Coaching resonates with people of all backgrounds, ages, and social statuses. Otherwise, how can you explain such an interest in the practice of life-coaching? According to a study by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), there are more than 17 thousand certified coaches in North America alone, and more than 53 thousand professionals worldwide. What does becoming a life/happiness coach entail, and how do you know if you have the right to change other people’s lives? Here are some of the steps you need to take before becoming a coach.
Becoming a Life Coach Is Easy If…
There are a couple of things that you need to take care of to become a professional coach:
- Understand who is a life coach and who is not;
- Find your niche for practice;
- Get certified as a coach;
- Open a business;
- Create your own positioning in the network;
- Formulate how you will structure your life coach services;
- Decide how you will rate your services.
At first glance, it may seem that to become a life coach, you only need listening skills and immoderate compassion. In fact, you need to be ready to start your own business. And, if you’ve decided that coaching is your calling, follow the above steps to legitimize yourself and your coaching services. It is just like becoming a professional trading broker and consulting people on Forex trading. You need to nail down your practice with in-depth knowledge, experience in using specialized software/platforms like Forextime, and solid expertise in the financial situation in India.
Must-Have Qualities for Becoming a Coach
Far from everyone can become a good coach. Let’s look at three essential ingredients for success in this business.
#1 — The Motivation
This aspect is crucial since motivation directly affects the speed and effectiveness of learning. Therefore, before starting training as a coach, it is crucial to determine the main triggers that motivate you. Honestly answer the question “What do I want?” Most often, people come to coaching to:
- master a new interesting profession;
- improve professional efficiency and build a career;
- for self-improvement and realization of their inner potential;
- help others;
- become an efficient leader.
It should be noted that the desire to earn a lot shouldn’t be a key motivation in coaching. People who come to coaching for this usually burn out quickly and find it hard to achieve success. Coaching isn’t so much a profession as a particular life path and worldview. Therefore, to become an efficient coach, one must work a lot and sincerely wish to help others.
#2 — A Set of Desired Character Traits
Of course, each of the following qualities can be developed in the learning process, but if they are inherent in the person initially, success will come much faster:
- Communication skills, respect for others, and a desire to help people — The work of a coach is based on the correct attitude towards people and their goals. Without it, the coach won’t be able to adhere to the professional code of ethics and create a trusting relationship with the client. Therefore, these qualities should be the basis of the personality of a professional coach;
- Activity, energy, and a positive attitude — This profession requires constant movement and contact with people. In addition to helping others, the coach must constantly improve himself, so the ability to recover and unleash your inner reserves is necessary for satisfaction at work;
- Responsibility and self-discipline — The main task of a coach is to help others learn to take responsibility for their decisions and make efforts to achieve their goals. But it is impossible to help others develop those qualities that you don’t possess yourself;
- Creativity, flexibility, and the ability to think out of the box — Such thinking allows you to expand your horizons, see deeper, understand the essence, and find extraordinary solutions to the tasks set. Then, in the process of cooperation, the coach will be able to help people to go beyond the usual framework and form a different scale of world perception.
#3 — Knowledge in Psychology, Teaching, Biology
Of course, training in these areas isn’t a prerequisite. The coach is neither a coach, nor a mentor, nor a psychotherapist. However, prior knowledge and experience in related areas can greatly facilitate the process of understanding and assimilating the methods and tools of coaching.