Hiring a life coach can be the perfect solution to anchor your life and make it more manageable. It’s often the best option for those who are unsure of what they want from life and feel overwhelmed by the uncertainty they face.
Why Hire a Life Coach?
Hiring a life coach can transform the way you approach challenges, handle setbacks, and build resilience. With their support, you’ll acquire valuable skills to overcome obstacles, navigate unfamiliar territories, and make informed decisions that align with your goals. A life coach’s expertise can unlock your full potential while helping you stay motivated and accountable.
This is one of the reasons we have counselors in schools. Their job is to help students identify their strengths and weaknesses, and how to leverage those strengths. One common approach is having students fill out a questionnaire—a mix of questions that assess interests, aptitudes, and abilities, and help determine whether they are more likely to perform better as leaders or followers.
However, these questionnaires can sometimes fall short. They are typically designed for university-age individuals, and it’s not uncommon for people in their 30s or 40s to still be uncertain about their goals. Many people go through life switching careers because they haven’t yet defined their objectives or the steps needed to achieve them. When it comes to focus, they struggle!
No wonder hiring a life coach has become the go-to option for those who need to get serious about their success. Even CEOs, despite their accomplishments, often work with life and success coaches to improve their business writing, public speaking, and skills for managing workplace conflicts. And let’s not forget that former U.S. President Bill Clinton—an intellectual and Rhodes Scholar—had a coach as well.
If you’re a life coach with a solid reputation and an impressive portfolio, your future is practically guaranteed!
Hiring a Life Coach: Tips
Buyer beware! If you’re in the market for a life coach, there are a few things you should consider before making a choice:
Communication skills – Does the coach use clear, understandable language, or do they leave you confused about what they are saying? Some coaches—especially less experienced ones—may use overly academic language to impress clients. If your coach speaks as though they were Einstein or Aristotle, and you don’t feel motivated, you might want to reconsider. You need someone who motivates you, not someone who teaches you in a purely academic style.
Interest in your hopes and aspirations – A good coach must first understand why you are seeking their help. They should be genuinely interested in WHAT you want to achieve and HOW they can assist you. A coach who does all the talking without considering your needs may be trying to impose their personal agenda. Remember, the reason you hired a life coach is for YOU, not for them.
Experience and success rate – Ask your coach how long they’ve been coaching and how successful their clients have been. A skilled coach typically enjoys referrals from those they’ve genuinely helped. If others speak highly of the coach and attribute their success to their guidance, you can feel confident in your choice.
Knowledge and connections – An excellent coach is well-read and well-rounded, understanding various industries and personality profiles. If you have a specific goal, the coach should have some knowledge of that field. For example, let’s say you’ve always dreamed of landing on the moon. Inspired by Neil Armstrong, you pursued a degree as a Space Scientist. Now you need to get into NASA, but how?
Let’s imagine you hire a coach—whom we’ll call Mr. Moonshine—who worked as an apprentice at NASA and has coached space managers there. You tell him, “I’m a space scientist, but so are thousands of others. How can you help me land a position at NASA and ultimately go to the moon?”
Mr. Moonshine smiles. “That’s fantastic! I used to work at NASA and know many people there. I understand their culture, mindset, and hiring policies. I can also tell you about a special industrial scanner they use, which only picks up resumes with certain keywords. We can work together to tailor your resume to increase your chances. Let’s get started!”
Clearly, this is the right coach for the job. However, not everyone has such ambitious goals. Most of us have simpler aspirations, like reducing stress or finding happiness. You don’t need a specialist in stress management to achieve that. A good coach will help you reduce stress and move towards a more fulfilling life.
Finally, your coach must be a genuine motivator with an abundance of positive thinking. They should energize you, not discourage you. A coach should make you feel good about yourself, not dwell on past failures. The past is less important than what lies ahead. Your coach’s main focus should be on helping you define your future success.
Do you remember Dr. Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People? He’s considered one of the leading proponents of success and coaching principles. In Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People (1994), he wrote a passage that perfectly encapsulates what to look for in a coach:
“If I try to use human influence strategies and tactics of how to get other people to do what I want, to work better, to be motivated, to like me and each other – while my character is fundamentally flawed, marked by duplicity and insincerity – then in the long run, I cannot be successful. My duplicity will breed distrust, and everything I do – even using so-called human relations techniques – will be perceived as manipulative.”
Hiring a life coach… Do your research, and then get your coach to start working for you!
