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Development Tools Recommended Reading Become a Coach Partners
Become a Coach
So you think you have what it takes to become a life coach?
Get a Mentor
Get Trained
Get Certified
Additional Resources
Coaching can be a very fulfilling and
rewarding career for individuals who are gifted with this unique
personal and professional development talent.
 A
life coach is a person who partners with you to ensure your success.
They act as your personal cheerleader in helping you to set goals and
create a plan to achieve them. A life coach aids you in identifying your
strengths and opportunities for greater personal and professional
development. A life coach also works with you in developing a system of
accountability to realize your intended objectives. Unlike a therapist
or counselor, a life coach is very forward-thinking. Life coaches bridge
the gap between where you are right now and where you want to be in the
future. Life coaches have a mission to help ordinary people fulfill
extraordinary dreams.
Life coaches come from a variety of backgrounds. Some have backgrounds
in psychology or social work. Some are former business professionals.
Many life coaches have no formal education or professional experience at
all. People become life coaches because they have a very real desire to
motivate others to be successful and have a natural gift for doing so.
Good coaches use a combination of education and life experience to meet
the needs of their clients. Coaches can choose to specialize in
business, careers, parenting, dating, relationships, disabilities or
general life. Most life coaches have been coaching unofficially for the
greater part of their lives and just didn't know it.
The life coaching industry is still relatively new, having only been
officially recognized for approximately the past thirty years. Because
of this, coaching is still very much an unregulated practice. There are
two major certifying boards attempting to change this: the
International Association of Coaches
(IAC) and the International
Coach Federation (ICF). Both organizations have been around for
about 15 years and each have rigorous qualification standards and
testing that must be achieved prior to certification. There are many
coach training schools available that offer training programs geared
toward meeting the requirements of these certifying bodies. It is still
a widely debated issue as to whether or not professional life coaches
should be certified or not. As it currently stands, certification can
definitely help to legitimize an aspiring coach but formal education and
life experience can still be just as valuable depending on the target
customer.
As for the coaching process itself, most coaching is conducted primarily
by telephone or even email. Sessions typically last from 30 minutes to
an hour. Life coaches practice effective listening skills to mirror
client concerns and act as a sounding board for ideas. Life coaches use
intuitive questioning skills to lead their clients onto a journey of
self-discovery and growth. Most coaching relationships average about 6
months. Fees for coaching can vary greatly from coach to coach and are
based heavily on the type of client being served. Most coaches,
including myself, do offer a complimentary session to all first time
clients.
Life coaching can be a very fulfilling career for the right
personalities. If you are already a person who loves to reach out to
others, is a great listener and you often find yourself in the center of
everyone's problems, then you probably have what it takes to be a coach.
And if you are a big dreamer but don't know quite how to turn them into
reality, then a life coach is most likely the perfect answer for you.
Get a Mentor Coach
 Having a mentor coach is crucial to
your success as a life coach. A mentor coach will assist you in
developing your coaching skills further and on a continual basis.
Whether you are a new coach or a highly experienced one, it is
recommended that you maintain a mentor coach relationship throughout
your career.
Behind every
awesome coach is another awesome coach. Make
sure you secure a mentor coach as soon as
possible. The best way to develop your coaching
skills is to be coached yourself. This will not
only help you in building your practice but
raise your self-awareness as well.
Mentor
coaching is a part of my service offerings.
If you are interested in building a relationship
with me as your mentor coach then feel free to
contact me for your
FREE introductory session. You should also
visit and join the
Life Coach Support Network for additional
support in building your coaching practice or to
explore connecting with other potential mentors.
Get Trained
 Coaching is a natural gift that
requires little if any training. What training does, and is quite useful
for, is to hone your natural skills and abilities into a business
practice. Training allows you to further develop your gift into a more
structured process so you can deliver it as a service product. Training
is also great in expanding the types of questions you might ask. The
more knowledge you possess in the area you are coaching in, the more
thought-provoking questions you can ask the client. The great thing is
that this training can be received in a number of different ways, most
of which cost little or nothing. This can be through books, your
current college education or even supplementary workshops and
teleclasses. Most formal coach training institutions, as well as
other coaches, offer free and low-cost teleclasses or books that you can
use to work on skills you wish to develop further.
Since everyone learns differently,
formal training may still be your best option. There are many
options for coach training available. Most will even prepare you
for certification. Here is a short list of those that I recommend.
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Building Bridges Chicago
-
As featured in
Time Out Chicago, participate in this 3-day
live bootcamp that will equip you with all the
tools you need to begin coaching right away.
Learn active listening, effective questioning,
client engagement and much more in this
information-packed and practice-intensive class.
Currently only available in Chicago, IL; however
soon to expand to other major cities throughout
the United States. Completion leads to diploma.
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Dream Coach University
- Become a Certified Dream
Coach. Our Dream Resources offer you several
opportunities. We hope you will find this
information stimulating and thought-provoking.
But most of all, we hope you will find it
indispensable for making your dreams come true.
-
iPEC Coaching
- Whether you want to become a
full- or part-time coach, enhance your career
skills, or bring coaching into your
organization, you've arrived at the right place!
iPEC is proud to be a world-class coach training
institute that graduates top-notch professionals
into the remarkable field of professional
life/business coaching.
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Coach Training Alliance
- Coach Training Alliance is a
growing collection of the finest educators,
mentors, coaches, and facilitators in the
profession of coaching. Together they have
developed the ultimate coach training programs
delivered in the most economical and efficient
way.
Each course is condensed into a streamlined,
step-by-step process that enables "just-in-time"
learning that is unparalleled in the industry.
The mission of the alliance is to provide eager
students a dynamic learning environment, using
the latest educational technology, in the
shortest amount of time, for the lowest and most
reasonable tuition.
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The Institute for Life Coach Training
- We specialize in training
counselors, therapists, psychologists, social
workers, human resource professionals, educators
and other professionals in the profession of
life coaching
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New Life Coach Inc.
- We offer the finest in
Christian life Coaching strategies and
techniques.
Get Certified
Depending on your
target niche and whether or not you can demonstrate
your expertise and communicate your true passion to
help clients succeed certifications may not be
necessary at all. This my change as the coaching
industry continues to grow and becomes more
regulated. For now, certifications tend to be most
important when your own desire to add credibility to
your practice comes into play. The following
links are to the two major certifying bodies, the
IAC and the ICF. My personal recommendation is for
the IAC because they take into account life
experience as well as coach-specific training.
There are also many other niche-specific
certifications such as in Christian or Career
coaching.
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The International Association of
Coaching (IAC)
- The
International Association of
Coaching is a global
association for coaches. IAC
provides an independent
credentialing and certifying
service for people who use
coaching in their business
and is recognized worldwide.
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International Coach Federation (ICF)
- The
International Coach
Federation is the globally
recognized association of
professional personal and
business coaches. ICF offers
the only independent
credentialing program for
Coaches that is recognized
worldwide.
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