| | | | Information and Resources for Your Business and Life | | | | Inspiration, Tools & Tips! APRIL 2022 | | | | Should You Hire a Coach? Business, Church, and/or Personal
Life coaches. Business coaches. Money coaches. Breakup coaches. Marriage Coaches. Actual-team-or-individual-sport coaches — and the list could go on, because there seems to be no shortage of expert guides standing at the ready. There is undoubtedly a coach for you if you’re looking for one-on-one attention from a professional designed to help you elevate your game, get a leg up on the competition, and improve skills or particular outcomes in your life. But is all this coaching worth it, or is it merely a trendy way to make you “feel” as if you’re doing something about a problem that you could just as easily solve on your own? | | | | | |
Online Bible Study Dr. Pam will be teaching her new book "Disciple Me" in a zoom class presented by the Bethel Church Miami. Apostle Carlos L. Malone Sr. is the pastor.
Class Information: Discipleship Training: Disciple Me February 9, 2022 - May 4, 2022 Every Wednesday - 7:30-8:30 PM
You no longer need to register. Click this link to join the zoom class At this link, you can still join the class even if you don't have a Zoom account. Meeting ID: 867 3974 3838 Passcode: TBCMIAMI
If you don't have a book, Bethel Members and those who live in Miami can purchase yours from the church. Please click the church link (above) for contact information. If you don't live in the Miami area, you can purchase your book by clicking the link below. If the purchase link does not work, please email newsletter@drpamrussell.com. | | | |
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Welcome back. Did you spend some time honing your influencing and negotiating skills? I pray the information I provided gave you insight and motivation. If struggled, you may need some help. This month we will talk about coaching. | | | |
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Should You Get a Coach?
Life coaches. Business coaches. Money coaches. Breakup coaches. Marriage Coaches. Actual-team-or-individual-sport coaches — and the list could go on, because there seems to be no shortage of expert guides standing at the ready. There is undoubtedly a coach for you if you’re looking for one-on-one attention from a professional designed to help you elevate your game, get a leg up on the competition, and improve skills or particular outcomes in your life. But is all this coaching worth it, or is it merely a trendy way to make you “feel” as if you’re doing something about a problem that you could just as easily solve on your own?
Should you get a coach? There are only two answers to that question: yes or no. If your answer is no, you have not lost. You can coach yourself.
You could coach yourself In the past, hiring a professional to help you optimize some aspect of your life might have been essential to doing that thing well. After all, before the internet, information (especially on niche topics) was not as readily accessible nor widely available as it is today. If you wanted to teach yourself how to do something or find a strategy to help you improve, it might mean spending long hours at a library hoping to track down the knowledge you were missing. It might mean seeking out and connecting with people you could learn from, or developing a relationship with a trusted mentor. Now, however, if you don’t know something, you can go to and get literally millions of results for your query in a fraction of a second. • Pros to coaching yourself.
You can go to platforms and into communities where knowledge is crowd sourced, like Reddit, Facebook groups, or other boards and forums dedicated to specific subjects. There’s no question that the information you need for essentially anything you want to learn is out there and accessible, available and for the most part free. You can find information on any and everything like: “Coaching” yourself to run a 5K, start investing, develop a direct-to-consumer business as a side hustle, experience better dates, get higher scores on standardized testing, and so much more. You really can take a DIY approach to just about anything you want to get better at.
• Cons to coaching yourself.
Though there are upsides to coaching yourself, there are also trade-offs and downsides. While the opportunity to coach on just about anything important that you want to achieve is there, learning and practicing on your own presents a few challenges:
- Just because you can find information on the internet doesn’t make it quality information. When you’re not a professional on the topic yourself, it can be exceedingly difficult to distinguish the useful, verifiable facts from all the opinions, misinformation, rumors, etc.
- Even among factual and quality info and data, it can be difficult to determine what applies to your specific situation and what might make more sense for someone in different circumstances.
- When working toward a goal on your own, you have to do everything: you need to do the research, determine the strategy, make the decisions, take the actions, know when to course-correct or adjust your plan, stay motivated, hold yourself accountable, learn new information as it becomes available — all while doing everything else your normal life and regular responsibilities already demand of you. It can be a lot.
