In Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this 5-part series exploring the 5 questions I get asked most often about coaching, I share with you my answers to questions exploring: what coaching is, the qualifications you should look for in a Coach, what a Coach’s niche is and how to determine if it’s right for you, and what to look for in order to assess a Coach’s potential effectiveness.
In Part 5, the final installment to this series, we will explore the final question that can sometimes remain for potential clients after all their research and due diligence has been done and they have identified the Coach they would like to work with:
‘How can I be absolutely sure that this Coach is the right Coach for me?’
Two words: You can’t.
Even after all the time and effort in research and due diligence you invested to identify the Coach you want to work with, you simply can’t be absolutely sure s/he is the right Coach for you … that is if absolute guaranteed assurance is what you require before you allow yourself to commit to taking action in honor of achieving your own personal and/or professional development goals. There are very few areas of life that hold absolute guarantees for us, fewer still that even require absolute guarantees in order for us to engage and benefit from them, and coaching is no different.
That being the case, if absolute guaranteed assurance is what is holding you back from making your decision to commit to working with a Coach you have fully vetted, you must be willing ask yourself:
‘When was the last time an absolute guarantee was necessary for me to decide to commit to taking action on something I said I wanted for myself?’
You’ll find that more often than not, while you may have committed to taking action on well-informed decisions in the past, you rarely, if ever, did so with absolute guaranteed assurance as to the outcome. While looking back on a life, one can easily identify those decisions and commitments that were made, informed, yes, but without absolute guaranteed assurances of the outcome being required, for example: college, marriage, relationships, jobs, etc. At the same time, one needn’t look too hard to be able to identify those decisions that, no matter how much information, vetting, research, and/or due diligence was secured or engaged, proved difficult to follow through on; and all too often those decisions were decisions about taking care of and/or investing in yourself, in order to meet your own needs, and nourish your own dreams.
Quite simply, absolute surety and guarantees are not measures by which to determine if a Coach is the right Coach for you.
If, after you’ve done all your research as discussed in the previous installments to this series, and they have led you to identify a particular Coach you feel is the best fit for you and that you’d like to work with, and you still find yourself hesitating, wondering ‘how can I be sure?’ I would offer that the question is not how can you be sure that this Coach is the right Coach for you, but rather:
Are you really ready to be coached?
After you’ve done all your due diligence, conducted all your research, and collected all the necessary information, it’s time to take action! The coaching engagement may officially begin with the intake process and the first coaching session, but the very first step in working with a Coach begins with you as the client – when you say ‘YES!’ ‘YES!’ to investing in you. ‘YES!’ to taking action to evolve your personal development. ‘YES!’ to achieving your professional goals. ‘YES!’ to advancing your life toward the dreams that fulfill your heart, illuminate your spirit, and make your Soul soar.
Saying ‘YES!’ in honor of you is always a big step – as well it should be! No investment in your personal or professional development should ever be or feel small or insignificant to you in any way. But saying ‘YES!’ to you and your dreams after you’ve done your research and due diligence to identify the right Coach for you to work with to achieve those dreams needn’t require absolute guarantees. What saying ‘YES!’ requires is that you:
**trust in the research you’ve done;
**rely on the information you’ve collected, as well as your sound judgment & assessment of that information; and
**allow the truth of the feelings and resonance you experienced in your initial interactions with that Coach.
Let all that information propel you forward to take action and say ‘YES!’ to working with the Coach you have identified through your due diligence; trusting that all the assurances you may need will come to light as you engage the process of working with your Coach and as you begin to make concrete progress on your journey toward manifesting your personal and/or professional development goals.
Progress and achievement are all the assurances you will ever need to know the Coach you are working with is the right Coach for you. But neither will ever be yours until you say … YES!
You’ve done all your research. You’ve asked all your questions. You’ve collected the information that matters most to you. Now it is time for you to take action and propel yourself forward! Say ‘YES!‘ to you and all that awaits you as you partner with your right Coach to help you advance on your personal and/or professional development journey!