Whether you’re a business coach or a life coach, you’ll likely be aware of coaching tools and their ability to transform even the most disorientated client into an enlightened person that’s both confident and excited to take on the world!
Now, if you’re a coach, it is entirely possible that you’ve been approached by clients that are seriously snowed under. With complaints of overworking, a lack of inspiration, and a lack of empowerment ranking amongst the top grievances faced by modern business-folk, a growing desire to solidify their purpose in an ever-changing world is not difficult to understand!
So, why is coaching important?
Despite its proven effectiveness, it’s not always easy to convince clients to engage in life or business coaching. As many believe that life coaching is akin to therapy or counseling, there can be a degree of resistance from prospective clients that aren’t aware of the benefits that can be garnered from truly effective coaching tools.
Whether this reluctance comes from a lack of information or is borne from the infamous “go-it-alone” mentality that can plague 21st-century workers, we felt that it was important to outline why coaching is utilized by many successful businesses around the world!
Life and business coaching offer clients a strong sense of identity, enhanced mental health, improved self-confidence, and decreased stress levels. Therefore, proper engagement with coaching tools have the potential to see clients bridge the gap between where they currently are and where they want to be! In fact, the best coaches will be able to guide their clients through major career changes, which allows them to conquer any challenge that may crop up on their professional journey.
Exciting stuff, right?
Why are coaching tools so effective?
In layman’s terms, the optimal outcome from life coaching is honing skills that increase space for personal development.
We won’t delve too deeply into the psychology behind coaching (trust us, it’s rather extensive!), but as personal development is important for any individual looking to succeed in life, it’s unsurprising that the use of coaching tools often separates the wheat from the chaff.
However, to get straight to the point, we’ve summarised some of the top reasons that clients choose to implement coaching tools into their business models!
- Coaching tools empower clients and allow them to discover their own personal strengths and weaknesses
- The implementation of coaching tools only occurs in a safe environment which allows clients the perfect space to grow and learn
- Life coaching has a distinctive client-centric approach that caters to an individual’s needs, strengths and wants
- Life coaching is a dynamic journey that constantly assesses a client’s circumstances for maximum effectiveness, so the process needn’t ever feel stale
If the information above hasn’t convinced you to invest in some coaching tools, then why don’t we delve right into the most effective tools currently available?
A few great coaching tools to bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be…
Now that we’ve given you an overview of life coaching and the importance of tools for truly making the most of coaching, let’s dive into the best coaching tools that are currently out there!
The Wheel of Life
One of the main coaching tools that is utilized by life and business coaches is the Wheel of Life model. Sometimes, when we’re down and out it can be incredibly difficult to pinpoint our satisfaction levels and what may be holding us back. Whether your personal satisfaction is borne from quality time with four-legged friends or from certain aspects of your career, the wheel is a critical coaching tool for those that struggle to visualize their current satisfaction levels versus their desired satisfaction levels.
After satisfaction segments have been pinpointed for your wheel (these tend to be relationships, environment, health and fitness, finance, career, and other similar factors), the client can then rate these individually based on their current satisfaction within that area.
By evaluating different goals and aspects of the self, the Wheel of Life allows the client to identify personal strengths and weaknesses whilst also informing the life coach of areas that are lacking attention!
If you have a wordpress site, you can easily allow you clients to visualize their Wheel of Life using this wordpress plugin.
The Life EKG
If you’re unsure of where you are or wish to be, then there’s no better coaching tool than The Life EKG.
This coaching tool is designed to map the highs and lows of one’s life and allows a client to see where their values and strengths were previously used to yield successful outcomes.
All you need for this tool is to draw a horizontal line across a sheet of paper and map your life chronologically. Though this may sound a bit daunting, you needn’t map your entire chronology from the womb and beyond!
Instead, simply pick your top three life highs and three crushing lows. Then, decide what about these moments made them definable as such. With a life coach, you’ll be able to assess these moments, prevent the lows from re-emerging and harness the energies that resulted in those highs! Sounds good, eh?
Journaling
A reflective journal is one of the best coaching tools for gaining self-awareness and perspective. However, what makes journaling such a great coaching tool is the ability to assess and validate emotions.
So, if you feel a spark of inspiration, simply jot down those emotions and thoughts. Then, you can share those ideas and experiences with your life coach which will allow you both to assess where your best business ideas are coming from!
One of the best aspects of this coaching tool is that modern technology allows clients and coaches to sync journals. So, clients needn’t wait for their next appointment for valuable feedback! A win-win if we may say so ourselves…
The ‘Three Good Things’ Gratitude Exercise
If you’ve got a gratitude journal, then you’ll absolutely want to level-up with this nifty exercise. The Three Good Things exercise has been psychologically evaluated and is said to promote well-being through gratitude.