You could hire a coach
• Pros to hiring a coach. If you think the only way for you to be successful is if you hire a coach, that would be untrue. If you know you don’t have the professional expertise to achieve what you want in a specific area or aspect of your life, a coach could help you reach your highest potential or optimize your results. There’s a reason people who are the best in the world at whatever it is they do have coaches. In fact, they have entire teams of coaches and staff around them. Not because they couldn’t function on their own. It is because they want to maintain their position as “the best.” They rely on the support of experts and professionals.
Good coaches don’t necessarily know more than you do unless you’re hiring for specialized knowledge or expertise. Their value often comes from being an independent, outside influence and objective third-party voice in the room. With a coach, you get out of your own head and reduce the number of decisions you must make on a regular basis. This might seem like a small thing, but it has a massive impact. All of us can suffer from decision fatigue; the more decisions we make, the lower quality those decisions can become.
Coaches can also provide helpful feedback loops; they can check your blind spots and point out things you don’t know you don’t know. They can provide accountability as well as confidence or peace of mind when you otherwise would second-guess your choices or instincts.
The value of an excellent coach can be hard to quantify, because they cannot only push you to take the right actions, but stand between you and big and costly mistakes. There’s no doubt that the right person acting as your guide can lead you to greater success than you might find if you went at whatever you wanted to pursue without the support, leadership, and structure a coach would create for you to excel within.
• Cons to hiring a coach.
Hiring a coach is not the end all and be all for success. There are things you have to watch out for. Just like there are cons to acting as your own coach, there are also downsides and potential pitfalls in relying on a hired professional to guide, train, and provide accountability for you.
- Perhaps the biggest is the cost. If you act as your own coach, there’s no expert that you need to pay to access their time and knowledge. Hiring professionals is not cheap. You need to determine for yourself when the value of that professional support exceeds the cost you need to pay to receive it.
- If you think hiring a coach relieves you of the responsibility of doing the work, you are wrong. Will they tell you precisely what to do and to make achieving your goal much easier for you? Yes, and no. I believe some of the best coaches are the ones who actively listen to you, take time to understand your core goals and your motivations, and then set up a system or a strategic plan for you to work within. The coach then guides and encourages you along the way… from behind, or from the sidelines. You do the work. You are the one who will run the race, go on the date, or make the decision to invest and save rather than spend. Your coach can’t do that for you — so before you commit to a coaching relationship, you also need to commit to taking the necessary actions that might come out of that engagement with a professional guide.
- A coach is there to light the way and ensure you stay on track to what you want — not to drag you forward on the path they decided for you. A coach is not someone you are paying to be your “BFF.” You are not friends, and it is not personal, it is business.
- Sadly, not all coaches are good at what they do. That’s just a reality, and a bad coach can do more harm than no coach at all. To avoid getting yourself into that situation, make the decision to hire a coach, a serious one. Do your research, ask for credentials, read reviews, and know what questions to ask them in an interview or a meeting.
The Bottom Line: Is A Coach Worth It?
The answer is, “it depends.” Here are some questions to ask yourself:
• Are you intrinsically or extrinsically motivated?
- Intrinsic motivation involves doing something because it’s rewarding for you. Extrinsic motivation involves doing something because you want to earn something, gain something, or avoid punishment.
- If this is simply something that is rewarding and will make you “feel” good, your need for a coach might not be as strong as someone who is looking to benefit from added support and accountability.
• Do you have time to figure everything out on your own?
- Most of us are busy, and part of the value of a coach is in the effectiveness an expert will provide, along with a strategy or course of action.
- Instead of researching, debating, developing, and deciding on what to do, you can just do it without all the other tasks surrounding the actual action that you need to take to move the needle.
• Is this aspect of your life something you really need to optimize?
- You can hire a coach for just about anything… but that doesn’t mean you should.
- Unless you want to fully optimize some area of your life or perhaps feel extremely passionately about improvement (like fitness), doing things yourself or even finding less-intensive solutions like group coaching or support via apps might make the most sense.
• Are you clear on the outcome or result that you want?
- You won’t get much from any coaching relationship if you start without direction or a clear understanding of what you hope to receive.
