7 Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring or Not Hiring a Life Coach
Debating if you need a life coach or not?
The answer is obvious.
It really does take a village and wouldn’t you rather save yourself some time, money, and effort learning from someone who has already “been there done that” and can help ensure your success?
The idea that you need to be alone in this world is something we’ve all come across at some point. Whether it’s because we think other people won’t understand what our goals are, or we will be judged or shut down by our goals; the fact is we all need a support system.
Whether it’s to lose weight (and keep it off), find a new job, build a business, build confidence, moving on after a divorce, or maybe you want to find true love, you will be more successful with the support and guidance of a life coach.
But before you go & hire just about anyone, read these 7 mistakes that you MUST avoid when hiring a life coach. Or deciding not to.
Mistake # 1
Wasting your time and money on just resources.
Reading that book, going to that seminar, or taking that class is a great idea! But how many times have you read an outstanding self-help book, amazing blog post or listened to a guru on a podcast only to STILL fall up short?
Information alone will not get you results. You cannot expect your sales to increase because you read the latest sales book. You can’t assume your health will improve because you joined the gym or bought the treadmill. Additionally, your life will not change overnight because you attended one of even 20 different Tony Robbins events.
Again, these are exceptional resources in addition to one-on-one coaching.
Mistake # 2
Hiring a coach who doesn’t personally have at least one consistent coach.
Many people believe that because we are coaches, we can coach ourselves. We can’t. Plain and simple. And we can’t coach our significant others. Why? Because we aren’t aware of our blind spots. Having knowledge does not equal awareness.
First, not all coaches are equal. Even if we could coach ourselves, we all come with different areas of expertise and training, so we will inevitably need some help navigating through other areas in life from time to time. For example, a Relationship Coach might want to hire a Health Coach at some point and vice versa.
Secondly, perception is reality. Humans live in their own world and we cannot see outside our fish bowl filled with our own point of view, or our stories, fears, limiting beliefs, and denial of our responsibilities. And our world always lacks a different perspective. Having a coach keeps you accountable for yourself and helps you see things you may be missing. We all have blind spots.
If a coach doesn’t have their own coach, how can they properly call themselves a coach? Likewise, how can a client trust their coach if that coach doesn’t trust and follow the coaching process themselves? In fact, it’s not uncommon to have multiple coaches at one time, depending on needs and budget. For example, my spiritual coach is far different from my business or health coach.
Mistake # 3
Hiring the wrong type of coach for your needs, wants, and desires.
As I stated above, not all coaches are equal. We all have different certifications and training and, most importantly, different experiences in certain areas of life referred to as niches.
Coaching as a whole falls into three main categories.
- Health
- Relationships
- Career and Finance
Every niche will fall into one of those areas. Relationship niches range from couples coaching, divorce, breakups, dating, or even learning to improve the relationship we have with ourselves.
Health covers both physical and mental health. An anxiety coach falls into the health category as well as one you would invest in to lose weight.
Career & finance ranges from building a business to learning how to budget. Academic coaches will fall into this category too.
The niches even get nichier. Some coaches only work with particular age groups, such as teens or fabulous women over 50, or help build a particular type of business. Such as a life coaching business.
We must research and interview any potential coach before hiring them. For instance, if a couple wanted to work with a relationship coach, they would not benefit from hiring a business coach or any other professional not trained explicitly in relationships. Likewise, you would not invest in a divorce recovery coach if they have not themselves gone through a divorce.
Mistake # 4
Paying too much attention (or not enough) to credentials
Life coaching is not required to have any special certifications or credentials. While there are organizations that certify coaches, they aren’t always necessary to make a living as a coach. Certification does not always equal qualification.
Sometimes it is essential for certification. I would not personally trust a couples relationship coach or trauma-informed coach without the right education and certifications just as I would not trust a financial coach with the same regard.
However, knowledge and training come in all forms and the most important credential is experience. I have worked with seven different coaches in my life so far (at least) and I have learned and grown tremendously from each of them and only half of them had certifications.
Most coaches offer a free consultation which gives both the coach and the client knowledge if they are a good fit or not.
Mistake # 5
Waiting for a “good” time to make a change or go after the things you really want in life.
