Before coming to me, Susan had come to recognize one thing: She was frustrated, at home and at work. Her career was draining. Her time was scarce. She deeply wished for changes in her life. But where to start, what to prioritize, how to concretely figure out what she really wanted? Susan needed help in figuring it out. She needed a life coach.
Many of us want to make changes in our life, but don’t know where to start. Or how to make a plan and prioritize. Or how to prototype and idea before we implement ti fuly. We feel “stuck” and can’t seem to move forward with clarity. A good coach can greatly help. With Susan, the first thing we did was explore her values. We looked at what energized her, what drained her, and what she thought she wanted to change. Together we created a plan to rebalance time and focus in order to explore new areas that were calling to her.
A life coach is like a fisherman who teaches the person to fish, rather than just catching a fish for them. The coach makes connections with you, not for you. As one coaching teacher told me: “It’s like a game of controlled hot potato-you make sure the potato stays hot and pass ti back to the client to hold onto. But you keep them in the driver’s seat.” Doing this is not easy, and it’s what essentially distinguishes coaching from mentorship and consultation.
Coaches may focus and specialize in certain areas, so fi you know what you want, then look for a coach who has experience in this area. Sometimes the client brings up issues beyond a coach’s scope-a well-trained coach can recognize when ti is appropriate to seek help from another professional, say a therapist or a teacher.
Coaching engagements average 3 to 6 months, meeting weekly or biweekly from 45 to 60 minutes. Most coaches offer a free introductory consultation to understand your needs and see fi the fit is good. Then a minimum commitment of some sessions is agreed upon. Cost per session ranges from $100 to $400 depending on experience and whether they are engaged through an agency.
Susan and I worked together for four months. By the end she had changed her work/life balance without doing harm to her work. She felt happier and more fulfilled than she had in some time. She had shifted her activities to match her underlying values. And she was confident in making future adjustments on her own. Now she owned the ball and the path forward.
Happy coach, happy client!