- Have some clearly defined goals or at least be prepared to discuss your desires and ideas, especially if you need guidance on setting goals.
Check out the freebies this month for questions you should ask before hiring a coach. | | | | 
Business Application
What are the benefits of business coaching?
Do you ever wonder whether you need a little help from a business coach? The benefits of business coaching might surprise you. Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey. Initially, you spend every waking hour working on your business. Who do you turn to for guidance?
READ MORE ...
| | Ministry Application
Should you get a ministry coach?
Leading a church can feel lonely, though you know the Lord is with you. You have the responsibility of casting vision and making decisions. When you feel stuck or run into a problem, you can’t bare your soul to just anyone in your church about a church problem. Before you throw your hands up
READ MORE ...
| | Personal Application
Should you hire a coach?
Hugely successful public figures from Oprah Winfrey to Bill Gates all work extensively with a life coach. But why? In an interview with Fortune magazine, Eric Schmidt, chairperson of Alphabet (formerly CEO of Google) said: “everyone needs a coach.” That is his opinion, but it may not be true for you.
READ MORE ...
| | | | | | | | Pamela Russell Ministry Information Prayer Line Name: “At God’s Door” Number: 951-981-7721, no passcode is needed. Time: 5:30- 6:00 a.m. EST, but you can log on earlier. Days: Sun-Sat, including holidays
If you want to be a part of prayer, but its a bit too early for you. Please listen and be blessed. The recordings can be found here.
Additional Information: Online information about the prayer line Prayer Requests: Submit them here. The Current Devotional we are using is My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. You have access to the entire year. We are using the update version, not the classic.
Please come and share with us.
We have put together a wonderful project to bring healing. 
You can listen to it here. We were approved so you can now also listen to it or download it from You Tube.
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FREEBIES
Here are this month’s free business, ministry and personal tools:
You need to make sure you are ready for a coach. Here are some questions you should ask yourself BEFORE hiring a coach.
Once you are sure you are ready to hire a coach, you need a vetting process. The cost, though a factor is not the most important thing. These are questions you should ask your prospective coach.
If you need any help with any of these resources please contact me.
| | | | FEATURED COMPANY/CLIENT REVIEW | | You can be featured whether you have been my client or not. If I understand your business and I believe you can help my readers, please reach out to me using my contact information at the bottom of this page. I would love to promote your services.
| | | | | | If you have done work with me, please submit a review, it would help me greatly.
Please click here. You will find a list of business review sites. Click the name of the site where you want to leave a review. You can place your review on one or as many as you like. Each review will help me so much, so I am thanking you in advance. If you want to leave a review for a site that is not listed, please contact me and let me know which site. | | | | Working with a coach can pay off in exponential ways if you want to optimize some aspect of your life or performance. There’s a reason top-level athletes, business executives, and high achievers have coaches. However, at the end of the day, the value of a coach is subjective. It’s up to you to decide where, when, and if it’s worth it to get a coach of your own, choose wisely. If you have questions or need any assistance, email us. You can also call us @ 904-830-0737. You can also set up a free consultation. | | | | | | “Each person holds so much power within themselves that needs to be let out. Sometimes they just need a little nudge, a little direction, a little support, a little coaching, and the greatest things can happen." - Pete Carroll | | | | MORE From Business Development
There are millions of online articles, videos, and other resources on how to build and grow a business. But what if your business is unique and a one-size-fits-all solution won’t work? This is where business coaching could benefit you. I am going to address the following questions: - What is a business coach?
- Why you might need a business coach?
- What are the benefits of business coaching?
- How to work with a business coach?
1. What is a business coach? A business coach is an expert entrepreneur or executive who knows how to start and grow successful businesses and will train and mentor you. A business coach will assist and guide you as you run your business by helping you clarify the vision of your business and how it fits in with your personal goals. Business coaching is a process used to take your business from where it is now to where you want it to be.
2. Why you might need a business coach? You might need to hire a coach because you have exerted a lot of time and money to grow your business and it is not working. If you want to minimize the costly mistakes you can make, coaching can help. Coaching can also help you shortcut your path to success because your coach can share the benefits of the mistakes she has already made. He can give advice specifically tailored to your industry. A good coach will focus on your strengths, hone your skills, deliver a few business truths you might not want to hear. That is done to guide your company to financial success.
