Looking to hire a life coach to make some changes in your life? In this article, you’ll discover what to expect from a life coaching relationship.

Here’s what we’ll cover in this guide:

• What to expect from a life coach
• When to work with a life coach
• Types of life coaches
• Life coach vs. therapist
• What to tell your life coach
• What to do in your first life coaching session

🎯What to Expect from a Life Coach

Working with a life coach can help you grow in many areas of life. Here’s what it’s like to work with a coach:

1. Goal Setting

A life coach will help you do deep-search exercises to discover what matters to you.

• What do you want in life?
• What do you want to solve?
• Where do you see yourself in 3 years?
• How would you live life if the challenge wasn’t in the way?
• What are your values?

Working with a coach helps you dig deep to discover what you want in life, and sometimes, this might be different from what you initially thought you wanted. Knowing your challenges, values, and aspirations is key to your plan.

2. Customized Action Plan

Once your goals are clear, your coach will help you create an action plan for you.

Every coaching relationship is different. A good life coach works with each client’s personality, learning style, and needs.

Then, they break it down into smaller steps. For every coaching session, you get specific, actionable tasks that move you towards your goal.

3. Perspective Shifts

As someone seeking coaching, you probably have some blind spots and limiting beliefs that hold you back.

A life coach helps you identify these and challenge them. They might ask you questions or suggest alternative perspectives.

You reflect on your experiences, decisions, and progress. This self-reflection is powerful and part of the growth process.

4. Accountability & Support

Having an accountability partner is one of the best parts of a coaching package.

That’s because they do the following:

• Regular check-ins to see how you’re getting on
• Motivate you to keep turning up
• Help you navigate when you get stuck

Your coach will be there to celebrate your wins (no matter how small) and help you adjust as needed.

5. Skill Building

Depending on your goals, a life coach may introduce exercises or tools to help you build skills.

These skills might include:

• Improving communication skills
• Role-playing for conflict resolution
• Practicing time management
• Learning stress reduction techniques

Your coach will give you tasks to do between life coaching sessions. This might be journaling and practical homework.

🤝When to Work with a Life Coach

Life coaching can be useful at any stage of life, but there are certain times when it’s particularly helpful:

You might want to work with a life coach when:

• You’re going through a significant life change. If you’re thinking of a career change or relationship shift or want to advance in your field, a life coach can help you clarify your goals and how to get there.
• You feel stuck or unfulfilled in some area of your life. A life coach can help you break through those plateaus to move forward in your personal development journey.
• You have a big goal but no idea how to get there. A coach can help you navigate challenges, make better decisions, and stay focused on your vision.
• You want better relationships or communication skills. Working with a coach can help you navigate relationship dynamics.
• You’re looking to build work-life balance. If you’re feeling overwhelmed trying to juggle work, family, personal time, and other commitments, you need a coach. A life coach can help you set healthy boundaries, prioritize self-care, and create more balance.
• You want to boost your confidence or overcome self-doubt. A life coach can help you build self-confidence and overcome imposter syndrome.

You don’t need to be in crisis to work with a coach. Many people work with life coaches because they want to live their best life and reach their full potential.

💡Types of Life Coaches

Life coaching is a broad field with many specializations that cater to different needs. Here are some examples of life coaches you can work with:

Transformational Coaches

These coaches work on holistic personal growth and development. Transformational coaches work with clients to reframe their identity and help them find deeper meaning in life. They often use coaching techniques that challenge current beliefs to create new perspectives.

Business Coaches

If you’re an entrepreneur, hiring a business coach can do wonders for you. They help business owners develop strategies and operations to scale their businesses. A business coach might help you clarify your business vision, overcome challenges, and grow sustainably.

Leadership Coaches

Leadership coaches work with executives, managers, and aspiring leaders to develop their ability to lead and inspire others. They help clients develop strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, team building, and their unique coaching leadership style.

