Sunday 28 January 2018

How A Personal Development Coach Helps His Clients Grow

By William Hughes


Once people are secure in the knowledge that they will not go hungry or exposed to the elements, their needs change. Many people start questioning the meaning of life. They feel as if they have been put on earth for a specific purpose but they do not know what that purpose is. Others simply want to improve themselves, gain new skills or embark upon new ventures. Many of these people hire the services of a personal development coach to help them discover and fulfil their needs.

Self actualization and self fulfilment is a basic need of all people, but very few people know how to approach the issue. Some people experiment with various religions and philosophies, others try community work and yet others think the holy grail can be found in charity work. That is why they hire coaches. They need help to discover just how they can fill that unidentified needs in their lives.

Individualized coaching is not a magic formula for getting all the answers and for achieving high levels of fulfilment. Coaches worth their salt will never be prescriptive and they will never goad their clients in a specific direction. Instead, their job is to be a sounding board and to gently lead their clients towards the development of a determination to improve on an individual level.

Coaches know that very few people truly know themselves. Humans are very good at ignoring the unpleasant and avoiding facing their own weaknesses. Good caches will help their clients to strip away the masks that they wear all the time and to carefully examine the real person behind those masks. This can be a painful process but only once this is done can areas requiring improvement be identified.

It is not good enough to know what the areas of possible improvement are. One needs to set some goals. If there are no goals one would never be able to measure progress. A goal such as a wish to learn more about a certain subject is simply far too vague. The goal should be more precise, stating which subject, and by when one wishes to complete the goal.

People often abandon their goals because they see no progress. They lose heart. That is why reputable coaches will help their clients to break down their bigger goals into smaller steps. Action plans are small steps that can be measured. If clients see progress, even small successes, they are encouraged and motivated to continue their quest towards achieving their ultimate goals.

It is vital that coaches and their clients maintain a close and trusting relationship. If this is not the case the client will not be completely honest with the mentor. The client must know that the mentor will treat their sessions confidentially. Top coaches often refer their clients to colleagues if they realize that a specific client will form a closer bond with someone else.

Individual coaching has become a rather large industry. People have developed new needs. They want more from life than just survival and material needs. They want meaning. In this respect, coaches can certainly be of great help.




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