FAQs

What are typical reasons people choose to hire a coach?

While there are as many different reasons for hiring a coach as there are people who make this choice, the broadest reason appears to be when people are dissatisfied with some aspect of their life (personal, professional, family) and believe they need to partner with an objective and trained professional in order to make a necessary change. Some examples include:

• You are unclear about your goals and objectives and how best to achieve them
• You want to accelerate achievement of results you’ve identified as objectives
• You seek assistance in identifying your strengths and how to use them to maximum advantage
• Your work and life are out of balance and you want to change that

How long do I need to work with a coach?

There is no definitive answer to this question. In my specialty of communications, many clients find a single session to practice for an upcoming important communication event, like a job interview, to be very effective. However, depending on your overall goals and needs, longer engagements over time are the most effective way to achieve your objectives.  I offer packages of 3 and 6-month duration in addition to single sessions. The way you like to work, the frequency of our sessions, and the financial resources you can devote to coaching all impact the decision as to what is the most appropriate length of the coaching engagement.

How is coaching different from therapy?

It’s important to realize that personal coaching is not therapy and coaches are not licensed by the state as are professional therapists (psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers). Although there are other differences, one way to understand the differences between coaching and therapy is to view coaching as more focused on the future and therapy as often about resolving conflicts arising from the past. Personal coaching is about supporting your personal and professional growth through achieving goals that you identify. Therapy deals with healing pain, dysfunction, and conflict within or between individuals. Where therapy is primarily about healing, coaching is primarily is about acting on your goals, accountability, and follow-through.

How would I know if coaching is right for me?

To help determine if personal coaching could benefit you, ask yourself if you find it valuable to collaborate, to hear other viewpoints and consider alternative perspectives, or believe a change is necessary but feel blocked from taking action. If you answered yes to these questions personal coaching could be right for you.  Another good step may be to write down what you would expect to accomplish through coaching, as clearly identifying the desired outcome can enable you to see how a coaching partnership can help you achieve your goals.

What can I do to ensure an effective coaching partnership?

Think of other effective partnerships in your life, whether they have been at work or in your personal life, and identify what characteristics of the partnership made it effective.  Most likely you’ll need to replicate those to ensure an effective coaching engagement. Other things you should consider include:

• Having a personal interview with at least two coaches to determine which person is the best fit for you
• Looking for similar and contrasting styles between you and the coach that would support and promote the change and action you desire
• Discussing with your prospective coach how it would be handled if you ever felt things weren’t going well in the coaching partnership, and maybe reach a general agreement beforehand on how to resolve issues and problems that may arise in the engagement
• Talking about your objectives for the coaching within the context of the coach’s specialty or his or her preferred method and style of coaching

As a coach, what will you ask of me?

As your coach, I will ask you to:

• Trust your own intuitions and judgments and not look for me to provide a substitute for those
• Focus on what you want to achieve, and not whether its possible or difficult
• Have compassion for yourself and not be afraid to make mistakes or fail when trying new things
• Do what you say you want to do
• To not take yourself too seriously and be able to laugh as often as possible!