the coach asking the client a series of questions; the questions are well structured and appropriately phrased. There are also certain types of questions that should be left well alone; typically these being closed questions, they only require a yes/no answer. The why question is met with a mixed reception in coaching circles; some believe it shouldn’t be used because of the implied guilt feeling it imposes on the client, whereas others use it because they believe it ‘shocks’ the client into a deeper thinking process and allows them to consider their actions at a deeper level. These are a few examples of the questions that should either be avoided or given careful thought before using them.

Life Coaches love to talk about questions being powerful, empowering and challenging; the purpose of the questioning process is to encourage the client to consider as many options to their problem or issues as possible; this is achieved by asking them questions that will encourage them to ask their inner self questions about what their true limits are and what they can really do, what is really possible and what has been holding them back. To achieve this the coach needs to be aware of a the structure this style of question, the follow are typical questions that follow this format.

• What do you want to happen?
• How will that affect . . . ? (fill in the blank)
• Who else is involved?
• What will success look like?
• How will you know you’ve achieved success?

As a coach you’ll know when you’ve asked a great question; it’s when you get the ‘light bulb’ or the ‘ah-ha’ moment. You can download a list of 50 great coaching questions free of charge from here.

2. Be transparent

As a coach you need to, in fact it’s a must, be able to build success relationships with your clients. This needs to be done with ease; falling into instant rapport should be ‘as easy as falling off a log’. Success in this area can be achieved by learning to be open and honest with your client, let them see you as you are. What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) is a trendy acronym used in many different situations; in coaching it is used to clarify the importance of being transparent. If your client is unable to trust you, any relationship you attempt to build with them will struggle to get off the ground and the goals they are wanting to achieve will continue to remain out of their reach.

3. Be honest with your client

If the rules and regulations are clearly defined at the start of the coaching relationship; this will prevent any embarrassing moments further into the coaching sessions. If you are honest with your client from the outset they will return the compliment and be honest with you. The honesty comes when asking the questions that need to be asked, whether the client wants to hear them or not. This doesn’t give the coach the licence to ask any question they wish without considering the clients feelings. If there is a need to ask a difficult question the criteria for identify how it will be asked will have been defined from the onset. For instance, it could be the coach indicating that they are about to ask such a question, this will prevent any shock or embarrassing situations. If in doubt ask your client if you can ask questions about . . . (fill in the blank).

4. Use a higher level of listening

Listen to your client on a higher level; how often do you use the lower levels of listening in your everyday conversations. You may not be aware there are different levels; they are as follows. Level 1 is listening on and off; level 2 is hearing the sounds and words but the listener prefers to talk more than listening. Level 3 includes active listening. At this level the listener tries to put themselves in the speakers place; they try to see things from the other person’s point of view.

5. Keep your client on track

Your active listening and powerful questioning are both crucial to keeping your client on track and preventing them from ‘wandering off’ and talking about issues that are unrelated to the coaching session and the goal they have set. However, do be careful how you use this tactic; refrain from interrupting your client unnecessarily and shocking them into a redirection, especially with a nervous client. If they are beginning to ‘open up’ in a newly formed coaching relationship it can be both damaging to their confidence and create a barrier to them finding their solutions. Again include the procedure for these instances when setting up the relationship.

6. Walk your talk

If you are expecting your clients to respond to coaching it’s a great idea for you to return the compliment and take a life coach on for yourself; this will stop you losing track of what it feels like to be coached. You’ll be reminded of the trials and tribulations your client is undertaking; it will also help you with your self development.

7. Continue your personal development

Whether you have a Life Coaching certificate or diploma; refrain from resting on your education and skill development laurels, this is not recommended and will not help your future success. Continuing your personal growth is key to your continued success, whether you choose to attend short courses rather than the longer courses they will still support your progress. Short or long courses, they will all provide the same benefit to your Personal Development Training.

8. Show empathy towards your client

It is important to show some empathy towards your client, I’m not saying you should feel sorry for them. If you have an understanding of where they have come from this will be a little easier; if you are unclear about their background be wary about showing insincere empathy. That is worse than showing none at all. Being able to show true empathy will come from developing a strong and sound coaching relationship with your client; clearly listening to what they are saying using your higher level listening skills will help you illicit the necessary information.

9. Identify a development coach to work with

This is becoming more and more important and being recognised as one of the better ways to pursue your Personal Development Training. Identify yourself a Development Coach to support you with your own Life Coaching development. This isn’t the same as have your own Life Coach; this is a person who can offer you advise as opposed to just asking you coaching questions, helping you with your goal setting and supporting you towards your goals. Your development coach will be more like a mentor, the role of a development coach has been discussed in a previous post, which you can read here.

10. Respect yourself and your skills

When you are deciding how much to charge your clients be completely honest and respectful to yourself; you have worked hard to achieve the level education, training and skill level you have reached, make sure you receive the appropriate rewards through your coaching practice. Don’t undercut yourself and undervalue skills by reducing your charges for the sake of gaining clinets.

Measure your charges against how much your client is benefiting and this will give you an idea of how much to charge. Read here how 10 ordinary people built a thriving global business coaching practice. Measure your charges against how much your client is benefiting and this will give you an idea of how much to charge.

Thank you for reading this post, please let me know what you think and share your experiences.  While you’re here please take the time to sign up for the newsletter or alternatively you may prefer to subscribe for regular updates in your favourite reader or by email.

photo credit: Melody Campbell

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Tags: 10 steps, Goal setting, Life Coaching, Personal Development, personal development training, Personal Growth, self development, Technorati, The Coaching Academy

This entry was posted on 4 November 2009 at 6:03 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Coaching by Paul Worswick View Comments