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The Top 14 Myths About Coaching
~~ Terri Levine

1. A coach is a motivator equipped with a whistle and "you can do it" attitude that gets you going.

A coach can't motivate you - only YOU can motivate you. The coach gives you honest feedback, holds the mirror up so you can see YOU, and helps you motivate you. The coach keeps you accountable and moving forward. The inspiration comes from within YOU. Enthusiasm means "God from within." You can motivate and get excited from the inside out. As in the case of hiring a coach to work through a life or career transition. A client said to me, "Wow, I didn't know I had the answers in me; coaching allowed me to tap into my own answers."

2. People can live their lives just fine without a coach, thank you.

Certainly, they can, and they can live them BETTER, BIGGER, EASIER and more JOYFULLY with a coach - aren't you entitled to that? Before one of my clients hired me, she was very successful in her business - she just worked, 50 hours a week on her business, thought about it, felt stress and couldn't completely relax when at home and with her family. Coaching allowed her to find ways to work only 36 hours a week, make more money, feel little stress, and spend more time with her family. She thinks she lives her life much better after coaching.

3. Coaching is a fad and will go away.

The profession has been around for years - it's the number one home based business to start according to Entrepreneur Magazine, and Money Magazine ranks it as the second fastest growing business. It is booming and growing and has sustainable outcomes that stick. Coaching works and is here to stay. When I started coaching, I attracted 15 clients in 30 days... they couldn't wait to get started. I continue to attract individual clients and corporate clients with great ease because of the high demand for coaching.

4. Coaches give you an ego boost - full of phony praise and false inspiration.

Coaches speak the truth, without judgment, an agenda, or attachment to the outcome. Certified Comprehensive coaches adhere to a code of ethics that is all about honesty and integrity, period. As I said to one of my own coaches, "Hearing you tell me how I just sounded felt a bit harsh, and at the same time, I want to say thanks, I needed to hear that."

5. Coaches are a combination of therapist and personal trainer.

They don't engage in any fixing behaviors or looking at past behaviors and the whys of them... so, coaching is NOT therapy... they are like personal trainers for your personal and professional excellence. Clients who have come to me who have had therapy often say coaching is more beneficial than therapy, because it allows them the energy of moving forward and not looking back... it creates momentum, like a magnet, and pulls them to create what they are wanting vs. feeling bad about themselves or past experiences.

6. Friends and family make great coaches - that's what they are for.

Mostly they have their own agendas and want certain outcomes. They may feel they know what is best for you or right for you. They may have a vested interest in a certain outcome or behavior and they may not want to be truthful and hurt your feelings. They aren't trained to be objective. Why not have a best friend AND a coach?

When I was considering leaving my corporate J-O-B and trading a 6 figure income to start a coaching business... boy, did my family and friends have opinions! My husband, loving and supportive, was fearful we'd go broke and kept encouraging me to do it part-time, do it when I retire, etc. Many friends told me I "couldn't" leave my secure job and asked me if I had gone "crazy". They all had some judgments and agendas, yes?

7. Coaches are for those who don't want to pay for therapists.

Therapists are great to fix behaviors and look back at the past. Coaches are for people who are successful and want more success and an even better life.

One of my clients has a therapist and also me as his coach. He tells me the therapy helps him in getting clear on past issues that he wants to understand, and the coaching allows him to forge ahead and have more of what he desires in his life.

8. Coaching is all done by phone.

It can be. Some coaches also work in person. Pick what best supports you. The coach will co-create the relationship and the coaching with you.

Many coaches work with individuals by phone, in person, in groups; some work in businesses in person, by phone, etc.

What is important is getting coached by the coach you match chemistry with and through the way you like to be coached best. Even email coaching can be effective.

9. Coaching is very expensive.

It is an investment in YOU. It pays out so much more than the dollars you may put in. We all spend money on self-help books, tapes, and seminars ... but most of that doesn't stick. Why not invest in something that sticks, instead?

When I first hired a coach I compared it to a personal trainer, a spa visit, a massage, a workshop and realized it was any or all of those - a way to get personal training, treat my body, mind, and spirit, and to learn. I then saw that the check I was writing the coach brought me great value and took care of me in a more comprehensive, holistic way - I felt I was nurturing and caring for ME, and why not?

10. Anyone can call himself or herself a professional coach.

Professional coaches get certified and become Comprehensive Coaches. Check credentials before you hire a coach.

Certified Comprehensive Coaches go through a professional training program and bring their life and work experience to the coaching profession. They take classes in tuning in, powerful questions, powerful observations, powerful requests, building the client, growing the client, achieving client goals, change, and personal and business issues, to name a few topics. It involves years of training along with skills based labs with master instructors providing them honest feedback on their coaching. It is not an easy program. It is a well deserved credential that shows they are extraordinary coaches.

11. Coaches don't fulfill any special qualifications.

Certified Comprehensive Coaches sure do! And they are stringent! In addition to some of the classes above, they have to coach during lab classes - over 40 hours of practice during their training. That is like taking oral exams over and over. They get honest and tough feedback and they are expected to meet the challenge and keep advancing their skills. Not an easy process and according to the Certified Comprehensive Coaches - well worth it to hold the prestigious credential.

12. Anyone can get a certificate as a "coach".

Comprehensive Coach Training is rigorous and becoming certified requires a lot of coaching practice, feedback, oral and written exams and observations. Not many stand up to that.

In addition to the classes and all the practice coaching, there is a full curriculum of skills to study and learn on a cellular basis. Let me tell you, the oral and written exams are tough - they are made to be because only those who are extraordinary can hold this credential.

13. Coaching is a profession that will never take off.

It has - BIG time. It is one of the fastest growing professions in the US. There are over 10,000 coaches right now and more are needed. Coaching has become a household word. Four years ago, when I told people I was a coach, they’d ask "what sport" or "what team"... now they say "I have one" or "my friend has one". Even the comics and television shows have featured this profession. It isn't going away - just gaining in becoming an everyday word.

14. Coach training is not substantial.

Certified Comprehensive Coaching is meaty - class work, practice, feedback, oral and written exams... like graduate school - but even more practical. As one of the Certified Comprehensive Coaches said, "I thought graduate school was where it was at - this was a much better learning experience and has allowed me to work with clients for pay while going through school - that to me, is the best of both worlds".

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Author info:
Terri Levine, The Guru of Coaching SM, Ph.D., MCC, is the best selling author of several books including the international bestseller Work Yourself Happy, Coaching for an Extraordinary Life, Create Your Ideal Body, the international bestseller Stop Managing, Start Coaching! and her newly released book The Successful Coach co-authored with Larina Kase and Joe Vitale was just released by Wiley. She is the founder the international coach training program: The Coaching Institute, www.CoachInstitute.com. She can be contacted through the web at www.CoachInstitute.com/contactus.html or by phone 877-401-6165.