Guess what, there is no good time. Life will always be busy. There will always be family and business obligations to attend to, errands to run, chores to do, TV programs to watch, and people and projects that want your time, energy, and money. Your life will always be busy and it will always get in the way of what you really want if you let it.
It can be very tempting to get caught up in this paradigm. But the reality is that if you are looking for or waiting for something outside of yourself to change and give you what you want, you will be waiting, and frustrated, for a very long time.
The reason for this is that you do not have control over anything outside of you. What you do have, though, is total control over yourself. You have total control over your thoughts, your actions, and your results.
It is a fact that your circumstances will change when you make a committed decision to do the things that will move you in the direction of what you want to experience in your life, and then do them. Hiring a coach is one of the smartest things you can do to ensure you take control and create the reality you want to experience.
Wondering what you can do about it? You can stop kidding yourself. Today. Stop kidding yourself that the perfect time is just around the corner or some time off in the future. Or When you find time, or when you feel like it, or after you finish FILL IN THE EXCUSE HERE. Instead, decide to join forces with a professional who can teach you how to make the most of every moment starting right now.
Your coach will hold you accountable while keeping you focused and on track to achieving your goals no matter what life throws at you.
Mistake # 6
A life coach is not a therapist.
Therapy is for healing, coaching is for growing.
While there are wonderful and amazing trauma informed coaches, a niche within (mental) health, they are not qualified to address the intense amount of healing that arises from severe trauma. Therapists deal with the past and are highly trained to help us heal and survive. Once we have climbed that mountain, that is when a trauma informed coach can help us move forward in dealing with the present and future.
Example: Childhood abuse can cause extensive damage or our psyche. A therapist can help heal that part of us. A coach, who has experienced your type of abuse, (niche + experience) can then take you from surviving to thriving.
A trauma informed coach has gone through their own extensive therapy to heal their trauma and is well educated in this sensitive field. They understand somatic processing, the effects of trauma on the nervous system, attachment styles as well as other psychological studies. All things that contribute to our behavior, growth, and development. They can take over where your therapist left off or alongside one and continue helping you nurture and heal the body and mind.
Again, this type of training should be from an accredited program through ICF (International Coaching Federation).
Mistake # 7
The Biggest Mistake — Telling yourself you can’t afford a coach.
The truth is that you can’t afford not to have one. Coaches are highly in demand these days because coaching has proven itself to be an extremely effective method for facilitating personal and professional development and fulfillment.
The word is out everywhere, it’s in the media, it’s in corporations and it’s in the community. The word is out that coaching makes sense and it really works. In studies that have been done on the impact of coaching, the results have consistently shown a return on investment of more than 100%.
Coaching clients from all walks and areas of life consistently report that it is the best money they ever spent because their investment in an ongoing coaching partnership enables them to achieve their goals. What’s even better is coaching enables them to achieve their goals quicker, easier, and with better results.
Now think about that for a moment. Think about what that means for you.
Anything you want is available to you quicker, easier, and with better results through the vehicle of coaching.
Final Thoughts
If you are still unsure, consider this, it’s not enough for you to say you want things to be different. Just wanting something doesn’t make it so.
You must make a decision and then take purposeful action toward what you want. When you put your money where your mouth is and invest in a coaching program, you demonstrate your commitment to achieving the thing that you want.
At the same time, you cut yourself off from any possibility other than total success.
If you are finally interested in taking the leap of faith and working with a life coach, please do not hesitate.
I assure you that you won’t regret it and you will ask yourself why it took you so long to start.
And don’t forget group coaching which is generally cheaper than 1:1 coaching but also extremely impactful.
Online bootcamps, webinars, and mastermind groups can all be worthwhile investments and have proven to work. Even the greatest like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, William Wrigley Jr. & Charles Schwab (to name a few) relied on mentors, coaches, and masterminds.
While you’re here, check out more of my stories on coaching:
I am a transformational life coach and the founder of Jen’s Life Coaching. As a published author, my book, “I Am Amazing: From Invisible to Invincible,” has touched many lives, and I have also shared my insights in two anthology books. My writing repertoire includes several eBooks and over 50 blogs, each aimed at empowering women to find their true potential.
I also empower and guide badass moms to recapture their independence and freedom without sacrificing their families, doing it all with class and sophistication. My mission is to show that with the right mindset, anything is possible, and life’s challenges can be overcome with grace and strength.
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Thanks for reading.