3. What are the benefits of business coaching? • Fulfills vision and goals What are your visions and goals? Often, you may not be able to nail it down to a single statement. A business coach can help you achieve your goals. More importantly, they make sure your goals are realistic and on point. He can help you create long-term goals that won’t only benefit your business, but your entrepreneurial life, too. Aside from reaching your target return on your investment or revenue in a year, coaching can help you achieve the life you want. You can freely tell your coach about your other goals. Do you want more free time? Travel? The opportunity to pursue other passions? Try a different line of business? A business coach will come up with a plan to make these things possible without compromising your business’s success. • Helps you gain perspective Your coach is not there to decide for you or produce the results. She is there to learn the ins and outs of your business so she can provide insights and guidance. A good coach will help you identify key challenges, make smarter decisions, focus on money-making projects, and develop strategies that take your business to the next level. Coaches create an impact by redirecting your perspective. They change the way you think and act for the better, and this usually produces great results. • Outlines a clear roadmap Having a coach is not the same as asking a friend for guidance. While friends and family mean well, unless they’ve built a successful and profitable business, they don’t understand what you’re going through. They might suggest you try a bunch of random tactics, which may or may not work but will cost you time and therefore money. Business coaching comes with a plan, a clear roadmap that you can follow and implement to grow your organization. They’ve been where you are. They’ve made mistakes and learned vital lessons. You’re reaping the benefits of this knowledge, so make the most of it. • Improves skills No matter how long you’ve been in business, you’re always learning. It’s vital to your development and your company’s success. Good business coaches don’t spoon-feed. They are there to help you improve your skills. Your business coach will identify how you work, learn, and relate to others. Then here’s where your work comes in. You need to identify: - What areas do you have to improve?
- Do you have problems with communication?
- Do you have problems with project management?
- Are you able to delegate and handle a team effectively?
A coach will be there to guide, instruct, and offer encouragement and direction as needed, but you’ll get the freedom and autonomy to make progress and meet your goals. • Boosts confidence As an entrepreneur, you’ve probably gone through a lot in your personal and business life. And your confidence can take a knock. But no matter what happens, don’t let these negativities and fears get the best of you. Business coaching offers an invaluable space for personal development and support. Whether you’re just starting your business or you’re a seasoned business owner, coaching provides support and encourages you to work things out on your own. With time, you’ll learn to trust yourself to lead with confidence and tackle challenges. • Improves performance and profitability Leadership affects employee performance. And unfortunately, a demotivated team is more likely to produce substandard work which can affect client retention and eventually profitability. To be an effective leader, you must understand your strengths, weaknesses, and what motivates you. Coaching is pivotal to self-development. Business coaches offer insights for management and leadership advice. They can help you identify the leadership style that works for you. Employees who work under effective leaders tend to be more satisfied, productive, and connected to their organization. In return, this has a ripple effect that reaches your business’s end goal. • Holds you accountable Accountability is massively vital to the success of your small business. The objective of business coaching is to take you from point a to point b. Having worked with clients as a coach, and been mentored by other coaches, i know you’ll only benefit from coaching if you pay for it. The thing about investing money is you want to get a return. And you’re wasting your dollars if you’re not implementing the growth strategies your coach advises. So not only will a good coach challenge you to think broader, try new ideas, and take risks, but they’ll also hold you accountable.
4. How to work with a business coach? To be clear, this is a two-way street. You’ll reap the benefits of business coaching when you invest time and effort in the relationship. Just like every relationship, it’s a matter of compatibility. You’ll find a lot of coaches out there are just to-do list nannies. If there are gaps in your strategy, or if you’re struggling, the coaching program should identify and provide solutions to your challenges. The rest is up to you. Engage is conversation, feedback, and interaction based on a structured program that takes you through a defined process. Coaching can help you build the lifestyle business you’ve been dreaming about.
| | | | MORE From Ministry Development
in surrender, there’s an effective solution you can pursue: get a ministry coach. I’m not talking about a motivational speaker who tries to pump you up with pithy statements. Instead, I’m talking about a coach who can support, guide, and provide you with practical advice. Now, here’s one caveat about ministry coaches: a ministry coach isn’t a mentor. There are similarities, but there are some big differences. In short, here’s what you need to know: • A mentor is unpaid, a coach is paid. • A mentor’s focus is on advising, a coach’s focus is on helping you to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle in your ministry.
