There is so much choice in every walk of life, but when it comes to finding the right life coach, it’s a deeply personal decision and rather difficult to choose between all the options out there. It’s also a big investment of your time and money, so I believe it’s really crucial for you to consider four key elements when you choose who your next coach is going to be.
Over the years I have spent thousands of pounds on a coach – from executive coach to leadership coach, business coach to spiritual life coach. Some people don’t even call themselves coaches, but they are, and I’ve invested to access their energy, expertise and support. It’s a big investment, for all the learnings, insights, new perspectives, accountability, support, self-belief and self awareness coaching brings, and I consider it to be one of THE best uses of my money. I wouldn’t be here today, living a calmer, more confident and easier existence if it wasn’t for the coaching I have had.
Having said all that, some coaches just weren’t for me, and I have ended coaching relationships because they weren’t. All gave me lessons, for which I’m grateful, however, to help you choose the right Life Coach for you, here are my four top tips:
Align on your core values
Our core values, let’s call them our inner guiding compass, are vitally important to us. They drive our actions, thoughts and subsequent feelings, especially when they’re not honoured. Some will be conscious to you, perhaps like honesty and respect, others may be less obvious, yet still powerfully drive your very being. For this reason I believe it’s crucial that your values align with that of your coach. It’s only when my values didn’t align that my coaching relationships didn’t work out.
So, get a feel for their values by reading their website or blogs or seeing what they post or share on social media to understand their perspectives and see if they align with yours. If you find yourself resonating with their words and views, you’ll likely be well aligned and off to a good start.
Make sure you have rapport
Coaching is a partnership. I mentioned in this blog, ‘What is coaching’ that it’s about two people working together – one with the intention of changing, improving and bettering themself and their life, the other (the coach) bringing their guidance, expertise, empathy and support to help them get there. Rapport is the magic essence that bonds the partnership and without it, it’s not going to work as well. Rapport, to me, means that each person feels connected to the other, that they trust and respect one another. This then begins to create the safe space that’s needed for the open dialogue, the honesty and commitment to be created for the coaching to work well.
Knowing you have rapport with a potential coach comes, again, from resonating with what they share on social media, their website, podcasts, in-person connections. Do your due diligence, stalk them for a bit (in a nice way, I mean!) and see if you can feel the rapport, the resonance with what they’re saying, how they’re saying it and what they stand for. And if you need a bit more convincing, talk to them in person and see if you click. I hold Discovery Calls for this very reason, to ensure both and I and any potential client have a good connection. You can book your call with me here: https://calendly.com/afire/20min and let’s see if we click. Or follow me on LinkedIn or Facebook, or listen to my podcast – this kind of stalking is totally fine with me!
Kindred spirits
The third tip is to find someone who has been through and experienced what you’re struggling with and want to address. For example, if you’re struggling with confidence, find someone who had low confidence and overcame it and now coaches others in this area. An extra bonus is to find a coach who also shares similar life experiences. For this part, it’s not essential, but to my point about rapport, it helps if you have a similar background or life experiences because you will just get each other ona whole other level. I tend to attract coaching clients who are in or have been in the corporate world, are a parent, struggle with overdoing and overgiving (so they’re frazzled and don’t want to be) and doubt themselves (imposter syndrome, hello!) … there’s no coincidence they’re drawn to working with me. I’ve been exactly where they are, I understand them and what they’re going through, and I know how to overcome the things that are holding them back, because I’ve done it.
Go with your feelings
The final piece of advice to help you find the right life coach for you, is to go with who feels right for you. Our feelings, our intuition, are THE most powerful inner guidance tools we can use. The right life coach is one who makes you feel a mixture of excitement and feeling scared all at the same time. I call this a sweetspot for making the right decision. The excitement is because it feels right, the scariness is actually the fear of your own potential, of what life might actually be like (in a good way!) if you are to work with them. We can fear success as much as failure and stepping into our own truest power (which is what life coaching enables you to do) takes courage because it’s about taking us to places we’ve only dreamt of, that are unknown to us, so no wonder it feels scary. But that’s all ok.
I hope these tips help you on your path to finding your own true power and potential and the guidance you need to get there.
With love,
Jo x
p.s. Of course, if you’d like to see if we click, you can book a free Discovery Call here and we can talk more.