Let's Make Coaching a Profession We're Proud of! | By Ruby McGuire

Bird Tweeting "Be The Coach You Dream to Be"Be the Coach You Dream of Being!

I love that we have a week to celebrate coaching: coaching is such a powerful way to help people change their lives. And you never know the impact one conversation can have in terms of a ripple effect.

So when choosing a topic for this year's International Coaching Week, I thought I'd be a bit controversial! There are many people out there calling themselves coaches, and I believe that if you want to coach, you should qualify as one. Just because you ask good coaching questions doesn't mean you're a coach.

So here are three steps to becoming the coach you dream of being.

1. Get Professional Coach Training!

Stop being afraid of being found out as a fraud—become a better coach with professional training.

I've worked with many clients who want to call themselves coaches, but haven't done the training to back it up. This can lead to a serious lack of confidence and that dreadful nagging self-doubt—feelings of imposter syndrome (the fear of being found out to be a fraud).

The simple fix is to go and do the training. It will be life-changing for you. And when you reach out to offer your services to clients, you'll feel qualified to do so, confident in your marketing messages and excited about offering your services because you know the transformation you can bring to your client.

You'll no longer have to fly by the seat of your pants; you'll have skills to dig deeper, to create actual change for your client, rather than working on a superficial level. Skimming the surface isn't enough. To create lasting change, you need to be willing to go deeper with your questions, challenge your clients, and call them out when needed.

Coach training starts you on this journey. You'll really feel empowered as you watch your clients make connections during your sessions.

It's so much better being a qualified coach than winging it and worrying about being found out.

You'll also be keeping your clients safe. Working with a client is partly about knowing the coaching questions to ask. But it's also about knowing when you're out of your depth and your client needs more support than coaching can give.

Action: If you're not a qualified coach yet, check out some training providers and sign up for a training program.

2. Get Accredited!

If you've done your coaching qualifications, maybe it's time to step up and get the next level of accreditation under your belt.

When you prepare for accreditation, you learn so much about yourself, your coaching and how you can improve your skills to go deeper and help clients get better results.

Being an accredited coach also sets you apart from other coaches. It's another benefit for a client working with you—a potential marketing tool.

Recently, I went for my Master Coach accreditation with the IAPC&M, and I was dreading it. I've suffered from imposter syndrome around my coaching for years, and thanks to some amazing coaches and mentors have worked my way through it.

I knew I needed to get over the fear and do it no matter how scary it felt. I needed to reframe the potential failure as a great starting point to develop my skills if I didn't pass. This time I explored my potential biases and areas for improvement with my supervisor and got some valuable feedback in the process.

So get accredited and take the next step up to demonstrate your skills.

Action: Consider getting accredited. Do your research: check out some accreditation bodies - and have conversations with them about the right accreditation body for you. TIP: Remember, it isn't just the actual accreditation process, ask what assistance they offer once you've achieved your accreditation.

3. Get Support to Improve!

As a coach, you'll constantly be developing your skills. And the personal development world can take up lots of your time—attending webinars, watching videos, doing online courses and reading, to name just a few activities.

All these things can only teach you so much, though.

Real confidence comes when you actively practice and develop your coaching skills. And if you find you're going round and round in circles with your coaching and perhaps even getting stuck in the story with your clients, get some support.

Work with a coaching supervisor or mentor to improve your coaching skills.

Check out Marion Franklin's book, The Heart of Laser Coaching. She shares some great examples of surface coaching vs. deep, transformational coaching.

This is your invitation to master your coaching, and it's a lifelong journey. The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement—there are always new things to learn.

Action: Consider the areas where you believe your coaching skills are weaker. And research coaches, mentors or supervisors that can help you to develop your coaching skills.

Wrap-up

Coaching really is amazing. It has the power to create so much change.

Let's do all we can to make coaching a profession we are proud of.

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Contributing Author:

Ruby McGuire is a Business & Mindset Queen. She's an Accredited Master Coach & Master Mentor with the IAPC&M, Trainer, Inspirational Speaker and Author of multiple books. She loves helping her clients step up and become leaders (aka Queens) of their businesses. She helps her clients develop their leadership and business skills, create a success mindset and attract dreamy clients. She is a Brit on a mission to live a simpler life without marketing on social media so that she can spend more time in her beautiful Scottish surroundings. You can find her at her pretty online home, over on her podcast show, Rock Your Fabulous Biz, and here where she shares her Mini Guide to Marketing Without Social Media. When she’s not working you’ll find her surrounded by books, making hand-made cards, and enjoying life with her hubby, little dog and chickens (usually with a Whittard Vanilla cappuccino in her hand)!

Learn more about Ruby & see all their articles here >>

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