Quality and Life Coaching - wise self improvement | self ...

There has been much debate on the field of life coaching. People are debating the validity of the industry as a whole, it's regulations and what causes the effectiveness of a life coach. With 15 years of experience in field of performance consulting and the last 5 years as a Life Coach, there are some discoveries I've made as to what distinguishes the effective coaches, from the ones that hang a shingle out without any real capacity to deliver effective coaching.

Although in any profession there are always a few "naturals" (naturally talented or gifted people in a given area/field/profession), most people need to learn the knowledge, skills and trade of a profession to be effective. Life coaching is no exception. For this reason, many organizations have begun to "certify or accredit" life coaches based on a combination of classes, tests past and hours complete. This is a "copy cat model", Borrowed from one of our most culturally predominant and dysfunctional professions.

Yep, you guessed it, the legal profession. Lawyers go through 2 to 3 years of schooling after receiving an undergraduate degree, then they are required to pass a test called "The Bar exam." If they pass that test, then they are considered a valid lawyer. Here are some problems with that.

First of all, you wouldn't trust 99% of "lawyers" who just passed the bar with your thriving business or a murder trial of someone you know and love. I get that everyone has to start somewhere, but most of us would go to an established lawyer or law firm first. Why? Well, because we all know effectiveness is measure in effectiveness, not schooling or even experience. That is why over half of all law students never practice.

Although this legal model has a good basis, it certainly isn't a complete model for effectiveness. It is only a beginning. For example, lawyers that become effective are avid researchers, they often practice for years and sometimes on a pro-bono or contingency basis, in order to get the experience they need to prove their ability to be effective. Many spend many years working their way up the ranks of someone else'e practice learning from other effective attorneys and thereby increasing their own level of effective practices.

At the end of the day, their is little beyond classroom education that the regulations or general structure of the legal industry does up front to properly prepare lawyers to be effective. The results leaves many "lawyers" ineffective in their field! If this model is largely ineffective for lawyers, why is it being promoted for the coaching industry? The answer may not surprise you. This model is being copied because it is "profitable." The problem isn't in it's profitability, but in that, the interests of those who profit are aligned with the end users.

Who gains the profit in this ineffective model? Training companies and the accrediting organizations! Training companies are pushing coaches through quick educational processes that may be as short as a few weeks or as long as a year or two. What's worse is they aren't measuring graduates on effectiveness. So, what may look like a credible and certified or accredited coach, may in fact be a bored house mom or retiree, a failed HR director, or bleeding heart college kid. There is nothing wrong with these or any other people choosing the profession of life coaching. The problem isn't in who is choosing the profession, but in the lack of clear information and resources in how to get trained effectively because the industry itself is promoting an ineffective system which serves private interests!

What makes a life coach effective? The answer to that is simple. Consistent results with clients. Period.

How does a coach become effective? What I have discovered over the last half decade is that when it comes to effective life coaching the development of a life coach is very similar to the development of a great surgeon or doctor.

First, one must have a life long interest in helping people. Something medical schools check for through educational history, volunteer work, personal essays and more.

Second, one must study extensively, learning the basics of the human beings psyche, cultural influence, development, "languaging", as well as all the basic skills of coaching and get familiar with real life examples or case studies. This is the function of any educational organization.

Third, one must work one on one with clients in real life scenarios along with the avid guidance and instruction of well trained, effective and currently practicing life coach master, trainer, or instructor. The medical profession lines this up for its qualified graduates in the form of an apprenticeship called "residency." Depending on the level of specialty a doctor chooses and is qualified for, depends on the years and number of residencies they will be required to complete. {Baring insurance and pharmaceutical company interference, doctors have the skills and ability to be effective on a consistent basis.}

In summary, life coaching is a lot like both the legal profession and the medical profession. It has a profound impact on the quality of peoples lives, through the areas finance, health, relationships and more. However, the coaching industry, a somewhat new yet immensely valuable field of practice, should learn from both the flaws and successes of other industries before it creates a system of regulations. Although schools are a great place to introduce people to the coaching industry, effectiveness is measure in effectiveness and our systems of regulations should be determined by the alignment of that versus the private interests of schools and accrediting organizations. We all have to be responsible for what happens in this new and thriving industry.

Source: http://wiseselfimprovement.blogspot.com/2013/02/quality-and-life-coaching.html

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