I was recently having a conversation with someone I’m close to about something I was working on and asked for some input/insight from her. Her response was (I’m paraphrasing), “To be honest, I don’t even know what I would I would hire a coach for. I mean, what do coaches help people do?”
Now obviously I know from experience that there are a LOT of people who are unfamiliar with the coaching profession, what coaches do, and how a coach can help them. In fact, this realization was a big part of why I launched my “100 Days of Coaching Challenge.” (For more information on that FREE opportunity, which runs through December 10th, see my earlier blog post or the pinned post on the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HigherGoodCoaching.) But the fact that someone I know well, speak to often, who knows I have worked as a coach for a number of years, and who knows I am the founder of my own coaching company would ask that was a true “aha” moment for me!
So rather than sit in my surprise, I decided to use the moment as a learning opportunity and reach out to my community to address these questions. Hopefully my thoughts below will help you learn more about what coaching is, what it can do, why people hire coaches, and why paying for coaching is worth the investment!
So what IS coaching?
The International Coach Federation (the leading global organization dedicated to advancing the coaching profession and the source of the only globally-recognized independent credentialing program for coach practitioners) defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”
Simply put, coaching helps you access and maximize the potential that already exists inside you and to grow into the person you want to be. This is possible because coaching enables you to partner with an expert who is trained to help you discover solutions, explore resources, achieve goals, and stretch yourself beyond what you could accomplish on your own. Your coach will also be your greatest cheerleader, helping you to see the truth of who you are and celebrating your wins.
What kinds of things can coaching help me accomplish?
Effective coaches can help you address virtually anything in your life. That said, most coaches have a particular area of focus for their business, so it is important to find a coach whose work aligns to your needs. Benefits of coaching may include, but are not limited to, increased life satisfaction, a greater sense of work/life balance, more effective and more rapid achievement of goals, professional advancement, increases in creative thinking and problem-solving, growth of a business or project, reductions in feeling “stuck,” more personal and financial security, a greater sense of ease in decision-making, and increased personal growth.
My focus is Transition & Growth Coaching, and my passion is partnering with individuals to discover what resonates with them most deeply in their life or work and help them achieve it. I call this process of discovering their best life and self the journey to their Higher Good.
What kinds of things do people hire coaches for?
The list of things coaching can help you with is almost endless, but a few common examples are: being a more effective leader, discovering your purpose, balancing and prioritizing the various demands on your time, building or growing a business, determining the decisions that are “right” for you, career transitions (return to work force, promotion, change in career field, etc.), improving health and wellness, taking action on priorities, having a greater impact in work or life, etc.
In terms of exploring how YOU specifically might use a coach, here are several things to consider:
Ø Where in your life do you feel stuck or less-than-satisfied?
Ø What goals seem to be alluding you?
Ø What would need to change for you to become the person you dream of being?
Ø What is standing in the way of your success?
Ultimately, coaching can help you explore the things you want to change about yourself and your life and support you along the journey to becoming who you are meant to be!
Why is coaching worth the investment?
Think about how often you spend money on things that aren’t necessary or could be considered luxuries…coffee, movies, dining out, new clothes/shoes, the latest and greatest technology, etc. Yet when it comes to investing that same money on ourselves in meaningful ways, we often hesitate. When you stop to consider that an investment in coaching is an investment in yourself, that coaching can help you achieve the things you want most, and that you are hiring someone who will partner with you as your sounding board, biggest growth advocate, and someone who will help you identify and focus your talents, it seems like a simple decision.
I encourage anyone and everyone to reach out to potential coaches to speak with them and perhaps even utilize a free coaching session, if offered. Then you can experience for yourself what coaching is, why people hire coaches, how coaching can help you, the kinds of things you can work on with a coach, and that coaching is worth the investment in yourself and your future.
If you are interested in a FREE, no strings attached coaching mini-session, email Becky@highergoodcoaching.com.
