ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential, which is particularly important in today’s uncertain and complex environment. Coaches honor the client as the expert in his or her life and work and believe every client is creative, resourceful and whole. Standing on this foundation, the coach’s responsibility is to:
- Discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve
- Encourage client self-discovery
- Elicit client-generated solutions and strategies
- Hold the client responsible and accountable
- This process helps clients dramatically improve their outlook on work and life while improving their leadership skills and unlocking their potential.
People hire a coach because:
- They want to grow
- Work and/or life are out of balance
- The need and want an accountability partner
- They need help identifying their core strengths
- A goal exists but they need help with clarifying it and setting attainable goals
There is no set fee per coaching session, but rather an overall cost to your transformation. Each person’s journey and transformation is different and it takes a brief 15-20 minute call with me to determine what it is you’re looking for and how I can help you through this journey.
Hiring a life coach is not about the time spent in one or multiple sessions, but the transformation you receive from the coaching. It may take a series of coaching sessions, not just one or two, so it’s about the consistency of doing the work even in between sessions. When you you make the investment it’s not about the time, it’s about those aha moments that are going to shift your world forever and open up a new world of possibilities.
In order to make those life-changing shifts that stick and to build new neural pathways and patterns of showing up it takes time. I am not about surface level shifts – that’s the equivalent of putting a bandaid on a deep cut – so I prefer to customize a coaching journey dependant on your needs. This may take anywhere from 3-6 months or even a year.
No, I do not take insurance. However, all insurance plans are different and some insurance carriers will reimburse you but you will have to speak to your insurance directly. You can always ask your personal plan if it is something they would cover and see if you can file directly. Some have also found they can use their HSA dollars toward coaching appointments, which I will accept.
This type of work is a personal investment in yourself. Furthermore, it is an investment in your overall health. As you reduce stress and anxiety, get a clearer mindset, your overall health will see improvement and could eventually reduce your dependence on higher coverage plans.
To some it feels like a big investment. Which can seem scary. But when that feeling arises the question to ask yourself, what is more important than to invest in than yourself? When you work on yourself and unleash all your inner power in exponentially affects other areas of your life…family, work, friends, it becomes boundless. And that is simply priceless.
Therapy has its place and so does coaching. I believe in both. When making a decision on which one will work best for you and how to invest, it’s important to evaluate your goals and what you are wanting out of it.
The distinction I see is one of diagnosis versus decision. Coaching is about being generative versus reactive. It’s about deciding to move forward and becoming generative about your future versus trying to diagnose a problem and being in a reactive state to what has happened.
The ICF has a great explanation of the role:
- Provides objective assessment and observations that foster the individual’s or team’s self-awareness and awareness of others
- Listens closely to fully understand the individual’s or team’s circumstances
- Acts as a sounding board in exploring possibilities and implementing thoughtful planning and decision making
- Champions opportunities and potential, encouraging stretch and challenge commensurate with personal strengths and aspirations
- Fosters shifts in thinking that reveal fresh perspectives
- Challenges blind spots to illuminate new possibilities and support the creation of alternative scenarios
- Maintains professional boundaries in the coaching relationship, including confidentiality, and adheres to the coaching profession’s code of ethics
Again, the ICF offers great insight into what the client’s role entails:
- Creates the coaching agenda based on personally meaningful coaching goals
- Uses assessment and observations to enhance self-awareness and awareness of others
- Envisions personal and/or organizational success
- Assumes full responsibility for personal decisions and actions
- Utilizes the coaching process to promote possibility thinking and fresh perspectives
- Takes courageous action in alignment with personal goals and aspirations
- Engages big-picture thinking and problem-solving skills
- Takes the tools, concepts, models and principles provided by the coach and engages in effective forward actions
Of course. All meetings, calls, emails are kept strictly confidential unless there is a court order to the contrary or someone’s safety is in question.
On another note, traditionally therapy sessions must be disclosed to an employer but coaching sessions do not.
I can coach you via phone, video conference or in person. When we have our breakthrough session we can discuss this in detail.
Life coaching is about mindset development. Just as some kids need academic support beyond what they do with their parents, some children could benefit from a co-collaborator aka. coach. There are several reasons parents may feel it a benefit to hire a life coach to work with their child, including but not limited to building self-esteem, handing big changes or transitions, dealing with anxiety, stress or even shyness, confidence in the classroom, on the athletic field or on stage,decision making or handling peer pressure.
Coaching adolescents involves developing resilience skills and self esteem. It also involves building self confidence and allowing them room to develop an “inner compass” that they can use and trust when making decisions. They learn to live with intention as well as to be present in the moment rather than always striving to reach the ideal perfection and never feeling like they are enough.
Yes. Adults’ frontal lobes where critical thinking occurs are fully developed. Teens on the other hand need a little more guidance and teaching to assist them.
Yes! Although the way children absorb information is different than teens and adults. Therefore, my method is based on the Adventures in Wisdom program that teaches things like self-esteem, confidence, inner power and such through story. We then discuss the story. This is either done one to one coaching, in a small group, or a workshop setting.