As a holistic coach educator, I enjoy sharing with my students all of the ways in which coaching can help their clients transform their lives. But my favorite outcome is what coaching can do for coaches themselves.
Learning how to coach teaches you new ways to think, feel and be in the world. Ultimately it helps you to become the best version of yourself and to navigate life in highly effective ways.
8 ways that training to become a Whole Person Coach helps you to becoming highly effective in your own life
1.) You’ll learn how to get out of your own way.
As a holistic coach you light the way for your clients to see “what is truly” getting in their way. This process is especially effective when your client recognizes any unconscious barriers and invisible opportunities as a result of your coaching.
In other words, they self-discover what is going on which leaves them far more motivated to change things than if someone tells them what their problem is or what choices they have.
Whether it is a limiting belief, an unmet need, uncomfortable feelings, or ineffective actions, being able to identify these patterns allows clients to address these barriers and achieve the best possible outcomes possible.
But as you learn how to do this for others, this capability becomes embedded in you too! Almost second nature in fact. Soon you’ll be able to self recognize where you get in your own way as you begin to develop what we call your “Inner Coach.” I’ll share more later on this. For right now, just know that you too can become unstoppably in your dreams guided by the light of who you are!
2.) You’ll understand other people in new ways.
As you train to become a coach, you’ll learn how to work with the Whole Person. Not just the person that is showing up at the moment.
Think about a time when you weren’t being your best self. Perhaps you were frustrated or upset about something. How did other people respond to you? Were they empathetic and understanding of your needs? Or did they get frustrated or dismissive of you? It’s not easy to be around people when they aren’t in the best of moods!
Being with other people and accepting that they are more than what you are experiencing at the moment is an invaluable skill for anyone, especially those who want to become leaders or managers. People are multidimensional, and so are you!
We have a phrase in Whole Person Coaching, the person you are “being” with others is the difference you make. Coaching teaches you the importance of empathy, presence and compassion. You’ll learn how to put yourself in other people’s shoes and see things from their point of view. That is… you can be with them in ways that make it possible for them to change.
These skills will help you build stronger relationships with your clients, which is essential if you want to make a difference in their lives and careers. But this way of supporting others can extend beyond the coaching relationship into the rest of your life.
3.) You’ll embody invaluable listening skills.
Listening is a skill that can be learned and if you are like most people I know… (myself included) you’d say you are a good listener. But there are many ways to listen to another person and some are better than others. Here’s one example:
Most of us listen to what someone is saying so that we can respond.
For example, your partner or spouse is telling you about their day and in the back of your mind you are already thinking about what to say in response. While this may feel like the right thing to do, you’re not actually listening to them. You are listening to prepare your response.
When we listen in effort to understand what another person is saying before we prepare our response we gain a more clear picture of what they are going through and what they might need. This requires patience and the ability to not interrupt, judge, or get defensive. Even if we mean well!
Listening is not a passive activity but an active one that requires your full attention and focus.
As a coach, you are present with your clients. You welcome the whole of who they are into the conversation. It’s a courageous space you cultivate with your clients; one in which they feel free to be who they are. And, that’s liberating for you both – that level of authentic connection is priceless from my perspective.
You don’t assume what your client is saying or feeling based on your own experiences and perspective. Instead, you step into the client’s perspective and try to understand where they are coming from before offering feedback or advice on how to move forward with their situation.
Imagine for a moment this tool in your personal or professional life… GAME CHANGING!
4.) You’ll be able to think strategically and systemically.
Coaching tools and techniques can help you (and your clients) to become very effective at how you create your future.
With coaching tools you can gain a broader perspective or deepen your understanding about a situation or another person. You can also future pace or mind map a potential project or desired outcome. In addition, you can use tools to think through potential scenarios to figure out in advance what you’ll need to succeed.
And I’m only touching the surface here.
There are coaching tools for everything from complex decisions, to organizing life to figuring out how to have a more effective conversation with someone!
When I got into coaching I was a trusted marketing strategist. My secret to success was that I could view my client’s marketing problems from multiple angles. I could connect the dots and close the gap between them and their prospective clients. In fact, this was one of the ways I saw coaching as a way to amplify my own success in my field. I wanted to be even more effective as a sought-after strategist.
As a coach, you can be extremely strategic and systemic in your own life and business, whether you want to recognize problems before they occur or see the big picture of what needs to happen next for your success.
The tools you gain for your clients may just help you even more. In fact, when I think about one of my favorite gifts of coach training… it’s that. The tools to think, act and be better in my life.
