A certified Life Coach will find many doors opening for him/her globally. Coaching in itself is a highly rewarding career; one where coaches work in tandem with clients to create and achieve goals.
Coaching is a developmental process wherein a coach also learns and unlearns many things about self while supporting individuals or groups in growth.
The future of the life coaching industry in India is shining bright. However, the plethora of life coach courses and certifications may make it a difficult choice for aspiring coaches. This blog takes an in-depth look at being a certified Life Coach and the qualities one needs to have to stand apart from the rest.
To be the best Life Coach requires an authentic certification as well as qualities to be the most in-demand coach globally. So, what’s the best way to get started as a Life Coach? You need to develop 10 life coach qualities and competencies and make them a part of a natural style of coaching to stand apart from the rest.
Top 10 Qualities of a Life Coach
The ICF always lays down certain core competencies as well as ethics that a Life Coach needs to follow and practice in the coaching career.
1. High levels of passion
Life Coach training is best suitable for those individuals who have a high level of passion to raise people and help them be the best version of themselves. A Life Coach is aware he/she will not suggest or give solutions but work on building the thinking capacities of the client to bring the desired changes.
The work of a Life Coach is often challenging, exciting, and requires one to don many thinking hats.
A passion to work with clients and watch them grow personally and professionally is a basic life coaching skill that one needs to display.
2. Listening skills
An excellent Life Coach is also a great listener. This is one of the most important skills a life coach to be a catalyst for change. A good listener is able to know the many things a client expresses (or may find difficulty to speak about) and know more about a client to understand and plan the agenda for the sessions.
A Life Coach needs to show an open mind and create a non-judgmental safe space for the client.
A Life Coach is also observant of the non-verbal hints and is able to gain more information through the listening skills. As a listener, a Life Coach does not form any opinions or dilute his/her personal agenda during the coaching session.
3. Be Accountable
A certified Life Coach knows the importance of developing accountability. In coaching, this accountability is towards the self, the client, and the progress of the sessions. A Life Coach creates a space to discuss client progress, set deadlines, and is accountable to adhere to the same.
A professional Life Coach is quick to bring the focus of the conversation on the goals while ensuring the client has taken the steps required to move them towards the set goal.
This also means the Life Coach regularly provides reviews and feedback and keeps the information ready for all the sessions. A Life Coach also increases accountability levels in the client to ensure the coaching goals are met.
4. Use of questioning skills
One of the 10 qualities of a Life Coach also includes the ability to use the skill of powerful questioning. Here, a coach uses a combination of questioning skills to steer the conversation where required. A coach knows the type of questions to ask as well as the manner in conveying the question.
A client may be asked questions that require them to share more details, make them think deeper, get clarity to know they are v/s what they think they are, and keep the coaching conversation towards the goals.
The right questions make a client understand what they want and find answers on their own (especially when a client struggles to find answers); ultimately leading the client towards discovering solutions.
5. Power of reflection
A Life Coach with natural reflection skills will find the coaching profession rewarding and exciting. A certified Life Coach needs to develop the art of reflection to be able to work on problem-solving methods easily.
A Life Coach deliberately establishes this quality to analyze coaching sessions and create a better learning space. A reflective coach examines the coaching practice and client progress to unearth more information through a systematic approach.
The coach is able to summarize the coaching session to organize information and understand the deeper meaning behind sentences.
observe coaching habits, know what’s required or what needs to change, while using various coaching tools to create successful coaching sessions.
6. Compassion
A certified Life Coach with compassion at the core of his/her practice will create long-lasting relationships with their client. A coach with a genuine desire to guide and inspire others is compassionate towards their clients while listening without judgments or attachment.
Great coaches are able to create this beautiful energy in the coaching session where compassion establishes a bond helping a client share more about their lives and details important to the coaching session.
The quality is also about being uplifting towards others without shaming them about their situation or personality. A coach develops the ability to forgive themselves while being aware to grow along with their clients.
7. Self-improvement
A Life Coach who is open to improvement has a higher chance of creating more success stories. A coach must be open to learning more through certifications and newer techniques that work towards upgrading their skills. A Life Coach enjoys the process of self-improvement and enrolls themselves for certifications that add high value.
He/she signs up for Coach Supervision to sharpen the practice and be open to a process of continuous learning in the career.
8. Integrity
A Life Coach who displays integrity and transparency is able to build trust in the coaching sessions. A client is able to share details about where they seek help once they develop confidence in the Life Coach.
A coach outlines the Coaching Contract at the beginning of the session while ensuring all the legal documents are in place. They create a safe space while maintaining transparency in the process.
9. Challenge self
A Life Coach who has the ability to challenge themselves and others often conduct coaching sessions that get the desired results for the client. A coach needs to be aware to challenge the client in terms of goal formation. He/she then needs to lead the client to focus on taking the required action to meet the goals.
The journey of coaching also requires a coach to challenge them self regularly while ensuring he/she adds the necessary qualifications and supervision at regular intervals.
10. Creativity
A certified Life Coach who goes beyond the framework of coaching to install new methods of learning is often in demand in the industry. A coach who dons the creative hat is a person who enjoys the profession to the fullest while using the existing methodologies to create new concepts for coaching.
He/she often works on different formats for coaching depending upon the client's requirement. This makes a coach highly versatile while being a role model, and increasing his/her presence in the industry.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1) What defines a great coach?
A great coach demonstrates the competencies of ICF and brings their own flavor to the coaching methods. A great coach is self-aware, has good intentions, non-judgmental, defines boundaries, and is committed to self-growth through supervision methods. A great coach maximizes a person’s potential.
2) What Qualities make a good Life Coach?
A coach needs to demonstrate all the core competencies as outlined by leading governing bodies such as ICF. The coach needs to be empathetic, organized, solution-focused, display problem-solving skills, be non-judgmental, and open-minded to understand a client’s background with a genuine desire to support people.
3) What skills are needed to be a Life Coach?
A coach needs to be passionate about uplifting others. They need to demonstrate conversational skills, listening skills, be open-minded, non-judgmental, empathic, patience, be curious, and highly observant to verbal and non-verbal clues. A high level of self-awareness is essential to promote growth in self and others.
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