Imagine not hiring a hairdresser to cut your hair, or not hiring a surgeon to fix your broken leg, or not a dentist to fix your broken teeth just to save money?
This sounds ridiculous!
However, sometimes we just need to hire an outsider to help.
The struggle
Even though we know we need help to change mindset habits about ourselves, we rarely WANT to hire someone to dig into the creases of our minds and find out WHY we keep getting the same results over and over. It’s personal. Hiring a business and/or life coach requires vulnerability. It requires us to be brave enough to finally come face to face with our own patterning and being invited to a different perspective. Which can be majorly uncomfortable at best.
Overcoming resistance
Let’s admit, our ego’s hate change. Although, ironically, the only constant in life IS change! Therefore, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to choreograph the changes and design the life you want instead of the default?
Business and/or life coaches are experts at navigating change. They have spent tens of thousands of hours analyzing the human condition and gathering tools and processes to help reduce the pain of change. Coaches are experts at seeing the clients life and/or business from a ten thousand foot level. They can easily identify problems ahead and swiftly redirect the client from a potentially devastating problem saving both time and money, let alone emotional turmoil.
(See blog post entitled ‘Why Doesn’t Coaching Work?”)
5 point checklist to ensure your coach has the right expertise for you:
1. Training:
Ask your coach about his/her expert training experience. Ensure that its extensive and pertinent to the specific area of change you’d like to see in your life.
An important question to ask your coach is “Do you have a coach?”. A coach is best with having a coach of their own. This tells you that this coach not only believes in the power of coaching, but also is willing to spend their money and time on their own personal development. It will also help when an issue arises, that you’ll not only have the support of your coach, but your coaches coach.
2. Tools & Processes:
Ask your coach about the tools and processes that he/she will use with you. Ensure that these are agreeable, and you feel comfortable with co-operating. Some tools and processes such as journaling, meditation, birthing, inner child work, can be very deep and personal.
Be sure that you’re prepared to do the homework required to absorb the full benefits of these tools and processes.
3. Life Experiences:
Ask your coach about his/her life experiences that qualify them to be experts in their field of reference.
- As in, you don’t want to hire a business coach that’s never owned or run a business before.
- You don’t want a fat and unhealthy fitness coach
- and you don’t want a relationship coach that’s never had a long term relationship before.
You want a coach that has had similar life experiences that can help you navigate around the ones you’re having.
A coach that’s never had children, or had someone commit suicide and/or gone bankrupt can try to empathize, but not as well as a coach that’s had those experiences.
4. Beliefs:
Ask your coach about his/her belief systems. Ensure that they match with yours. Normally a good coach can detach their own belief systems about politics and religion, however, if you have very strong believes in either of these areas, it might be best to have a coach that shares a similar ideology.
5. Testimonials:
Ask your coach about his/her testimonials, or better yet, ask your coach for referrals to previous clients. A great coach should have a plethora of clients that he/she can refer you to so you can ask them directly about their results from working with this coach.
Like any investment, do your homework and invest wisely.
A great coach will give you a new perspective, tools and processes that can absolutely change your life forever!