The different coaching approaches 1. Personal coaching. Personal coaching can take place in person or online. Unlike someone who’s a mentor, a coach is someone who partners with you to provide support, guidance, and practical advice over the phone, on a video chat, or in person. The “medium” used to share their support doesn’t matter in this scenario. For personal coaching, your coach should have experience with the issue you are dealing with. A ministry coach should know ministry inside and out. Since they’ve “been there, and done that,” they’ll be able to give you the advice you need to go from where you are to where you need to go. 2. Group coaching. Group coaching takes place with either with a group of pastors or a group of your ministry leaders. During group coaching sessions, the coach normally discusses a general topic, such as church management, budgeting, or creating a work-life rhythm, and opens up the discussion for questions afterward. In this scenario, you may not receive the undivided attention of a personal coach, but the advice he or she shares in a group setting can still be applicable and helpful for your situation. 3. Using both At this point, you might wonder which option is best for me? A combination of personal and group coaching may work best, depending on the situation. The goal is to fulfill God’s calling on your life. In seasons of your life, you’ll need a personal coach who can walk alongside you, pointing out potential landmines and helping you navigate the way through the fog of unclarity. In general, group coaching sessions are helpful on an ongoing basis. These sessions will force you to learn new lessons, and focus on growing yourself as a leader and your church growing in Christ.
Benefits of having a ministry coach A ministry coach provides powerful benefits. A good coach will: 1. Push you beyond your comfort zone As a church leader, it’s easy to get stuck. You’re on call 24/7/365. You move from one fire of urgency to the next—all the while trying to prepare for your weekday activities or Sunday worship service. When this happens, you’ll end up focusing only on what’s in front of you. Over time, you’ll slowly neglect the mission of your church. Not because of any fault of your own. Rather, you get stuck in survival mode. This is where having a coach can make a world of difference. The coach will challenge you in your comfort and help you break free from the shackles of your own limitations. Unlike a mentor, a ministry coach will be more inclined to shoot you straight. Their job isn’t to be your friend. Their job is to support your growth as a church leader. In this arrangement, there will be times when they’ll have to say painful things. But this is all a part of the growing process.
2. Guide you in creating a plan As a church leader, you need a plan to get better. If you’re not learning and growing in your position, then you and your church are slowly dying. Why? Because the world and your community are constantly changing. New technology is regularly created. How people interact with one another has been changed by social media. Beliefs and values are in flux. If you don’t plan on growing as a leader, then your ability to make disciples will be throttled. In time, what works today in your ministry will not work tomorrow. Thankfully, this isn’t something you have to figure out on your own. A coach is someone who can help you clarify your vision, talk through your church’s mission, and create a plan to accomplish the work God has called you to fulfill. What is more, a good coach will also hold you accountable to accomplishing your goals. Yes, you can set a goal. However, to accomplish a goal, it should be S.M.A.R.T. Also, when you hit a roadblock, you’ll need someone like a coach to encourage you to push through. As a church leader, your work doesn’t end with accomplishing personal goals. Your calling isn’t only to be the best you you can be, your calling also involves serving Jesus and His church. When it comes to accomplishing goals, a ministry coach can also help you lead your church from where it is to where God is calling you to go. (Remember the conversation between Moses and Jethro.)
Not every coach is right for you. There are many (good) church leadership books you can read, podcasts you can listen to, and events you can attend. Oftentimes, what happens after reading these books, listening to these podcasts, or attending a conference, you come away feeling like only “that” person understands you and can help you. In reality, this is typically not the case at all. God can—and will—work through people who are equipped to support you in your season of ministry. When looking for a coach, you don’t need a celebrity. What you need is someone who’s a step or two ahead of you and can speak into the situation you’re facing.
