Have you ever thought about becoming a professional Coach? Do you like to support people through challenge and to achieve goals? Do you get a buzz from knowing you've been there for someone? Is it important for you to know that you're adding your value to the world? If so, coaching could be for you!

The expanding market place

Coaching is a growing profession that is becoming an increasingly common feature throughout the world. Large organisations are using Performance Coaches; a strategic measure to help employees achieve greater work/life balance, master daily work skills and processes, and engage with their work in a positive and proactive manner. Ultimately, as business is finding, this leads to better results.

Coaching increases retention

The quickest way to empower any employee to resign to give them a poor manager, someone who doesn't communicate well, doesn't pull their weight, or is unskilled in acknowledging the talents and hard work of their team. The cost of this failure can be huge - de-motivated staff become less productive and more complacent, communication processes become laboured and inefficient, replacing staff occurs recruitment and retraining costs and in the short, medium and long term, targets and repeatedly missed.

The solution? Leaders with not only good technical ability, but who also have excellent people skills. Leaders with congruence who actively develop and encourage the people around them; sharing out opportunities, responsibility and very importantly, the rewards.

The results from managers who have been coached are encouraging:

In a UK report, the Chartered Management Institute found that 93% of surveyed managers believed that coaching should be available to all employees regardless of seniority. 85% said that Coaching enhances team morale. Only 3% said that Coaching is a waste of time.
Coaching in Business

Entrepreneurs are also using Business Coaches to help them focus their goals and turn their ideas into action. An example of this is how some business incubators are employing mentors and coaches as part of their service - to develop entrepreneurial potential.

Business coaches bring sound strategic planning to the table with a strong mandate to develop the clients skills needed to create sustainable success.

Personal Coaching

Also, men and women from all walks of life are hiring Personal Development Coaches to help them achieve greater work-life balance, more happiness and an increased sense of personal meaning and purpose. This is a real measurement of how people are beginning invest more in their ‘quality of life', and also signals a big shift taking place: Self-investment isn't self indulgent, it's actually OK (and pretty smart) to spend more money on ones own wellbeing than on upgrading the computers software!

So coaching is here to stay. It's proving itself as a profession that plays a vital and value adding role in many different arenas, and Coaches from many different backgrounds are establishing themselves in the market place.

What makes a good Coach?

A common characteristic amongst great coaches is a genuine commitment to the development of others. Coaching is an intensely client focused profession and without this level of commitment, a Coach simply can't deliver the high level of support that clients need in order to achieve exceptional results.

Great Coaches are expert listeners, fluent communicators and skilled facilitators with a passion for their work and their clients potential - these, if you like, are the core skills that help build a Coaches reputation and a successful business.

Many Coaches are coming from corporate and consulting backgrounds, using their specialised knowledge to create their own niche markets. As the market place expands, so does the scope for these new niche markets.

What is expected from a Coach?

There has been a big shift in people's knowledge and understanding of what coaching actually is. At the recent Women's Expo in Wellington, one exhibitor, a Kapiti based Coach, said that this year she spent far less time explaining to people what coaching is than she did the previous year. It shows a definite increase in people's awareness of this relatively new and effective method of support.

During initial trial sessions, some Coaches are also noticing that people are asking more questions about their training. With more Coaches starting up in business, there are more Coaches to choose from. As a point of difference, a Coaches training, and the quality of that training is becoming far more important.

Clients expect high standards and they want Coaches who inspire them, know their ‘stuff' and very importantly, walk the talk. There is massive amount of trust needed for the Coach-Client dynamic to work, in such a close relationship a Coach simply has to be as good as they say they are. Coaches who aren't don't last, Coaches who are, flourish.

Training as a Coach

There are many Coach training providers and even some boutique coaching businesses are beginning to develop their own Coach training programs. Before signing up with any school, do the research. What's the model of coaching? Has it been tested? What corporate organisations have they contracted to? What does their global profile look like? How do they compare to other providers?

As an example, take Results Coaching Systems (RCS). Their coaching model comes from a fusion of personal development, business strategy and the sporting world. David Rock the founder, adapted and tested success strategies from each arena to develop a model that, as the name suggests, gets results.

Researching which schools adhere to the core competencies of the International Coach Federation (ICF) is also worthwhile. The ICF is commonly recognised by Coaches worldwide as setting the highest standards for professional coaching. In a profession where credentials are important, you may also want to choose a training provider, like Results Coaching Systems, that aligns to the core competencies of the ICF.

Ultimately, to become a confident Coach, you must be confident in the coaching model you use and how you've been trained. So choosing the right Coach training provider for you is a good start.

What you are likely to learn from your training is also personally life-enhancing. Typically, the way you communicate will become more skilled giving you the ability to build stronger relationships. Your thinking will broaden, helping you plan more laterally and see more easily the bigger picture. Solutions focused, greater self-motivation and more confidence are other benefits that you may also experience.

Setting up in business

Coaching is no different from any other business, starting up has it's challenges! Relatively, even taking training fees into consideration, the start-up costs can be considerably low. As a word-of-mouth business, attracting new clients is a case of communicating clearly what it is you offer and sending the message out there via your network.

Momentum also grows as you begin to work with more and more clients, each one building your reputation. Many Coaches receive most of their clients through referrals from previous clients who they have successfully coached.

With a high level of dedication to clients, coaching really is a win-win business. Clients who achieve significant goals will happily promote a Coach who has delivered their services with flare, fluency and professionalism.

It is an incredibly rewarding business for Coaches who are people focused. Helping others in such an intense and empowering way can deliver a high level of personal meaning and satisfaction.

Copyright David Savage

About the author

David Savage is a Leadership Coach based in Wellington New Zealand. He uses a brain based methodology that fast-tracks learning and development that gives his clients the tools and templates to increase their potential and meet their ambitions.