The problem with people nowadays is that they do not have a goal in life. This is true not just for the younger generation but is also true for, the older ones. Fortunately, there are now people whose job is to help people determine their goals in life and aid them in achieving those goals. These people are called life coaches. But with a lot of people calling themselves life coaches, how do you spot a qualified life coach who could truly and effectively help you?
What is a Life Coach?
The first step in spotting a qualified life coach is knowing what a life coach is. The job description of a life coach is someone who aims to help people determine their goals as well as achieve them. A life coach practices life coaching, which uses techniques developed in executive coaching.
A life coach uses several different methods and techniques to aid people. These techniques were developed from leadership training as well as from management consulting.
Common Misconceptions About Life Coaching
People have several misconceptions about life coaching. Some think that life coaching is synonymous with therapy or consultation. But life coaching is neither of those things. It is not targeted to treat anyone with mental or psychological illnesses. It is all about coaching (as its name implies). As coaches, they train and guide people about being goal–oriented.
But these misconceptions though can credit to the different inspirations of life coaching. The practice of life coaching, as well as its principles, is rooted in other disciplines. These include the fields of psychology, sociology, career counseling, positive adult development, and mentoring.
Qualified Life Coach
Now that you have an idea of what a life coach is and what it is not, you already have the basics of spotting a qualified life coach. They aim to help people with their goals, and they are not a therapist nor somebody who treats a person with mental and psychological illnesses. But these are just the basics and will not suffice in determining whether a person is truly a qualified life coach. Life coaching has no official regulatory standards and no governed training or education; thus, anybody can call themselves life coaches. The lack of these standards would also mean that no certificate can prove that they are qualified life coaches. This also means that no life coach training will give a person any standardized certification. So what do you do?
There are two ways to go about this. The first is by word of mouth, and the other is training experience. Word of mouth means that many people are saying good things about that particular life coach, and they are eager to recommend their services to other people. They will also be the persons who can tell you about the effectiveness of that life coach.
Another determinant of a qualified life coach is training experience. This is different from an “unstable life coach certificate.” It would help if you remembered that life coaching uses methods like values assessment, mentoring, behavior modeling, behavior modification, goal setting, and other techniques.
Since these are the tools of their trade, a life coach should have training in at least one of these fields.
Last but not least, a qualified life coach is someone with whom you can easily communicate. Even if a life coach possesses everything stated above, if you do not “click” with each other, that particular person is “not” qualified. This, though, is speaking from a subjective point of view.