Coach shopping has become incredibly challenging. Many online and offline ‘coaches’ are actually trainers and mentors.
And it’s important that you know the difference.
Because coaching is not a regulated industry, anyone can hang a shingle on their office door or website and call themselves a coach. In fact, there are countless online coach training programs that are not aligned with the fundamentals of coaching.
These “instant coaches”…
- have not been trained or certified by an International Coach Federation accredited coach training school
- don’t know how to resolve your mental and emotional blocks
- don’t know how to draw out your innate wisdom and empower you to be response-able and resilient
- don’t listen to what you want, but instead force feed you the method that worked for them
If you believe in their method and you want to learn it, then great! Hire them for what they are… a trainer who will teach you their proven method and who may or may not mentor you 1-to-1 on their best practices.
Then you can decide if you also need a certified coach who will transform your inner world, and increase your psychological capacity for growth…
- by helping you understand yourself and what makes you tick, at your core
- by helping you get clear on your own vision, dreams and goals
- by helping you process and clear out the inner stumbling blocks and resistance that comes up as you embark on something so new
- by helping you explore options and open up new options so you can make the best choices and decisions for YOU
- by holding you accountable to your action plan in a way that is consistent, iterative, rigorous and respectful
The History of Coaching
The coaching industry was started in the US in the 1980’s by Thomas Leonard. He recognized a need in his financial planning clients for additional support with organizing their lives and planning and reaching their goals. In 1992 Leonard founded the first formal coach-training school, Coach U. Also in 1992, the school I certified with in 2003, The Co-Active Training Institute (formerly The Coaches Training Institute), was founded by Laura Whitworth, and Karen and Henry Kimsey-House, who had been collaborating with Thomas Leonard for many years in the development of the coaching industry.
Both schools continued to collaborate together and with others to eventually form the International Coach Federation in 1995, which continues to this day to set the global standard for coaching certification. Here is the detailed outline of the ICF skills standards if you would like to know more.
DEFINITIONS
A COACH partners with you to provide clarity on your current and desired states and develop a plan of action with accountability, while addressing the hurdles along the way.
A TRAINER teaches you a model or methodology that is tested and effective.
A MENTOR shares with you what they did to create their successes and their failures, so that you can learn from what they did.
A CONSULTANT or ADVISOR analyzes, assesses and provides recommendations and advice based on best practices in the industry.
A THERAPIST or COUNSELLOR offers advice on how to manage specific psychological problems eg. anxiety and/or corrects dysfunctional thought patterns and behaviours, often rooted in the past.
A HEALER offers energetic, psychological and/or physical healing treatments.
In my observation, the online marketing industry has hijacked the word ‘coach’, as have so many other well-meaning entrepreneurs. Most people have some natural coaching ability. And, most don’t fully understand what coaching is before they chose to label themselves as one.
A prospective buyer is well served to do their due diligence on credentials and certifications before hiring a coach or investing in a coaching program or a coach training program.
I offer a blend of coaching, therapy and healing as an integrated approach. I’m a multi-certified Coach, a Master Hypnotherapist, a Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP & TimeLine Therapy and a Shamanic Practitioner. I call my approach Alchemy, as it affords a deeply transformative and healing approach that clears the launching pad for support on a new trajectory and forward momentum.
If you’d like to have an exploratory conversation with me to find out how my services might assist you in your journey, go ahead and book it here.