Now, you’ll need to be repetitive with this one if your client is looking to bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be. If your client is currently in a slump, they may find this difficult, but if this exercise is completed regularly, they should find themselves in a position of increased happiness and positivity which will only improve their business potential!
For this exercise, we recommend that the client writes down three good things that went well on a particular day. Whether these are as large as reaching a business milestone or as small as receiving a passing smile on their commute, encourage them to write it down!
Over time, they’ll be able to garner positivity from each day, no matter how crummy it may have seemed in the moment.
Pre-session check-in
A great coaching tool that benefits both client and coach is the pre-session check-in. Not only does this allow both coach and client to visualize client goals prior to the session, but it allows any roadblocks that have appeared during your time apart to be resolved more quickly.
But that’s not all; the pre-session check-in also helps the client to focus on any issues prior to the meeting, enabling more focused meetings to take place overall. Wahey!
Writing
Another great coaching tool that life coaches can implement is simply documenting plans and goals.
For many, visualization boards aren’t the most effective way in which to manifest their lives. For example, if a client tends to overthink or needs to slow down their thoughts, writing is the perfect way to express their goals without feeling overwhelmed. Not only does this action let both client and coach follow any life developments, but regular writing often improves stress levels and helps individuals to compartmentalize.
The GROW Model
Though we’ve got a great post on the GROW model already, we felt that we’d quickly touch on it again! If you’re unfamiliar with the GROW model, then it’s well worth implementing as a coaching tool.
In case you’re wondering, the four letters stand for Goal, Reality, Options, and Wrap Up, which we will briefly outline below.
Goal: With this tool, the first thing you’ll want to gauge with your coach is what you as a client wish to accomplish.
Reality: In the reality section, both life coach and client assess where the client currently is in life and how far they are from reaching their goal.
Options: This section is all about overcoming obstacles! Once obstacles have been identified by the client, the life coach can then assist in overcoming these issues.
Wrap Up: Finally, once issues have been identified, you’ll want to convert their actions into actionable steps that the client can use to accomplish their goal. If a client is looking to manifest their business and are seeking a full-scale coaching model, then be sure to read more about the GROW model as a coaching tool here!
An online platform to manage your coaching business
If you’re a coach, one of the best options out there is Paperbell’s very own coaching software! Designed to keep both client and coach fully aware of charges, sessions, and packages, it’s a great way to keep things moving smoothly without any nasty technical roadblocks! Paperbell handles your billing, scheduling, contract signing, intake surveys and more – all in one easy workflow.
How can I ensure that coaching tools are useful for clients?
As with any endeavor, coaching tools and their implementation will never be a one-size-fits-all process. All the coaching tools mentioned should be selected according to an individual’s goals, personality, and adherence to certain coaching methods. For example, writing may not prove effective for a visual person, whilst visualization is unlikely to be the perfect solution for a wordsmith!
In addition to judging an individual’s suitability for certain coaching tools, it’s also important to ensure that each party in the coach-client relationship is fully on board. Though people that have never worked with a life coach are likely to be nervous to some degree, if they’re adamant that coaching tools will fail, the relationship is unlikely to be a fruitful one!
As we’ve mentioned before, the coach-client relationship is very client-centric. Whilst the coach acts as a guiding light for the client, the client is still in control of the service. So, coaches shouldn’t be afraid to switch up their methods if current practices aren’t working with a new client. Of course, we highly recommend that you retain suitable boundaries to avoid any unnecessary drama, there’s no harm in shaking things up a bit, as different coaching tools may just click with some clients more than others!
As the aim of coaching tools is to bridge the gap between where the client currently is and where they wish to be, ensure that you check in with your client frequently and ask questions of them on a regular basis.
In short, the goal of a coach is not to tell client what to do, but instead encourage them to create excellent solutions for tackling roadblocks. So, to ensure that the above coaching tools are as useful as possible, accountability and reflection should be heartily encouraged for all parties!
To wrap things up…
Being an excellent business or life coach is no mean feat.
Whilst the basic principles of coaching are available for anyone to research, it takes the very best coach to empower clients that can truly seize the best that life has to offer.
With so many coaching tools available, there are infinite possibilities for those looking to make strides in the business world. No coaching tools are more desirable than others, but having access to the best possible software, techniques, and models will only serve to improve both the coach’s ability and the client’s potential.
So, whether you choose to use this blog post as a reference point for your next client or simply wish to learn more about the coaching art form, we sincerely hope that these tools serve as excellent additions to your coaching arsenal!
