Is a life coaching career up your alley? Find out if you’ve got what it takes to be a personal life coach by reading about the 9 skills the job requires. These characteristics are incredibly significant when it comes to effective coaching, so if you foresee yourself as a life coach, keep reading!
Life Coaching: Do You Have What It Takes?
1. Keep a Secret
Life coaches follow a client-coach relationship. This is a relationship built on trust and respect. There needs to be a great sense of confidentiality, especially since clients will be sharing all their goals with their life coaches. Life coaches need to know not to discuss their client’s life and action plans with anyone else. They may only talk about it to the client alone.
2. Practice Accountability
Life coaches provide their clients with an action plan to fulfill their goals. This means a life coach serves as an accountability partner for the client. A life coach should be able to remind the client of the steps they need to take if they feel their client is falling behind.
3. Display Firmness
Keeping track of a client’s progress is no easy feat. This is why life coaches need to be firm yet kind. They have to know when to stand their ground. Doing so will instill discipline in the client as well. That way, the client will be able to stay on track and tick off their goals one by one.
4. Listen Closely
Some of the best coaches are those who pick up on nonverbal cues. These are the things their client chooses not to say. At times it’s all a matter of watching and listening closely. Not all clients are willing to lay out all their weaknesses on the table. Therefore, it’s beneficial for life coaches to be able to hone in on specific issues when necessary.
5. Keen Learner
Life coaches need to continuously develop their skill set. They can do this by continually joining seminars and trainings. These can help them do their job more efficiently. They’ll also be more equipped with more coaching styles and insights they can use.
6. Put Aside Biases
It’s normal for people to naturally lean toward one direction. However, life coaches need to be wary of this when dealing with their clients. It’s best for them to put aside their biases. Instead, they should accept their clients for the way they are and keep an open mind. After all, everyone is a work in progress.
7. Guide and Not Control
Life coaches need to know when to step back. Ultimately, it should still be the client who is in control. Life coaches can simply advise and encourage. They should not take the reins. Furthermore, they should never insist on telling their clients what to do.
8. Motivate and Empower
Life coaches are often the cheerleaders of their clients. They constantly provide them with encouragement. This abundance of positivity can sometimes be the deciding factor in a client’s success. Once a client is encouraged, they feel capable and empowered. In turn, they are motivated to reach their goals sooner.
9. Be Flexible
You will never find fulfillment in life if you do not approach your life from these 12 dimensions ??cc @OLCAcad #LifeCoaching pic.twitter.com/6aLgT42Wuw
— The Catalyst® (@lanreolusola) October 22, 2017
Some life coaching sessions occur in person, while others thrive online. It’s necessary for life coaches to be flexible with the medium used. After all, at the heart of it, the medium shouldn’t disrupt them from doing their job well.
Interested in knowing if life coaching can change your life? Press play on the video below to learn Oprah’s thoughts on the subject:
Life coaching involves a constant development of the skills mentioned. As with any profession, it’s best to keep practicing these skill sets. After all, clients will gravitate toward life coaches they both trust and respect to help them improve their lives. Become that person and grow your client base alongside your clients’ dreams!
Have any life coaching inquiries? Leave them in the comments below!
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