Marilyn O’Malley, CPCC Life Coaching & Resources

It is important for future clients to distinguish between coaches who are professionally trained and/or accredited and those who “hang their name plate” out as a coach. I hear about and see many professionals who have no coaching training at all calling themselves a business or life coach. These people are really consultants in their field of expertise.  With the growth of coachings popularity the label is being diluted by people who are not qualified as a Life or Business Coach.  I am seeing this abuse of the title in the business, health and therapy fields.  Just because someone has experience in one area of life does that make them a coach. It means they have expertise in that area.

My training to become a certified coach with The Coaches Training Institute required no less than 112 hours of in person classroom training, 6 months of certification training which required weekly lessons and observations, homeowrk, coaching a minimum 100 hours, being coached by a certified coach the whole time in training, recording my coaching sessions with clients and having them evaluated by three different coaches, passing a written test and oral coaching test with a peer and a certification coach in front of the certification team. I also had to do a lot of work on my self to train as a coach throughout all my training before I could master my work with with my clients.

One of the areas of training that was most benefical for me as a successful coach was learning to not solve the problem for my clients. I had to undo the habit of thinking I knew the answers.  I am trained to listen deeply and ask powerful questions to draw out of you what you really desire and why what you desire is important to you.  As a coach I am not to tell you what I think you should do, have or be. 

The coaches job is to help clients articulate their dreams, desires and aspirations, help them clarify their mission, purpose and goals, and help them achieve that outcome” in any area of life (i.e. personal, professional, relationship, health etc…). A former business owner or personal trainer is not trained to help you with all those areas of life.  Coaches work with you to find and create the life that would have you feel most alive and fulfilled.  We focus on powerful questioning, provocation and helping clients to analyze and solve their own challenges, rather than offering advice or direction.

I took the below descriptions of Life, Health and Business Coaching from Wikipedia for your benefit. 

A coach is a very valuable tool when you make sure you are working with someone who has been trained and certified in an accredited program. Search around for a coach that you feel will call you forth to be all you desire and whom you can trust they have your best interest in mind.

Business coaching

Business coaching is the practice of providing support and occasional advice to an individual or group in order to help them recognize ways in which they can improve the effectiveness of their business. Business coaches work to improve leadership, employee accountability, teamwork, sales, communication, goal setting, strategic planning and more. It can be provided in a number of ways, including one-on-one tuition, group coaching sessions and large scale seminars. Business coaches are often called in when a business is perceived to be performing badly, however many businesses recognize the benefits of business coaching even when the organization is successful. Business coaches often specialize in different practice areas such as executive coaching, corporate coaching and leadership coaching.

At least two organizations, the International Coaching Council (ICC) and the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC) provide a membership-based association for professionals involved in business coaching. The ICC and WABC also provide an accrediting system for business coach training programs. The ICC currently has over 1,500 members from over 50 countries.

Business coaching is not the same as mentoring. Mentoring involves a developmental relationship between a more experienced “mentor” and a less experienced partner, and typically involves sharing of advice. A business coach can act as a mentor given that he or she has adequate expertise and experience. However, mentoring is not a form of business coaching. A good business coach need not have specific business expertise and experience in the same field as the person receiving the coaching in order to provide quality business coaching services.^{[citation needed]}

Business coaches often help businesses grow by creating and following a structured, strategic plan to achieve agreed upon goals. Multiple organizations train professionals to offer business coaching to business owners who may not be able to afford large coaching firm prices.^[4]

Personal coaching

Personal coaching is a relationship which is designed and defined in a relationship agreement between a client and a coach. It is based on the client’s expressed interests, goals and objectives.

A professional coach may use inquiry, reflection, requests and discussion to help clients identify personal and/or business and/or relationship goals, develop strategies, relationships and action plans intended to achieve those goals. A coach provides a place for clients to be held accountable to themselves by monitoring the clients’ progress towards implementation of their action plans. Together they evolve and modify the plan to best suit the client’s needs and environmental relationships. Coaches often act as human mirrors for clients by sharing outside and unbiased perspectives. Coaches may teach specific insights and skills to empower the client toward their goals.^{[citation needed]}

Clients are responsible for their own achievements and success.^{[citation needed]} The client takes action, and the coach may assist, but never leads or does more than the client. Therefore, a coach cannot and does not promise that a client will take any specific action or attain specific goals.^{[citation needed]}

Professional coaching is not counseling, therapy or consulting.^{[citation needed]} These different skill sets and approaches to change may be adjunct skills and professions.

 Health coaching

In the world of health and wellness, a health coach is an emerging new role. Health coaching is becoming recognized as a new way to help individuals “manage” their illnesses and conditions, especially those of a chronic nature. In both sports and health, a “coach” is a person who observes, gives objective feedback, teaches, helps to develop a plan of action and holds another responsible for their actions and commitments. The coach will use special techniques, personal experience, expertise and encouragement to assist the coachee in bringing his/her behavioral changes about.