words Alexa Wang
Being a good life coach means helping people achieve their goals and achieve success in anything they want to put their mind to. The most important aspect of being a life coach is the ability to help people. That is not the only thing though. There is still a lot that goes into this profession that puts one above the competition in terms of being a helpful coach.
As a life coach, you are trying to provide professional help for someone that needs to improve their situation; to identify their goals and to develop an actionable plan to achieve them. That’s why, being a life coach can’t be done by just any person. It requires skills and training that will set you apart from the average counselors or mentors. For that, here are the qualities of a good life coach to work with or look for.
Certifications and Accreditation
Would you go to a doctor that did not have a medical license or medical degree? Probably not, and most people would not want to go to a life coach that did not have the proper certifications, accreditation and training as well. The importance of a training program for life coaches, is to equip yourself with the skills and tools to be able to practice life coaching — professionally. This will also give your prospective clients confidence in your abilities. Not only that, but this can lead to more financial success as a coach, and sometimes the certifications might be necessary depending on your field.
Strong Communication Skills
Of course, this one should go without saying, but a lot of people do not realize how important social/communication skills are in the modern digital age. Even though a lot of people believe that technology has made us less connected, many argue the opposite. With that in mind, being able to express your plans or programs for clients over text, email, through phone calls, video calls, is a necessary quality to have if you want to call yourself a good life coach. In person consultation and training also requires great communication skills because the whole point of life coaching is to be able to accurately express your plans with and for the client, and listen to them and their needs. This is an underrated skill yet is most needed, not only for life coaches, but for a lot of work as well.
Organizational Skills
With so much on the go, you might feel overwhelmed by your clients, especially if you are a life coach for multiple people. The need for organizational skills is very important for reaching the next level of life coaching experience. Having organized ledgers, folders, computer files, and content management are good for keeping everything in the right places. Easy access to client information is important to continuously track progress, needs, and wants. There is also an important part of organizational skills that many overlook — security. Organizing everything is important, but the lack of security over this information causes trust issues. People want their sensitive information protected, and it should be provided by keeping any physical information in a secure location, and even easier with password protection for digital records.
Realistic Goals and Planning
Inspiring people to do, be, or feel better is the overall goal of any life coach, but getting there in a realistic manner is what sets the good apart from the average ones. Realistic goals and planning those goals is an important aspect in providing the right support for a client. Going in thinking that you can inspire someone to completely change their life in a short amount of time is irresponsible. The point is to help people find the tools to help themselves, and push them to be their best, not figure out their life in a few weeks. It takes time to get to a point where you feel comfortable with your changes, and this needs to be reflected in the attitudes towards goals and planning. Creating a realistic game plan that includes dates, progress reporting, and increasing milestones that are achievable will allow a good life coach to support, help, and encourage the client to maximize his or her potential.
As you can see, being a good life coach means possessing a lot of qualities. These qualities improve the relationship and the ability to provide the support that a client needs to help reach their goals. At the end of the day, the most important thing for any life coach is that ability to improve someone’s life and form a relationship that will lead to success.
