The Truth About Life Coaching: What Coaches Really Do (and Don’t Do) 

Why do I need a life coach, and how can I benefit from one’s services?

I bet you that is a question on your mind right now.

Before I jump into answering it, allow me to share my opinion about coaching. The term life coach and all other derivatives of coaching are too easily thrown into discussions about personal development and performance without a clear understanding of what they entail. Life coach simply isn’t specific or descriptive enough to communicate the true power of what it represents.

Sadly, I think this is a big part of why so many people miss out on the benefits of life coaching. They simply misunderstand what it is and what life coaches do.

Let’s start with what a life coach is not

û  A genie with a magical lamp

A life coach is not someone who simply listens while you offload all your problems and air your woes and grievances and then gives you a golden response that will dissolve all your fears and issues. Life coaches do not have all the answers and are not supposed to prescribe solutions to their clients.

û  Counsellors or therapists

Life coaches are not trained to offer counselling, psychotherapy, or any form of treatment for severe mental or emotional distress caused by trauma, anxiety, depression or some form of mental health condition.

û  Mentors

Mentors use their superior wisdom and experience in a specific field to help guide and advise people who want to advance in a chosen field or profession. Life coaches never enter a coaching relationship positioning themselves as ‘experts’ or a ‘know-it-alls’ in their client’s lives.

û  Consultants or advisors

Life coaches do not specialize in providing advice or designing and implementing specific solutions that they think will meet their clients’ needs.

Now let’s look at the what and how of life coaching

ü  Life coaches use intentional conversation, powerful questioning, structured processes and tested tools to help the client get from point A to point B.

ü  Life coaches work from the premise that their clients are the only true experts in their own lives. A life coach’s expertise lies in their unique ability to relate to individual clients and to prescribe tools, techniques and processes to help those clients achieve specific goals and derive more joy and fulfilment from life.

ü  Life coaches do not, as a general rule, offer advice to their clients. Rather, they help clients reconnect with the repository of their own best advice—their all-knowing inner beings.

ü  Life coaching focuses on outcomes. Not on problems, but solutions!

ü  Life coaches respect that every client is unique and tailor their coaching engagements accordingly. Although they may use standard tools, techniques and processes, how or when they are applied will differ for each client.

ü  Life coaches drive action. They understand and appreciate that taking inspired and directed action is the only way to ensure that the desired change is achieved.

ü  Life coaches are expert facilitators, who inspire, empower, encourage and gently push their clients to do more, be more and have more. They do not do the work for the client.

ü  Life coaching is a journey of discovery, not a once-off event. To be effective, life coaching involves several planned intentional sessions. Change is a process that requires both time and commitment.

I trust you are now beginning to appreciate how life coaching can benefit almost anyone who wants to achieve a goal or simply be more effective and fulfilled, and I hope that this encourages you to seriously consider hiring a life coach.

 Sign up for a free first session to try it out! Simply send me an e-mail (agatha@awf.co.za); I will contact you to set it up.

Let’s Live Life!