Why doesn't Life Coaching work for some people?
When I mention that I’m a Life coaching to people I meet, I get a range of reactions. Some are enthusiastic as they’ve experienced it in the past, some are curious as they have no clue what it is and then there are some who say “oh yes I’ve tried that. It’s a con. It doesn’t work”.
This reaction really intrigues me, so I decided to give it some thought and concluded that there are different reasons for this reaction.
In reality, Life coaching works for most people in most circumstances. I have figured out though that there are some scenarios where it doesn’t work, and some are more obvious than others.
Reason 1 – Client Commitment
As with everything in life, you only get out what you put in!
A client will need to invest time in the process, attending sessions and taking actions in between. If they are not prepared to make this investment, the coaching process will not work for them.
During the sessions, the client needs to be open and honest with the life coach. Without this, the life coach will not be able to ask the right questions or use the right coaching tools or techniques to help the client move forward.
Reason 2 – Untrained Life Coach
Life coaching will not work if the life coach isn’t sufficiently trained to ensure the client gets the most from the sessions.
Life coaching isn’t regulated in the UK and there are a number of Life Coaching training providers offering a myriad of different training options. An extensive and in-depth training programme, which is associated with one of the coaching bodies such as the International Coaching Federation would give an indication that the Life Coach is sufficiently qualified.
I believe that reading a life coaching book or attending an afternoon’s coaching training online isn’t sufficient to ensure that the life coach will offer a high standard of coaching.
When you are looking for a life coach, you should check their qualifications and client reviews before investing your hard-earned cash.
Reason 3 – Wrong intervention
Life coaching is not counselling, or therapy so would not work for mental health issues or dealing with past trauma.
The recommendation is to contact your GP if you are suffering from depression to get the correct support. Life Coaching can be used alongside other therapies to help implement the coping strategies into everyday life. A conversation between the life coach and the other therapists is recommended to ensure the approach works for the client.
Reason 4 – Client Expectations
A number of people I have spoken to expect the Life Coach to provide all of the answers for them or give them training to get to where they wanted to be.
Life coaching, in its purist form, is not training or mentoring. A life coach should not be giving advice, giving the benefit of their experience as their reality and personality are totally different to their clients. What works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for someone else as everyone’s situation is unique to them.
A life coach should ensure that they discuss what life coaching is and what it isn’t, with the client before the sessions start to ensure they know what to expect right from the beginning.
Being a Life Coach, of course I would say Life Coaching works, but the caveat is that it needs to be with the right life coach, for the right reason and there is commitment from the client.
