ASK JUDY THE COACH Part 3:
What is a coach’s unique offering (a coach’s niche) & is it right for me?
Previously, in Part 1 and Part 2 of this 5-part series of the 5 questions I get asked most often about coaching, we explored: ‘What IS Coaching?’ and ‘What qualifications should I look for in a coach?’
Today, in Part 3, we will explore the question:
What is a coach’s unique offering (a coach’s niche) & is it right for me?
Every coach has a unique offering (a.k.a., a coach’s niche): an area of expertise; a subject matter in which they specialize; a particular style to their coaching/coaching delivery; an ideal client they’re best suited for/most desire to serve or work with; etc. And one can find as many different types and combinations of unique offerings/niches in the coaching field as there are coaches.
Why?
The vast majority of coaches come to the profession from other fields of endeavor; they have varied, dynamic, multiple, and multifaceted interests that they often desire to express in new and creative ways through their coach offerings. Many coaches are also creatives (i.e., writers, artists, poets, inspirational/motivational speakers, thinkers, explorers, etc.) and, with their interest in and affinity for human development, they can make connections between seemingly disparate areas of life and life experiences in order to provide a unique offering for personal and professional development to the clients they most want to serve. All of these influences inform the why, what, who, and how of a coach’s chosen unique offering/niche.
To determine if a coach’s unique offering is right for you, you must first be able to identify and understand what that unique offering is. Through information gleaned from their website, their online presence (i.e., social media pages, online articles, testimonials, interviews, etc.), and from informational calls, you can determine what is unique about what a coach has to offer. Once you understand that, knowing where you are on your development journey; what your preferred learning style is; what your coaching needs are currently; and feeling how that coach’s unique offering resonates with you and what you want to accomplish, will all give you great insight into whether that coach’s unique offering will work for you.
My Unique Offering:
Coming from an 18+ year career of leadership in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, the majority of the clients I serve also have professional lives in those sectors and/or personal lives committed to service and/or social change. As a professional woman whose experience includes organizational leadership, entrepreneurship, and surviving and thriving through the challenges of unexpected professional transitions, I have a deep interest in helping women, women leaders, and women entrepreneurs effectively and successfully navigate the transition spaces of their lives, personally and professionally.
As someone who has realized the critical importance of a holistic and comprehensive healing approach to personal and professional development, one that centralizes health and wellness by addressing the interconnected nature of the whole self (mind, body, and spirit) and how that is an essential aspect to meaningful achievement of any personal and professional development, life advancement, and/or spiritual evolution goal, I employ with my clients a methodology of coaching I created called Coaching as a Healing Practice℠. As a speaker, writer, and author, I use the creative, informative, instructional, inspirational, and motivational power of my spoken and written words to support clients on their transformational journeys.
And, finally, through my experience as a yoga teacher, and the benefits and revelations I receive from my own personal practice of yoga and meditation, I have found that coaching and yoga are both healing practices. They share many similarities in philosophy and practice and, when offered together, coaching and yoga combined become a powerful tool for an individual’s emotional, intellectual, mental, physical, material, and spiritual development and evolution. All of this informs and influences my coaching niche. All of this reflects the unique offering my clients receive from me as their coach for their benefit and in service of their goals for the personal/professional development, life advancement, and spiritual evolution they desire.
REMEMBER: Every coach has a unique offering/niche. Through their online presence and informational calls, you should be able to determine what a coach’s unique offering is and how it might benefit you. Based on your understanding of your learning style, your own personal and/or professional development needs, and how a particular coach’s unique offering resonates with you, you should be able to determine with clarity whether what that coach has to offer will be right for you.
In PART 4 of this series, I will offer my thoughts on the question:
What evidence should I look for to determine a coach’s effectiveness?
What unique offering/niche can a coach offer that would support you on your personal or professional development journey?
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