Career Coaches

These life coaches focus on your professional life. Career coaches help you develop professional skills for the following:

• Job search strategies
• Work promotions
• Resume writing
• Career change
• Interview preparation

Mindset Coaches

These coaches work with you to rewire your thought patterns and beliefs. If you struggle with self-doubt, negative self-talk, or limiting beliefs, a mindset coach will help you develop a more empowered mindset.

Small Business Coaches

While similar to business coaches, these coaches work with small business owners and solopreneurs to navigate work-life balance, wearing multiple hats in business and brand growth.

Executive Coaches

This is similar to leadership coaching. Executive coaches work with high-level corporate leaders to improve performance and achieve organizational goals.

Health and Wellness Coaches

These coaches work with clients to improve their physical and mental health. A health and wellness coach will often look at how all the different aspects of health interconnect. These can include areas such as:

• Nutrition
• Fitness
• Stress management
• Sleep habits

Financial Coaches

Not financial advisors, these coaches help clients improve their relationship with money. Financial coaching includes working on the following:

• Budgeting skills
• Saving strategies
• Overcoming emotional blocks around money.

There are more types of life coaches. But when looking to hire a coach, find one who specializes in what you need help with.

🧑‍⚕Life Coach vs Therapist

While both life coaches and therapists want to improve people’s lives, they work in different ways.

Therapists are licensed mental health professionals trained to diagnose and treat mental health conditions. They dig deep into past experiences and traumas to help clients understand and overcome current challenges. Therapy sessions might involve exploring childhood memories, discussing relationship patterns, or working through specific mental health issues like depression or anxiety.

Life coaches, on the other hand, tend to focus more on the present and future. While they may discuss past experiences, their primary goal is to help clients move forward and achieve specific goals. Coaching sessions might involve brainstorming solutions, role-playing scenarios, or creating step-by-step plans to achieve specific outcomes.

Many life coaches work with mentally healthy individuals seeking personal or professional growth. They’re not trained to diagnose or give mental health treatment.

The training and regulation of these professions are very different. Therapists undergo extensive education and training, typically with advanced degrees in psychology or related fields. They must be registered to practice in their state.

The coaching industry has professional organizations (such as the International Coaching Federation) and certification programs, but it’s not regulated in the same way. Getting certified as a life coach isn’t mandatory, and qualifications can vary greatly.

💬What to Tell Your Life Coach

Be open and honest with your life coach. The more open you are, the better your coach can help you. Here’s a list of things you can share with your life coach:

• Your goals and dreams, even if they seem unrealistic or far-fetched.
• Challenges you face in your work and personal life.
• Your fears, self-doubts, and what’s holding you back from achieving your goals.
• Patterns you’ve noticed in your life or behavior, both positive and negative.
• Things that are going well in your life (and what isn’t).
• Beliefs and principles that guide your decisions.
• Past experiences that have shaped you.
• Your personal habits and self-care routines for physical and mental health.
• Your learning style.
• Feedback on what’s working for you (and what isn’t) in your sessions.

📝What to Do In Your First Session as a Life Coach

If you’re a life coach welcoming a new client, here’s what you can do in your first coaching session:

Clarify Expectations & Set Goals

Explain how your coaching works and what they can expect from the process. This way, coaching clients can manage their expectations.

Then, work with your client to set clear goals for their coaching program.

Listen Actively

Let clients share their stories and goals. Practice deep, attentive listening. Use non-verbal gestures (like nodding and maintaining eye contact) to show you’re engaged. 

Use open-ended questions to help your clients reflect deeper and take notes.

Understand Their Needs

Get a clear picture of where they are now and where they want to be.

Know why their goals are important to them. Ask about their values and how those goals align with their core beliefs. What problems, external factors, internal beliefs, or habits might stop or delay them from achieving their dreams?

Determine Next Steps

Recap the key points discussed, goals and action steps agreed upon. This ensures you and your coaching clients are on the same page. Schedule your next meeting and include a brief outline of what you’ll cover in the next one.

The first session is about laying a solid foundation and helping clients feel comfortable with you. With these steps, you can have a positive and productive start for your coaching sessions.

👉Your Next Step to Becoming a Life Coach

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