3. Help you overcome obstacles At some point, you’re going to run into a challenge you feel you can’t resolve. It is not a character assessment of you; it is just the reality of being a human. Church leaders have been running into problems since the inception of the church (read Acts 6:1–7). Whether it’s managing internal conflict or breaking through growth barriers in your church, you’ll run into the limits of your experience. But that’s okay. When you run into these situations, seek God in prayer and ask Him to guide you to the help He has for you. That help may just be a ministry coach. There will also be times when you’re stuck, and you don’t even know it. Not stuck in the sense that you’re dealing with an unresolved issue. But rather, there may come a time when you’re not growing as a leader or your church isn’t progressing in making new disciples for Christ. Again, when you have a ministry coach, he or she can wave smelling salts beneath your nose to wake you up to the plight of your situation.
4. Help you create a life-giving, work-life balance Burning out will be one of the biggest challenges ministry leaders face. Like most pastors, you work well over 50 hours per week, and “balancing” your life is often hard, especially if you also work “another” full-time job. Sure, you have family, friends, and church leaders to help hold you accountable. But it’s ideal to have someone from outside of your circle of influence to hold you accountable. This is the job of your ministry coach. Since the coach is on the outside of your life looking in, he or she will have a clearer view of you and your workload. The added benefit is, since he or she has ministry experience, a ministry coach understands what you’re going through, and he or she will be able to read the signs of your life to know how well you’re doing. For coaching to work well, you have to talk truthfully about your weekly schedule and how you’re feeling. Armed with this information, a ministry coach can help you set healthy boundaries or encourage you to take a break to get refreshed.
5. Help you navigate the five-core ministry relationships If church leadership is anything, it’s relationally based. Everything you do revolves around working with or serving people. You’re going to run into a relational problem at some point. When you work with a ministry coach, he or she will be able to help you navigate the five core ministry relationships of every church leader: • God For starters, as a church leader, the most important relationship you have is with God. You don’t get a pass on devoting your life to God. Every day, you need to carve out time to talk to and hear from God, through meditation, prayer, reading the bible and any other methods you use. A coach is not a substitute for the time you spend with the Lord. It does not matter how anointed, prophetic, or apostolic he or she may be. • Church leadership Working with your church’s leadership can be tricky. Depending upon your ecclesiastical structure (Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Non-Denominational, etc.), navigating the nuances can be challenging. As a church leader, learning how to work with and through your church leadership is vital to the forward movement of the church you serve. On the one hand, if your church’s leadership is divided, you won’t be going anywhere, since everyone is going in different directions. On the other hand, if your church’s leadership works well together, then plan on experiencing forward momentum. Regardless of the makeup of your church’s leadership, a ministry coach will be able to guide you in having critical conversations. • Church members Not every church member is alike. From newly saved or seasoned, you’ll have to learn to work with a variety of church members. Figuring out how to relate to your church members as a pastor isn’t easy. Depending upon your personality, you’ll wrestle with either being too close or too distant. You want to build relationships with your church members in the healthiest way possible. Having help in figuring it all out can reduce your learning curve and save you a tremendous amount of heartache along the way. • Family Are you married? Do you have children? In either case, you must get these relationships right. If you’ve been in church leadership for more than a minute, you know this is easier said than done. The consistent requests can easily pull you away from family obligations. Next thing you know, you’re five years down the road and your family relationships are strained at best. Before this is your story, a ministry coach can hold you accountable and make sure you’re prioritizing your family in the business of ministry. • Friends Friendships are probably not what you’re thinking about. If anything, you push friendships to the back burner for the sake of everything else. However, you need to know that friendships are crucial to your well-being. Like everyone else, you were created by God for community (Genesis 1:28). Also, the book of proverbs has really strong words against isolating yourself (Proverbs 18:1). You don’t want to be a lone ranger. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” If you’ve sold yourself short in the area of friendships, let your ministry coach help you make them a priority once again. | | | | MORE From Personal Development
While there May be several factors that bring successful people to coaching, there are also good reasons why certain people should not hire a coach. We will look at both sides.
When not to hire a coach 1. I want someone to fix what’s wrong with my life The right coach will ask questions, listen, and reflect on what they hear. They will challenge you to think in new and more resourceful ways, but a coach will not “solve” anything for you. Maintaining balance in your life takes an enormous commitment on your part. A coach can bring some great tools and resources for success, but this isn’t enough. If you’re not prepared to commit to doing the heavy lifting yourself, even the best coach can’t help you.