5.) You’ll authentically align with what matters most to you.
Most people train to become a coach because they want to pursue more meaningful and rewarding work. Often this means figuring out what they truly want. Aligning to their deepest values and adding or subtracting things from their life that no longer resonate for the person they are today.
In Whole Person Coaching, we call this Authentic Alignment. The ability to possess a strong inner compass that guides you how to spend your one precious life in ways that are truly fulfilling to you. A compass that allows you to say Yes when you meant it and no when you feel you can’t.
When we are authentically aligned with what matters most, we feel more energy and are thus more productive. We get things done faster because there’s no overthinking about it—you just go for it! It doesn’t mean that everything will always be perfect or easy, but it does mean that whatever happens in your life can become an opportunity for growth.
My favorite part about being Authentically Aligned is the inner peace you will feel. Gone will be your worries and you can rest assured that you are on the right path to create what you want in your life.
While helping your clients to authentically align is often where the coaching relationship begins, authentic alignment is YOUR first step when you train to become a coach.
Besides, if you don’t know what matters most to you and what you truly want, you are likely to attract more of what you’ve already got!
6.) You’ll boost your Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Emotional intelligence (EQ), refers to people with high self-awareness and empathy with others. It’s a vital part of your professional toolkit whether you identify as a coach, healer, leader or influencer. Or if you are someone who wants to be deeply effective at being with other people, especially in emotional situations.
When it comes to working with others as a coach, your EQ is going to play a significant role in your ability to evoke change and generate results.
When coaching others, being able to put yourself in your client’s shoes and ask yourself: “How would I feel if I were them?” will help you become more aware of what they are experiencing, allowing you to better understand where they are coming from.
It also gives you a deeper insight into what drives people’s behavior—and how they respond best when faced with challenges.
When you become more aware of other people’s thoughts and feelings in any situation. You learn how to connect with others by empathizing emotionally while still being supportive and encouraging them toward their goals.
Having high EQ doesn’t mean you’ll always feel confident or comfortable in every situation – there are plenty of situations where we need to figure out what to say or do because we’re unsure how we’ll feel about something later down the road. And that’s another benefit of coaching, being able to think through things and be more clear on how to respond toward a better outcome.
Emotional Intelligence allows you to manage your emotions such that you can think clearly, make good decisions and take actions that you will be proud of later! And this is true inside and outside of your coaching career or business!
7.) You’ll be highly effective at accomplishing your goals.
Training to become a coach is a great way to learn how to better accomplish personal and business goals. After all, you’re using coaching methods with clients all day, so why not use them on yourself?
Here’s just one of the secrets you’ll learn from training to become a coach. First, most people are great at creating action steps, but real achievement comes when you have a well-formed outcome that guides you along with a list of resources and people that can help you.
As a coach, you also learn about how to identify your client’s learning styles, motivational preferences, their strengths and innate gifts. And you can do that for yourself. All of these factors amplify both you and your client’s ability to get stuff done – saving time, money and stress!
Plus, you’ll be able to help friends solve their problems by asking better questions and proactively tuning into what they need most rather than simply waiting around for them to come to ask for help (which usually never happens). You’ll be able to see what kind of support they need it and be the one who is truly able to help!
8.) You’ll develop the ability to self-coach yourself on demand.
It’s true. When you train to become a coach, you develop what we call in Whole Person Coaching, your inner coach. This form of self-talk is the most positive and effective way to stay attuned to who you are, what matters most and exactly what you need to accomplish your dreams. While some coaches even give a name to their inner coach, my point is you develop the ability to coach yourself through tough times and obstacles in life, which will make you more resilient as you face challenges. And to champion yourself – especially your transition into coaching with confidence.
In essence you’ll be helping your clients to develop their own inner coach so they become more self innovative… but it’s going to happen naturally for you too!
One of the most rewarding things about coaching is that you can take the skills and insights you gain from your client work and apply them to other areas of your life.
Coaching will help you for the rest of your life.
The skills you learn as a coach help us to be highly effective in what you do and become more self-aware. They also help us understand who we are and how we are in the world, ultimately helping us become the best versions of ourselves.
You’ll gain Confidence.
In the end, coaching is a skill that you can use for your own benefit. You can develop and grow through practice, just like any other skill. Coaching can help you reach your goals more quickly than you would.
But here is the best part of coaching. Because you get to know yourself well and are able to become unstoppable in pursuing what matters most to you. You become rock solid confident.
And that my dear friend is priceless.
