Life Coaching is one of the world's fastest-growing professions and is a new field in the business of coaching. Life coaching as a resource to the general public has only been flourishing during the last 10-years. The coaching industry dates back 20-25 years as a profession. It began with a few mavericks that recognized CEO's and "upper-management" experienced personal issues that interfered with their productivity. In the 1980's a few books were publish.
These books fast became standards in the business world. The books turned into popular programs. Human resource departments set up company wide trainings for the health of their businesses. It worked!
The programs effectively helped employees become very focused and productive. People began to become consciously aware of their motivators, and values and in turn started thinking “outside the box”. Family members of corporate employee’s began to benefit from the work. As American businesses began to downsize in the late 1990's a new industry in the self-help arena began to pop up. In 2008, http://BookStatistics.com cites revenues for the self-help industry at between $23.7 billion and $28.5 billion each year.
From the International Coach Federation we found it interesting how big this new business has become. We found the following information on the About ICF web page. Founded in 1995, the International Coach Federation (ICF) is the leading global organization dedicated to advancing the coaching profession. With more than 16,000 professional personal and business coaches representing more than 100 countries, the ICF is the voice of the global coaching profession.
Google Portland Life Coach and you receive about 328,000 results with the most active business at the forefront of the search. The industry in Portland has gained momentum with new niche's being created every month including transformational, spiritual, career, general life and financial just to name a few.
When looking for a coach in the Portland area, here are some tips that might help.
Note: “Not all coaches have the ability to coach clients through introspective work. In order for a coach to guide a client to realize deeper levels of insight, the coach must have done the personal development work to access his/her own intuition and inspiration. As a result, some clients experiences are limited by the capabilities of the coaches they are working with.”
“A coach who is skilled in transformational coaching will consistently encourage clients to access deeper levels of insight.” From Coaching That Counts by Dianna Anderson and Merrill Anderson, ©2005.
Get to know your potential coach. Free podcasts, newsletters, articles and alike help you get to know more about the coach. Proven track records can often be found on testimonial pages. Look for testimonies that have contact numbers or e-mail addresses, follow up, contact their former clients who offer personal stories. Read the coaches literature, often coaches have books, CD's, podcasts and free information.
Answer these questions:
Is this coach a certified professional coach. If not, is that important to me?
Does this coach work with others who may have had the same issues?
Does this coach explain clearly what I will receive from working with them?
What value will I receive?
Does this coach offer workshops, seminars, or tele-classes, where might I meet them in person without obligation?
Do I feel a connection with this coach and the way he/she works?
Does this coach have a formal program? If so, is it logical to me?
What is my budget? If the coach is too expensive for my budget are they willing to work with me?
Does this coach clearly define their costs?
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