The World Needs More Coaches
“The World Needs More Coaches” is a line one of my favorite ICF Instructors used frequently when I was finishing up my training at Lumia Coaching, and would sit for the exam to earn my credential as a coach in a short period of time after.
She said it over and over again. In every class, and in our one on one mentor sessions.
I respect and admire this instructor so very much, have learned deeply from this wise person, and admire her ability to be honest in delivering feedback that would help elevate me professionally and make me a better coach. Her words continue to linger in my consciousness as I work with my clients, like steady, present guidance I will always treasure.
But her saying, “The World Needs More Coaches”, didn’t really make all that much sense to me and I had a hard time wrapping my mind around it.
Why it didn’t make sense:
Even though I’ve been coaching in some capacity for a while before going into this training, already knew I loved doing it, and had some good impact in the spaces I existed in, it’s a little terrifying to go out on your own and start your own coaching business.
Why is it terrifying?
When in training to obtain an ICF credential, you are surrounded by cohorts of other students who are also working to become coaches, your social media feeds from LinkedIn to Instagram and beyond are filled with all the marketing and messaging of coaches trying to pitch their niche, often competing, or can be digested as competing, with you (they really aren’t, but imposter syndrome and comparison creeps in).
Then you start asking yourself:
“What makes me special?”
“Why should anyone hire or listen to me?”
“Am I good enough?”
“How can I actually find the courage to market myself (especially when I’ve been so loud about marketing, networking, and advocating for companies I’ve worked for in the past. It makes a huge difference to stand on your own two feet)”
Additionally, studies show that 80% of coaches that start a coaching business of their own will fail. The reasons behind this are not having a target niche, not having an offer, not consistently being able to talk about themselves and pitching their services.
The most important one to me, of why there is such a big failure rate, is that people don’t understand the coaching profession too much. People don’t typically relate to it as well as they do to a therapist, a doctor, a teacher, a dentist. We all know what these professions do.
But what on earth is coaching?
This brings me to why the world needs more coaches as that one fabulous instructor repeatedly insisted and give a bit of an overview of it.
As each week goes by and I have the honor to sit in coaching sessions with people from so many different professions and backgrounds, I believe more and more that more people need coaching and therefore the world needs more.
Why?
We as adults are busy. We are constantly trying to finish up our to do lists, complete a project, market a product or service, push code, lead teams, or insert whatever task needs completing. Then you layer on all the personal responsibilities of life and the next task. There’s so much noise, so much going on. So little time to focus on our own personal needs. Make sense of and focus on what we really want and need.
Things I hear frequently from my clients include:
“What do I need?”
“I want to change something and think about it all the time but never have the space to clarify what that is.”
“There are all these options for career advancements or maybe I want to change the trajectory of my career, but I don’t know where to start.”
“My manger doesn’t do a great job at guiding me and I’m not sure how to navigate the ambiguity.”
“I’m not sure if I want to be a manager or an individual contributor.”
“I want to be challenged at work, but not so much that I get promoted and end up having so much responsibility it affects my home life.”
“I have had the same title for years and I don’t know how to move on from it.”
“I don’t know how to connect all my experience to what I really want to do or prepare for a job search.”
And the list of possibilities go on.
The thing is, sitting in a coaching session with a person, and really listening to them, understanding where they are at, learn from them what they need to start taking action, and getting there through powerful questioning is a beautiful thing to witness.
What I witness week after week after someone has been through some coaching:
“I finally have decided it’s time to take action towards securing this new position and it feels so good to have finally gotten to this point.”
“It took me all these years to finally ask for what I need and it’s working, I am finding more respect and ability to grow.”
“I have tools to navigate this ambiguity and feel so much more peace.”
“I aced the interview and go the job!”
You can see the relief that they finally were able to put all these thoughts swimming in their head into action, to finally be heard, to finally have accountability and tangible next steps we brainstormed and created together.
And most importantly, they exude more confidence. It’s a beautiful site to witness, and it often happens after just a session or two. They finally have a knowing on what direction they need to take for themselves, and having a person in their corner to hold them accountable makes it that much easier.
My coaching business might fail, but I sure do hope not because I want to continue to be part of this amazing world of coaching.
But most importantly, there are so many good coaches out there. Hire one even for a couple of sessions. We as adult humans rarely have the space where someone holds us in absolute positive regard while we talk about what we need and want, and this process helps people put these thoughts into action far faster than if the thoughts stay thoughts and not action.
Can you imagine how much easier your life would be if you just made a few small changes because of some powerful coaching sessions? Can you imagine how having someone shine light on how impactful you’ve been and inspire the potential you have?
This is why the world needs more coaches, because we, as adults can benefit from the power of it to enable forward momentum, or at least plant some seeds that could be nurtured and grown until your goals are achieved.
That instructor, she was right all along. She was about everything else, I just needed a little time to grow into believing this one.
About me:
I am a career development and transformation expert with 8+ years of experience helping people align their careers with their strengths, values, and personal story, so they can thrive professionally and personally without sacrificing well-being. From early career to very experienced professionals, I’m driven to equip people with tools to thrive for the longevity of their career.
Most of us were never taught how to navigate burnout, career transitions, or build a meaningful life; we were only taught how to perform.
Book a strategy call with me (no cost to you) today!