What are the Benefits to Working with a Coach?
Although the main reasons individuals hire a professional coach can vary, in my experience the main reason is generally Clarity. Clarity of purpose, clarity of goals, clarity of mission, clarity of direction, clarity of what is really important in life. . . they all are based upon finding and determining exactly what it is that the client really wants from life, career, business, relationships, etc. and finding their individual path and direction to make it a reality.
Most people have an idea of what they want. They want to retire as a millionaire, they want the mansion on the hill, they want to travel the world, they want the perfect relationship or the perfect marriage. . . they want the American Dream. There is no problem with wanting any of that. They are healthy and normal wants. They are personal wishes for a brighter future. But when you ask the same people how are they going to obtain any or all of those wishes, then they normally have a problem.
Likewise, most people will tell me what they don’t want. They don’t want to have to worry about not having enough money to pay the bills, or they don’t want to be in, or stay in, a bad relationship. They don’t want to stay stuck in a job that has no potential for growth. They don’t want to have to take stay-cations instead of vacations. They don’t want to be stuck in their current life. Again, when asked how they are going to ensure they don’t have to experience any of these fears, they are at a loss for answers.
Examples of questions that coaching clients are directed to find answers for include, but not limited to:
- What are the most important things in your Life?
- What are you tolerating in your life?
- What do you want more of in your life?
- What do you want less of in your life?
- What are your current goals?
- What are your values that you will not compromise?
- What is your purpose in life?
- How do you want to be remembered in life?
Finding clarity for all areas of life is a person’s ticket to the life of their dreams. Discovering the actual steps to reach those dreams is their roadmap to success. Reaching their destinations is freedom.
Finding those all important steps, that clarity of direction, is one of the first benefits a person will obtain by working with a coach. What makes this even better is that the steps will always be quickest route, a straight line to one’s dreams!
The second major benefit that I have found clients obtain from working with a professional coach is Motivation. The coach’s entire focus is on helping their client achieve their goals. They have a 100% belief in their client’s ability to accomplish the daily, weekly and monthly steps, even when the client lacks the self-confidence. The coach will do everything in their power to help their client, and if that means being a motivator, a cheerleader, or a drill-sergeant, the coach will have no problem changing their hat to oblige. Remember, the client’s success is the coach’s success.
The third major benefit of working with a coach is Accountability. How many times have we as humans made commitments to ourselves, just to break them? How many New Year’s resolutions have gone the wayside? Probably too many to count. Science has proven that when commitments are held accountable by another person, the probability of that commitment being realized raises exponentially. There is a subconscious belief held by many that if they give their word to someone, and they do not live up to that word, there will be an adverse consequence. Since most people do whatever they can to avoid a negative experience, fulfilling their promise, their commitment, becomes so much more important. The other side of this picture is most people are very lax when it comes to punishing themselves for some indiscretion . . . which is the biggest reason why so many New Years exercise regimens are abandoned.
A study performed by the International Coach Federation stated 24 different benefits obtained by working with a professional coach. The top 10 include:
- Self-awareness: 67.6%
- Setting better goals: 62.4%
- More balanced life: 60.5%
- Lower stress levels: 57.1%
- Self-discovery: 52.9%
- Self-confidence: 52.4%
- Improvement in quality of life: 43.3%
- Enhanced communication skills: 39.5%
- Project completion: 35.7%
- Health or fitness improvement: 33.8%
The same study found that the top 6 issues clients seek out coaches for include:
- Time management: 80.5%
- Career: 74.3%
- Business: 73.8%
- Relationships/Family: 58.6%
- Physical/Wellness: 51.9%
- Spiritual: 51.0%
Now all these fun facts are great, but do clients really receive value out of coaching? Again, the same study found that:
- 70% of clients found coaching to be very valuable
- 28.5% of clients found coaching to be valuable.
Here is my take on Professional Coaching. The most successful individuals in sports, business and life all have personal coaches that helped them, and continue to help them achieve their success. . . they helped them go from ordinary to extraordinary. Most people do not have someone 100% devoted to their success and as such, continue to be ordinary. The only difference is the presence of the coach.
Most people have dreams and wishes for a better life but have no idea of how to make those dreams a reality. That is where a coach shines. A coach will help a person figure out exactly who they really are, what they really want, what their life purposes are and help them create a plan for them to achieve their dreams.
Most people are stuck in life and they don’t understand why they are not where they intended to be despite their best efforts. The coach can help determine what obstacles are in way of success, and more importantly, help to determine the best ways to either eliminate those obstacles or circumvent them. They help to determine the best course of action and they hold the client accountable to stay focused and achieve the expected results.
The people who are successful in life, business, relationships, careers, and in society are those individuals who invest in themselves. They understand that what they will reap rewards for investing time and energy into self-improvement. A coach will help an individual see their own blind spots in life . . . areas where the individual needs time and effort to be invested, but didn’t realize it.
Most people live lives that are completely out of control. A coach can help an individual restructure their life so that there is a natural harmony in all areas that will bring about a work-life balance. This naturally lowers stress levels.
Having in coach is having an edge . . . in life, in career, in business, in relationships, in society. This edge means you have an advantage . . . you have a shortcut to your dreams and desires. You do not have to flounder around and make a bunch of costly and timely mistakes. . . You get to get to the good stuff sooner, and as such, you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor sooner. You get to live your dreams sooner.
If you would like to learn more about how coaching may be able to help you, please visit THIS PAGE.
“20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain