One could say that everybody needs a coach. Here’s why.
The role of a coach is to help you thrive, to support you in achieving goals and overcoming obstacles in your way. The coach helps you figure out a way to overcome obstacles around you, but most importantly, they support you in overcoming obstacles within you.
If you’ve considered working with a coach, let me share some insights that might help you take the step.
If you haven’t considered it, perhaps this will inspire you.
Who needs a coach?
My clients are very diverse, and just some examples of my clients profiles:
A Chief Financial Officer deciding when to retire,
A Project Manager who’s looking for a more meaningful and spiritual career,
An HR Manager in a large corporation who wants to be more assertive,
A Game Artist recovering from a toxic work relationship,
A Marketing Executive who’s looking to be promoted,
A Team Lead who wants to be more clear, direct and concise in her communication style,
A DEI Manager looking to be more productive and manage her time better.
There is always something you’d like to do or approach differently, a skill that you’d like to develop, something that you’d like to explore. It’s not about having a problem that needs fixing, it’s about having a desire, or the want of a desire, and no clear path towards it.
The role of the coach is to help you on that journey, support you, guide you, bring a framework to help you figure out the steps and keep you accountable to yourself.
You may not be ready for coaching if you are having difficulties functioning or are clinically depressed, in which case therapy might be a more appropriate step. Coaching and therapy can definitely be combined, and I always recommend my clients to check in with their therapist to assess the timing of it.
When do you need a coach?
Everybody can benefit from coaching, nevertheless, coaching is a lot of work for the client. There is a commitment that is needed, it is an investment of your time, money and energy. When you need a coach is when you’re ready to take that step towards what it is that you want.
When you should hire a coach is when you’re ready to do what it takes to change and to make change happen. Nothing will happen unless you make it happen.
Signs are you are ready to work with a coach:
You are excited,
You are ready,
You are committed to change,
You want to move forward but are unsure what should be your next steps,
You want support
How to choose a coach?
Working with a coach can be an extremely rewarding experience, however choosing a coach can be difficult.
The coaching profession, just like therapy, is not regulated, therefore the first thing to do is to make sure that you are working with a coach who has been properly trained and qualified. An easy way to do that is to check whether they’re accredited with a professional body such as the ICF (International Coaching Federation) which would ensure appropriate training, experience and ethics.
You can find a coach by doing an internet or Linkedin search.
Always have a first free consultation call, in order to test your relationship with the coach. Here are a couple of questions that are helpful to ask yourself after that session:
How comfortable did you feel telling your story to this coach?
How safe did you feel telling your story to this coach?
How are you feeling after that conversation?
What have you learned from that conversation?
To what extent did you feel heard / understood by this coach?
Why do you need a coach?
It is a common belief that we should be doing everything ourselves.
How can a session with a coach be different from a conversation with a good friend that cares about you?
It’s different because the coach is neutral, they have no agenda, and it’s all about you. There is no reciprocity. A coach will not try to advise you or tell you what to do, they will help you figure out the answer that is already within you.
We recently came to the conclusion of our coaching engagement with a client of mine, and as we were wrapping up, she shared that when she first set out to work with a coach, she had her doubts that it would come to anything. She knew she was unhappy and she couldn’t see a way out of the work life she had “settled for” and how working with a coach would make any difference.
She had been working for 20 years in a bank in jobs she didn’t like, which were draining her energy, impacting her work-life balance and most specifically the quality of the time she spent with her husband and children. After 8 months of working together, she’s chosen to retrain as a psychological practitioner.
She shared that she wouldn’t have been able to figure it out on her own, that she was grateful for my support and guidance, which helped her get clarity on what she really wanted and which was attainable and realistic, helped her overcome the moments when she wanted to give up, and helped her overcome the limiting beliefs in her that got in the way. And today she is excited and eager to start on the journey of her new career. She got her spark back.
We do not grow alone.
We have our parents, our teachers, our extended family, our friends. We are doing nothing alone, so why do we think we should overcome our inner obstacles alone as well?
We all have dark moments, when we don’t know what to do, we don’t even know if we still want the things we wanted. Giving up seems easier than confronting the challenges and facing our fears. Having a coach is having someone help you navigate these periods with non-judgemental words of support, wisdom and clarity.
Are you ready?