Page 232 - Talane Miedaner - Coach Yourself to a New Career_ 7 Steps to Reinventing Your Professional Life (2010)
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220                                   HOW TO FIND OR BECOME A COACH


              basic skills. Plenty of people are suddenly calling themselves
              coaches when in fact they are therapists, counselors, or consul-
              tants and have never completed a real coach-training program.
                 When you interview the coach, you should feel that you can tell
              this person the whole truth. Is this a person you can confide in? A per-
              son you trust and respect? Do you feel listened to and understood?
                 As a general rule, do not hire a close friend or a family member,
              for the reasons already mentioned. You don’t want the coaching to
              affect your relationship. You can always fire your coach, but you
              can’t fire your cousin or uncle. Keep friends and family for love,
              support, and encouragement.
                 Does this coach have the experience, skills, and qualifications
              you are looking for? Don’t be afraid to ask to speak to some of the
              coach’s clients for a recommendation, especially clients who had
              success in the area you want to develop. Ask what is the coach’s style
              and philosophy and whether he or she has any particular coaching
              specialty. Some coaches specialize in relationships, some in work-
              ing with creative clients, some with entrepreneurs, people with
              head injuries—you name it. Whatever your particular need, you are
              guaranteed that there is a coach out there who specializes in it.
                 Don’t worry about where the coach lives. Most coaches work by
              telephone, as it is more effective and efficient than in-person meet-
              ings. My clients are all over the globe, and most of them I’ve never
              met in person. It makes no difference to the results they achieve.
                 If you aren’t having fun and seeing results with your coach, tell
              your coach what you need from him or her. If that doesn’t work,
              ask for a referral to a different coach. In the first few sessions, you
              will typically assess your current situation and talk about where
              you’d like to be. In a corporate setting, you may discuss how the
              company goals work in relation to your own. You can expect your
              coach to provide ongoing positive support and encouragement, to
              ask you to go beyond where you’d normally stop, to press you to
              try new skills, to provide follow-up discussion on the goals you are
              working on, and to give you life work assignments every week. It
              is also perfectly OK to tell your coach how you are best coached. I
              usually ask my clients this anyway.
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