Hiring a Life Coach is a Serious Business – Do so with Care.
The motivation for this article comes from the fairly shocking report that you may have seen on the BBC News channel: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65175712 , there is also a Podcast series on the same subject: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001kvf8/episodes/player
Essentially, if you haven’t seen the above, it’s the story of how many individuals became entangled with a so-called Life Coaching organization that turns out to be a, as the BBC says, very strange cult-like organization. While the organization in question refutes the claims of the BBC, it has raised legitimate questions around the coaching industry.
Life Coaching is a BIG business, the reason is simple – it works. Having the opportunity to work with a qualified Life Coach can be a genuinely life-changing experience.
The academic literature is clear that the coaching process is powerful and works, so – what’s the problem?
An Unregulated Industry
The challenge for anyone thinking about engaging a Life Coach is that it is an unregulated industry, and just about anyone can call themselves a Life Coach.
A good start is to ask a few questions like the following:
- Where did you complete your training?
- Does the training organization have memberships with professional bodies?
- Was the training an accredited course of studies?
- Are you a member of a professional body?
- Do you have appropriate professional insurance?
Answers to the above information will usually be found on the website of any professional and credible coach, if it’s missing, ask the questions before you commit to booking a session.
In the UK, the main Professional Body is; The Association For Coaching (AC). The AC has a robust accreditation process for Coach Training, Professional Membership, and Accredited Membership. The worldwide AC accreditation is based on a specific “Coaching Competency Framework” aligned with a Global Code of Ethics For Coaches, Mentors, and Supervisors.
The two other main professional bodies of merit that work with the AC are, the International Coaching Federation (ICF) – mostly North American with international Chapters and the European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC) with an EU / Global focus. All three bodies have a working relationship to promote best practices and an agreed training standard and accreditation framework.
One thing I noticed on the website of the organization that the BBC investigation reports on is that no one is actually a qualified Coach, and they mix the terms “Mentoring” and “Coaching” giving the idea that they are one and the same. They are not!
Mentoring is the process of sharing one’s experience and knowledge of a specific subject matter with colleagues etc. And usually involves giving advice on the specific subject matter.
The Coaching process is NOT the sharing of the coach’s experience, it is the skills of asking the right questions to unlock the client’s personal resources to solve their challenges themselves.
A Mentor gives specific answers to questions. Mentoring is usually a longer-term relationship.
A Coach will NEVER give their client an instruction or suggestion – a coach is NOT a consultant! The coaching relationship is more often than not time specific and limited to a specific topic of discussion as the clients work on their goal.
As I say to our students, a financial advisor is licensed to give advice, a Life Coach is trained to NEVER give advice.
Most Life Coaches work alone and are not a part of a large group as the example given in the BBC report. Personally, the inclusion of terms such as “Christian”, “Praying For You” or other pseudo-religious terminology by an organization with just one key leader with zero credentials sets off alarm bells.
The above is also true of those that practice NLP. A professional NLP Practitioner will be qualified and trained by a training organization that has its training accredited by the professional body, in the case of NLP, in the UK it’s the Association for NLP (ANLP).
In conclusion, hiring a Life Coach can be life-enhancing, there are lots of qualified, professional, and readable coaches in practice. Ask a few questions and work with a professional practitioner with confidence.
Key websites:
The Association For Coaching – https://www.associationforcoaching.com
The Association For NLP – https://anlp.org
Thinking about training as a Coach? Unsure what all the various qualifications or organizations mean? — Take a look at this article outlining the facts on Coach Training: How to Tell if a Course is Accredited
