Life coaches: What can they do for me and where can I find them?
The role of Life coaches is to facilitate your achievement of those goals you have for your life. As a whole, life coaches are trained and certified professionals who will not tell you what you should do. That’s for you to decide for yourself. Instead, they will help you identify and remove obstacles that keep you from achieving your goals.
Life coaches understand that each trainee (client) is uniquely motivated, and wants to lead more fulfilling lives. Some want more confidence. Others want better relationships. Other common goals are to switch careers and lead different lifestyles. Life coaches assume that you are naturally creative and resourceful.
The approach of life coaches is to provide you with tailored support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that you already have. They will work with you to:
- Set better, more realistic and achievable goals.
- Take motivated action driven by what is important to you!
- Make better decisions based on clarity and awareness.
- Fully use your natural strengths and resources.
A recent survey conducted by the International Coaching Federation in November 2010 found that 83% of the general public involved in a coaching relationship was either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” when using the help of certified life coaches.
When looking for life coaches you want someone who is qualified. Anyone can claim they are a coach, but qualified life coaches must successfully pass a stiff curriculum of skills, techniques and how to apply them to their trainees.
You should look for life coaches that have been professionally trained and are a member of a professional coaching association. It is also important to build a good rapport with your coach so you can feel confident that they are on your side and able to support you in achieving your goals.
An example of a professional coaching association is the International Coach Federation (ICF). ICF has a category of membership called Credentialed Member. For life coaches to qualify as a credentialed member each candidate must complete one or more of the following programs: Associate Certified Coach, Professional Certified Coach or Master Certified Coach.
ICF is only one of several similar organizations around the world. Each one offers life coaches the opportunity to be considered a professional through passing a series of courses.
You may be surprised to learn how many areas of expertise life coaches offer. Among the more popular areas life coaches address are:
- Personal coaching
- Career coaching
- Relationship coaching
- Business coaching
- Executive coaching
- Health coaching
- And much more…
Services given by life coaches can be delivered in many ways, including one on one personal coaching, using telephone, via video, or the internet. Group coaching is common as well (and cheaper). To learn more about life coaches and how to find a coach or a coaching program, feel free to check out the links found on this page.
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