Answers to Your Questions on Coaching

Below are my answers to the questions I hear most frequently from new coaching clients. Please take a look and discover how coaching will help you achieve your goals. If there are any questions you still need answered please feel free to click here .

What is personal coaching?

Personal Coaching is a new and rapidly growing field. My coaching practice is different from what I offer in therapy or counseling. The focus of our work together is on your strengths, developing personal goals and increasing excellence through personal empowerment. Coaching is a forward thinking pragmatic approach to achieving goals.

What areas can I address through coaching?

In coaching we address specific personal projects, business successes, general conditions and transitions in your personal life, relationships or profession such as:

Relationships and Intimacy
Stress Management and Balance
Spirituality and Personal Growth
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Development
Career Planning and Development
Motivation and Time Management
Creativity for Artists
Health, Aging, Lifestyle and Self-Care
And much more

How do we work together in a coaching partnership?

We start by examining what is going on right now, discovering what your obstacles or challenges might be, and choosing a course of action to make your life what you want it to be.

When clients begin coaching with me they usually want help in revamping some aspect of themselves they find deficient. I invariably suggest they begin their process of change by first examining their current strategies – either they are life-enhancing or not. Once people have a better idea of how they predictably generate responses to life’s challenges, they can begin to generate new ideas and new responses to get new outcomes. Rather than focusing on what’s “wrong” I help people understand what’s working well, and then what they need to be doing differently.

During our work together I’ll encourage you to set targets and a series of actions to help you reach them. The actions will be a step-by-step approach. For example, if you are stressed from overworking you may set a target of reducing the amount of hours you spend on work-related tasks by 20% within three months. I would then assist you in learning strategies to achieve that goal.

What is your approach to goal setting?

As useful as focusing on goals is, it’s important to recognize that we aim for goals in order to satisfy needs. For instance, in the example of the goal to reduce your time spent working. What might be the underlying need? Could it be in order to give you more time to satisfy your love and belonging needs by improving your relationships? Or perhaps in order to help you satisfy your self-actualization needs and achieve fulfillment in an area of personal importance?

Another way of exploring underlying needs is to ask ourselves – What are the outcomes that I want to achieve? In other words, what is the end result you are hoping to achieve with your particular goal? That outcome will usually be something related to a personal need expressed in terms of fulfillment or satisfaction.

Outcomes could include one or more of the following:

Greater job satisfaction
A more harmonious relationship with less conflict in it
Feeling better about yourself and more confident
A more healthy and balanced lifestyle

For example, if you are thinking of setting a goal for yourself of running your own business within two years, the positive outcomes could include:

Greater independence
More satisfaction with your job
A sense of personal fulfillment

It’s also important to clarify whether there will be potential negative outcomes from achieving your goal and weigh these against the positive outcomes. You might reflect that achieving the goal of running your own business could produce some negative outcomes, such as:

Less security and stability
Pressure on your relationships

Understanding the outcomes supports the process of setting goals in a number of ways:

By clarifying what benefits you are hoping to achieve with your goals.
By clarifying potential downsides from achieving the goals.
By helping you to explore whether the goals you initially set are in fact the best way of creating the outcome that you want.

When you’re having difficulty motivating yourself to achieve your goals, my support as your coach can be invaluable in helping you to refine them, to help achieve the outcomes you desire and plan how to deal with potential negative outcomes.

What do you bring to this coaching relationship?

My background gives me insight into distinct cultures as well as the challenges and transitions they often create.
I bring a passion for learning as I’m always expanding my horizons through classes, training and reading and I’ll encourage you to do the same.
I love people. I’m curious to learn who they are, how they operate and what their personal belief system and personal strategies are.
I model a welcoming attitude to life by being open and flexible and creating meaningful rituals.
I am also fearless. This quality is often necessary when we need to push through obstacles that may appear insurmountable.
I use mindfulness as a way to stay present and conscious in all that I do, including coaching.
I get to the “heart” of the matter so that your goals are aligned with your needs.
My training as a therapist gives me additional insight and tools to work with.

Click here to learn more about me.

How long does coaching last?

Meaningful results require a commitment. If you hire me to be your coaching partner, you’ll be making a commitment of at least three months to yourself and to the coaching process. I’ve created three packages to accommodate different clients and their specific needs.

What kind of long-term coaching do you provide?

Once you have achieved your desired big goals, you may wish to transition into “maintenance coaching” to ensure ongoing progress. This program offers monthly email, a 60-minute session each quarter, and additional benefits tailored for each client.

How do I get started?

Schedule an “Unlocking Your Potential” 30-minute complimentary consultation with me so we can explore a coaching partnership. We can meet in-person, by phone or via Skype. Please contact me to get your free consultation scheduled. To purchase one of my coaching packages visit one of the following pages:

Do you have a guarantee?

No one can guarantee the specific results a person will get from coaching, but I do guarantee your satisfaction with the coaching process. If at any time you’re not content with the direction of coaching, simply let me know and we’ll take the steps needed to return power to the coaching relationship. Your openness about what you want for your life and from coaching is vital to our continuing success.

If you feel our restructuring is not effective and at the end of our initial three months together you’ve taken all the actions you agreed to, you’ve followed through with a 100% commitment to your progress, and you are not satisfied with how you were coached, I will return the coaching fees you’ve paid to me. Bottom line: I want you to be a happy and successful client.

I’m dedicated to guiding you through the process of learning new or refining old skills to develop optimal strategies for everyday success. Together we will expand your ability to consistently make choices that contribute to your happiness and that of those around you.

Do you offer duo or group coaching?

Being coached alongside a motivated friend, or several of them, is like having a wonderful mirror held before you. Being coached alongside your buddy(s) often improves motivation, commitment and follow-through. As your friends are coached, you’ll see your own journey reflected and discover yourself. You’ll also be sharing the fun and joy of coaching. Click here to learn more about group coaching. If you and your friends would like group coaching, contact me to learn more and how to benefit from my deep discount for group coaching.

Do you have a referral program?

After coaching begins, I would greatly appreciate a testimonial and referrals from you. If you arrange for a friend to begin coaching with me, you’ll each receive 15% off during every month you’re both being coached.

Answers to Your Questions on Coaching