Life coaching is a tool that is used as a means to get people to not only identify, but also achieve personal and professional goals. Therefore it is not surprising that many Fortune 500 CEOs acquire life coaches – well, guess their secret is out. Hollywood actresses, famous athletes all rely on these coaches to help them perform better, make smarter decisions and take their careers to the next level. You may have been educated in top institutes and worked with well-established companies but; when it comes to making decisions that could have a big impact many people seek out constructive advice that will have some merit.
 
The basic purpose of a life coach is to:

  • Help you discover what you really want out of life
  • Devise or construct a plan to achieve those things
  • Provide you with insightful mechanisms to eliminate any hurdles you may come across

life coaching
Many surveys have been conducted to inquire what qualities people wanted in their coaches, the answers were:

  • Empathy
  • Trustworthy
  • Preservation of integrity
  • Good observation
  • Conviction
  • Commitment
  • Keeping an eye on the big picture

Life coaching had once only been considered keeping in mind troublesome employees, now it is a part of standard training for executives with high potential. The number of executives employing life coaches is increasing at a very rapid rate. Turning to outside help for advice on how to manage time, balancing their private and professional lives, developing better leadership skills etc. has been inevitable due to the highly competitive and fast-paced environment. Even a small slip up on the parts of these CEOs and executives could negatively impact their organization.
 
Now many people may have come to the conclusion that life coaches are just for senior executives and not an average person. That is in fact not true; many people hire life coaches just to help them get through day to day tasks. With so much stress that today’s lifestyle has burdened people with, help from someone to refocus and accumulate your thoughts is a very effective way to tackle problems and achieve goals. Many people strongly believe that without coaching, people will never be able to reach their maximum capabilities. Thus we can say that coaching can be of utmost importance in chancing a person’s life for the better. How, you may ask? Well, as stated the greatest thing you can ever do for someone is to give them self belief and confidence, which in reality is the main responsibility that a coach has.
 
The other side of the table proclaims that life coaching is not necessary and is just a gimmick to lure less confident people. They state that a person is self capable to pick himself or herself back up when they fall and learn from their mistakes through trial and error, however, they don’t realize that sometimes we need help. Research tells us that we want people around us, we are social animals who sometimes need help and confidence. This belief can move mountains; self belief is important but, knowing that someone else believes in you and is there to help you, groom you, can have life changing effects.
 
Empowering people, giving them confidence and changing their mindset are the key factors which can elevate a person to the next step. This next step not only is to grow up the ladder professionally but also in that persons everyday life. As all great champions tell us, skills and talent may take you far, but determination, confidence and sheer will to succeed is what drives them to be the best in the world, giving a clear indication that positive thinking is the key to success.
 
Having said that, acquiring legitimate professional coaches may be an issue, due to there being no proper regulations for the coaching industry, people that have never even been trained by credentialed institutes call themselves coaches and begin charging for their services. While looking for coaches people should therefore first check whether they are registered with the appropriate coaching authority and conduct background checks, also ask to review their background and prior experiences. These people should be highly motivated, be friendly and have this sense of love for people, be self aware and self knowledgeable. This is important because in order to change someone’s life and make improvements in it the life coach should have knowledge about his or her own qualities which will have a significant impact on that person’s life.
 
Bill Gates put it best when he said: “Everyone needs a coach. We all need people to give us feedback. That’s how we improve.” Therefore, I believe it is safe to say that life coaching is not just a fad, but it is an important tool that is growing in importance and relevance with each passing day.