Is coaching for you?

Having been self-employed as a coach now for seven years, I got curious about the main reasons that people give when they come for coaching. I don’t really ‘badge’ my work as ‘career’ or ‘life’ coaching, though I know I have a good reputation for helping people bring meaning to their life and develop confidence. And, most people know that most of my work makes extensive use of positive psychology and neuro-linguistic programming.

Some feel that coaching is for others; those in high powered jobs or having life-changing events in their lives. In fact, as my research shows, the reasons are much more every day – see how many you might recognise as applying to you?

The top five reasons are;

• Improving relationships – whether at work or at home, or elsewhere.  Often hearing a different perspective on what’s happening is all that’s needed.
• Increasing confidence at work – whether long-term career coaching, or support in developing particular skills needed immediately.
• Getting unstuck and being inspired – you know the sort of thing, life in a rut, time on your hands and not sure what to do next.
• Developing self-efficacy and resilience – a common one in these days of social media onslaught of reminders that we’re never ‘enough’ and everyone else is better.
• Tools for developing performance either in sport or dealing with difficult situations; seeing where changes can be made for more success.

Many clients arrive saying ‘I’m not sure if you can help…’ so our first session is always spent discovering their aims, clarifying goals and identifying their commitment to change. Obviously, there’s flexibility and a good coach will build in a robust review process to make sure progress is still being made. And all my clients leave with a clear sense of how to maintain progress.

So, how many did you recognise? Bet there was at least one! So, when you ask, ‘how can coaching help me?’ the best way to find out is to look around for a coach who sounds like they meet your needs.  Many offer a complimentary ‘discovery’ session to be sure you can develop a good relationship, so what have you got to lose in getting in touch?