About Being Coached

What is Coaching?

Professional coaching is a cutting edge profession utilizing accelerated techniques in an effective partnership focused on facilitating transitions, exploring creative solutions, developing clarity and self-awareness, improving performance, and artfully allowing skill development, values/beliefs alignment, identity recognition to enhance the quality of success for the client.

Certified Professional Coaches are trained to listen, to observe and to customize their approach to individual client needs. A future oriented, strength based model of communication, the job of a good coach is to facilitate the process of discovery and awareness, eliciting strategies and solutions in collaboration with the client, while providing support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that the client naturally possesses.

Why hire a professional coach?

Individuals hire a coach to help them get to where they would like to be… in business, personal life, family, relationships, career – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially, socially.

Businesses, Corporations, Organizations hire a coach to help them reach new levels, overcome challenges, obstacles, and whatever is getting in the way of success and progress. Organizational development, executive coaching, team-building, transitions, increasing profits, minimizing loss, employee/employer relations, client retention…

What happens when you hire a coach?

The moment you hire a professional coach, attitudes shift. You and/or your organization begin to take yourself and your situation more seriously. Focus allow actions to become more effective. Momentum is created. Goals are established and accomplished. Results come more readily. And you have enlisted a partner with fresh perspectives to keep you on track, confident, and strategically equipped for your success.

How long must I commit if I start working with a coach?

This would be determined by the commitment you make to yourself; and the amount of time you and your coach determine (during your discovery session) it could take to accomplish the desired results. For the individual client, many coaches ask for a three to six month commitment with the understanding that the process could be stopped immediately if either the client or the coach so determines. Most coaches ask for a written agreement or contract for clear communication purposes. For the corporate client, a signed agreement is simply good business.

What does it cost to hire a coach?

The most cost effective way most personal coaches work with clients is by phone. Monthly charges range between $250 to $1,000 for their services. This fee typically includes one to four coaching conversations per month from 30-60 minutes per call.

Most corporate/business coaches work in person, via satellite, or teleconferencing, with fees dependent upon specific services provided.

Why does coaching work?

Synergy between the coach and client creates momentum. Better goals are set – ones that naturally pull the client toward the goal rather than goals that require the client to push themselves to the goal. The client develops new skills, and these skills translate into more success. And having someone on ‘the outside’ of corporate lends toward more trust and less emotional trauma in reaching the desired results.

In what areas do coaches focus? OR… What value does a coach bring that family, peers, managers or executive reports are not able to provide without emotional engagement?

Helping clients to set and reach powerful, effective, meaningful, relevant goals.

Ask clients to go beyond the comfort level where they would have gone on their own.

Help clients sharpen and maintain focus to more quickly produce results.

Provide the tools, encouragement, support and structure to accomplish more than ever.

What is the basic philosophy of coaching?

Individuals, Businesses, and Organizations will be more powerful and effective in any or all areas of life and business when a certifiably trained, experienced coach brings fresh perspective, stimulus, ideas, and structures for accountability withstanding the emotional attachment.

How is coaching different from consulting, therapy, sports/entertainment coaching, or your best friend?

• Consulting. Coaching goes beyond consulting in that the coach stays with you to help you implement the new skills, changes and goals to ensure follow-through and success.

• Therapy. Coaching is not therapy. Coaches do not provide clinical assessment, nor do they penetrate past issues that have no relevance to helping move you forward with focus on setting and achieving personal and professional goals that will provide the results so desired.

• Sports/Entertainment. Professional Life, Business, and Corporate coaching includes several principles from the sports/entertainment world of coaching, primarily in helping to bring out your personal best, attaining goals, and having someone with expertise to help facilitate the process to your success. But unlike some sports coaching, your personal best does not need to be at the expense of someone else’s loss. Coaches strengthen your skills rather than focus on beating an opponent. It’s a ‘win/win’ focus.

• Best friend. Your best friend or family member can give you advice based upon their own knowledge. A professionally trained coach can help you explore and uncover the right answers within you. Could your best friend or family member give you an unbiased perspective, detach themselves from the outcome, provide meaningful distinctions, and point you in the direction of valuable resources? Will a best friend push you beyond your limits?

How do I know if I need a coach?

Explore these key questions and thoughts.

• What about your life could be better? Your business? Your corporation/organization?

• Have you tried everything and still not reached your desired results?

• Need a fresh, unbiased perspective? I just need someone to talk to?!

• Why isn’t my company flourishing? Why isn’t my life flourishing?

• Are you a ‘should of’, ‘could of’, ‘would of’ person that doesn’t get around to making it happen?

• Exasperated with life/work, need a new direction/perspective?

• Never seem to get anything accomplished, too much to do, so little time, too many interruptions?

• Experiencing difficulties with family, relationship issues? Parenting?

• Finances an issue? Thinking of a career change?

• Want for more but not sure how to get it?

• Disgruntled, Overwhelmed, Anxious, Apathetic Employees or Family?

• Conquer the Chaos. Stop the world and let me off!

• Are you putting up with things you’d rather not?

• Is your life well balanced?

• Are you going to be financially independent within the next 15 years, or when you need to be?

In closing, there is much more to life than most people realize. Professional Coaches are trained in the process of exploration. They provide invaluable perspective. They help you see the things about yourself and your organization/business you cannot see. And most coaches will help guide you through these basic questions in a discovery coaching conversation. But the rule of thumb is that the more you want from life, the more a qualified and competent coach can help you get there.