Author of From Dream to Reality, Pavlenka Small is a qualified life coach offering personal development and career coaching, from her base in Ipswich, Suffolk. In this article she provides us with an insight into what life coaching is exactly and how you can benefit from visiting a life coach.
De-Mystifying Life Coaching – What Is It And How Can You Benefit? – By Pavlenka Small
When people ask me what I do for a living and I tell them that I’m a personal development & career coach, they frequently respond by asking me what it is that a life coach actually does. I have even had phone calls from people asking me what my daily coach hire rates are!
Sometimes there is a reluctance to pursue the conversation further for fear of feeling they may have to reveal personal information or an insistence that they are not the sort of person who would ever need to use such a service. However, just as a professional singer would use a voice coach or an athlete a sports coach, so too do people turn to a life coach to guide them through aspects of their home and working lives that they would like to change but are uncertain how or where to begin.
Why would anyone need a life coach?
I believe with a passion that all people deserve to feel comfortable with who they are and what they do for a living. Working with a professional life coach can and does make positive and tangible differences to people’s lives.
Although life coaching is not for everyone, there are clear benefits. It can:
- Provide encouragement and support to move forwards
- Increase your self-awareness
- Empower you to commit to goals and achieve them
- Provide you with a clearer personal strategy
- Give you new direction, focus and vision
- Allow you to take control of your life and make things happen
Quite simply, it is an investment in your future.
What is life coaching like?
Effective life coaching is a kind of ‘change facilitation’ and it enables, rather than trains people. However, it is important that the prospective client recognises the dissatisfaction they have about some aspect(s) of their life and are prepared to make changes. A favourite saying of mine is: ’the mind is like a parachute; if it isn’t open, it won’t work!’
It’s also important to consider at the outset whether life coaching is the right approach for you. For example, if you feel there are past issues that you need to explore or heal in order to make changes in your life, it may be more appropriate to seek support from a trained counsellor.
The life coach instead takes a holistic view of the client’s life as it is at present and aims to draw on a person’s full potential, in order to help them set new life goals and move clearly towards them.
The emphasis is on the client to arrive at their own conclusions and a trained life coach will know how to use careful listening and questioning to facilitate this process.
The person-centred approach used in life coaching can be very empowering and encourages the client to consider any self-limiting beliefs they may hold about themselves and their abilities.
A professional coach will act as a non-judgmental sounding board; he or she will foster the client’s self-awareness and investigate a number of different approaches a client might need to consider in order to achieve their goals.
Setting goals or targets is fundamental to the coaching process and puts the client in the driving seat so that they take full responsibility and accountability for their actions.
The coach will offer guidance to help you overcome obstacles and fears, focus on solutions and is someone that you can bounce ideas around with.
So what should you look for in a coach?
A starting point is to make sure that they have an accredited qualification with a reputable training company, such as The European Coaching Institute and The International Institute of Coaching. Professional coaches undergo a rigorous training but they should also possess sound personal qualities such as: empathy, sympathy, consistency, fairness, flexibility and reliability. Within the professional relationship, the coach should also enable mutual trust, care and respect.
Like a good manager, a good coach knows how to get the best out of someone, how to challenge them effectively, but also how to be supportive in an appropriate way for the individual.
If you decide to hire a coach you will be able to tell within a few minutes of meeting them whether you feel a rapport with that person. Some coaches do not offer an initial free, no obligation session – and it is a matter of preference – but I personally believe in doing so.
Following the initial session, it is up to the prospective client to decide whether life coaching is the right approach for them and there should be no pressure from the coach. The client, rather than the coach, should always remain in charge.
Ultimately, your life coach should provide the support and guidance needed to help you move closer to achieving your dreams and toward a more balanced lifestyle.
For more information on life coaching or to find out more about the services Pavlenka Small provides, please view her editorial profile on The Mind Sanctuary Directory, or visit her website. You can also connect with her on twitter.