2. I need help with deep-seated psychological issues Most coaches are not therapists. A coach will focus primarily on looking toward your future, finding new ways of acting and thinking, rather than dealing too much with your past. If you are dealing with issues such as depression, anxiety, or mental illness, you need a mental health professional.
3. I’d like a wise friend Family and friends have great intentions, but they are not impartial. Being too close to your situation can limit their vision to see areas you may need to improve on. A good coach is not your friend. If you’re looking only for collusion and affirmation, coaching is not the best option for you.
When hiring coach could be beneficial 1. Something wonderful has happened Change, even for “the better” can be exciting and challenging, terrifying and disorientating. A decision in one area of your life inevitably causes ripples in others. A new job, for instance, could affect your health, relationships, where you live and how you spend your free time. Transitions often challenge us to re-examine our sense of who we are or the capabilities we’ve taken for granted. It can be painful to let go of what you know, especially if you feel you “should” be incredibly happy and you aren’t. Working with the right coach can help you examine the constructs and inner worlds you’ve created in the past.
2. Something terrible has happened Whether you’ve been fired, your business has failed, your kids have left home or you are retiring, etc. Most of us want to avoid grief at all costs and attempt to force our way through these times, only to end up living with an undercurrent of resentment and depression for much longer. Taking the time to grieve traumatic changes in your life can lessen the amount of time you spend in despair. A qualified coach can provide a compassionate and safe place for you to grieve. If you are dismantling the structures of home, marriage, or career, a professional coach can help you learn from your struggle to expand and move forward.
3. Nothing Is happening Something bad has happened to everybody on the planet. However, if you continue to tell that story to yourself, you are stuck there. Inevitably, that is who you are, and who you will continue to be. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Perhaps you keep trying to improve your situation and nothing seems to work. To achieve the results you want, you will need to change your attitude or underlying beliefs. The beginning of a new coaching relationship is an ideal time to strip back accumulated layers of identity. Fear of failing is the biggest killer of plans and ideas. More than a lack of knowledge or skill, more than the lack of a clear strategy or action plan, the biggest obstacle in the way of progress is the paralysis caused by the fear of failing. Few people will risk failure knowingly. Yet failing at any action, even failing to take action, is a rich learning opportunity. When you feel stuck in a loop, the right coach will help you dissolve self-limiting patterns and beliefs, break out of self-defeating assumptions and re-frame the competing drives which hold you stuck.
4. You want to fulfill a dream or vision for your life (make something happen) There is something in your life you desperately want. Yet, you are frozen by the enormity and implications of making such a monumental change. You may feel like you’re clinging to the edge of a cliff where it feels impossible to either keep hold or leap off. Often, self-limiting behavior shows up strongest just when you need the courage to take risks for the sake of change. A great coach can work with you to stay on track and overcome actions that sabotage your desires, plans, and dreams. They’ll support you through the fear, resistance, and panic that can arise when you are creating something exciting and new, especially with your primary relationships.
5. You're stuck You may see yourself as blocked, at a crossroads, or out of options. You may feel defeated, resigned, or confused. Your point of view is often the main contributing factor to the blocked, stuck, or stalled way you’re feeling. Learning how to identify and dissolve painful beliefs that are running in the background can move you out of helplessness and clear up a lot of confusion. A trained coach will work with you to get clear about what fulfillment would be for you. In the big picture, fulfillment is about living a life that is valued, purposeful, alive, and balanced. You want to have a coach who will help you choose a life that is in action, aligned, and has a compelling vision.
6. You need help figuring out “What’s next?” Perhaps you’ve just walked out on the wrong job or ended a toxic relationship. Congratulations. You may not have figured out what’s next, but letting go of empty bragging rights and defining what you don’t want is the first step. An expert coach will lead the discovery process and support you in re-organizing around a larger sense of self as you prepare for a new passage of your life. Because a coach is on your side in this exploration, they can ask powerful questions that breakthrough your old defenses. When you learn to be curious about your life, you will become more willing to look in the dark places and take on challenges that once seemed scary.
Questions you should ask before hiring a coach are found in the Freebie Section. | | CALL (OR) EMAIL 904.830.0737 | help@drpamrussell.com
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