Coaching Information

Whats Up With All These Coaches?


If you are anything like me, you may have noticed a tremendous increase in the number of coaches that have appeared recently. Traditionally, coaches existed primarily in the world of sports, but you could also find voice, acting and singing coaches.

Today however, this has all changed. Lifestyle, relationship, personal development, business, soul, life, leadership, executive, career and countless other types of coaching are now widely available. So what can these coaches do for us?

The dictionary defines the term "coach" as "someone who instructs or trains others". From this definition, at least we can draw a potential connection between the coaching profession and ourselves.

So how do you know if you need a coach? Basically, if there are areas of your life which you would like to improve or enhance, the opportunity exists to employ a coach.

The Dream Team

In everyday life, we all employ "specialists" to perform various functions because we have neither the skills nor knowledge to do the job. You wouldn't consider attempting to fill a tooth if you had a toothache - you would go to your dentist. Would you complete your own tax return if your objective was to minimize tax exposure - no, you would visit an accountant. If you were feeling ill, you wouldn't (or at least shouldn't) self-medicate - you would contact your doctor. It all comes down to the fact that these professionals have skills and knowledge that provide faster, better, safer and more satisfying results than you could possibly achieve on your own.

I refer to this group of people as a "Dream Team" - a group of professionals to help you achieve that which you want - in the above-mentioned cases, a nice smile, more disposable income and good health.

So why stop there? If there are other areas that you want to change, the same principle applies. If you have a desire to improve your levels of health & fitness, you could join a gym. The problem is that the novelty quickly wears off and, unless you are incredibly disciplined, it is difficult to keep going on your own. There is also the dilemma of not knowing which equipment to use or which exercises to do. In fact, a real issue is not having specific goals at all which will leave you lost. The result? You stop going to the gym and your membership fee is wasted. Even worse, you will feel like a failure which in turn will lower your levels of self-esteem, negatively impacting many areas of your life.

The solution? Get yourself a personal trainer! Make this person part of your Dream Team. Your trainer (or coach) will help you define your goals, provide a specific program to follow and will also give you moral support. This approach offers a much higher likelihood of accomplishing your goals in this area at a much faster rate.

Other areas that most of us want to improve include key relationships, levels of success or financial freedom. Time management and career counseling are other potential areas for improvement.

The problem is most of us don't know how to improve or make things better in these areas. We have our own ways of handling things, along with the inherent issues - which of course, has us where we are now! We all know that the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results!

The solution of course, is to change your approach, and that could mean finding someone that can help you in the specific area you want to improve - in other words, a coach, to become part of your Dream Team.

But Whom Do I Choose?

As in all professions, it is a fact that not all coaches are created equal! In order to select a coach, I would recommend spending some time to identify your objectives, create some "interview" questions for potential coaches, define your budget and do some research to compile a list of potential candidates. There are a number of coaching organizations and associations on the web, that have lists of their coaches names, complete with biographies, qualifications and areas of expertise.

When interviewing your prospective coach, ask yourself how comfortable you would feel working with the person. Are they someone to whom you would be comfortable sharing personal information? Do you like them? Do they seem to have an action plan and strategy process that will help you achieve your goals? What is their fee and what can you expect for that level of investment? Can you work with them? Is their interest and commitment mainly around helping you or collecting their fees? Interview 3 - 5 candidates. Once you are comfortable, make a selection and get started! You will quickly be on the road to achieving your goals.

Please note one thing; hiring a coach, to help you improve the various areas of your life, requires commitment! The process is likely to take several months and you must be prepared to "do the work" that goes along with affecting change in your life. If you are not fully committed to the process, the result will be frustration (for both of you) and failure, not to mention a bunch of money spent on nothing! Affecting meaningful change will take time. Old habits will need to be broken and new, supportive habits created. It took you years to get where you are today, so it is unreasonable to expect that accomplishment of your goals will occur in just a few weeks!

Coaches are not miracle workers; they cannot do the work for you or wave a magic wand to make things easy. What your coach can do is help you to define what it is specifically that you want, work with you to develop strategic and tactical plans of action, provide guidance and moral support in your quest and keep you accountable for following the plan.

With commitment, dedication and a good coach, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish!

About the Author:

Tony Davies is a Business Consultant as well as a Business & Personal Coach. He is an expert in the areas of Leadership and Personal Development and in integrating these two, seemingly different, disciplines. Tony is successful at this as the result of personal experience - a solid business background combined with a passion, and gift, for personal development and helping others.

To find out how Tony can help you to live your best life, check out his website at http://www.momentumbusiness.ca, and contact him directly.


MORE RESOURCES:

New York Times

Paterno coaching from press box at Wisconsin
The Associated Press - 2 hours ago
(AP) — A sore right leg will keep Penn State coach Joe Paterno in the press box for the No. 6 ranked Nittany Lions' game at Wisconsin on Saturday night. ...
Bingham: At 81, no quit in Paterno Cape Cod Times
What to watch in the Big Ten, Week 7 ESPN
PSU vs. Wisconsin: Live from the press box Altoona Mirror
CBSSports.com - SportingNews.com
all 244 news articles


Buck Shelford on Harbour coaching short list
Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand - 8 hours ago
Wayne "Buck" Shelford has made it on to the short list of candidates wanting to coach North Harbour next year. But the All Blacks great and cancer survivor ...
Shelford On Shortlist For Vacant Harbour Job Voxy
all 10 news articles


The Money Times

Old friends finally get chance to face off together in the bigs
ESPN - 11 hours ago
Last season, Bruce Boudreau led the Capitals to the playoffs in his first NHL coaching campaign. Anderson nearly walked into the visitors' dressing room ...
Thrashers install system aimed at increasing their offensive ... Gwinnett Daily Post
Winning A Game That Last Year They Wouldn't Have Atlanta Journal Constitution
Eric Duhatschek ponders some interesting issues before the ... Globe and Mail
CBSSports.com - Atlanta Journal Constitution
all 220 news articles


Coaching decisions on deck for Yanks
MLB.com - Oct 10, 2008
... the organization has opened discussions regarding potential changes for 2009, including -- but not limited to -- the coaching staff. ...
Yankees mull coach switches New York Daily News
all 3 news articles


BBC News

Ponting praises Chappell's coaching role
AFP - 21 hours ago
SYDNEY (AFP) — Ricky Ponting has praised the coaching work of former Test great Greg Chappell in helping the Australian team adjust to the demands of ...
Ponting 1 Harbhajan 0 CricInfo.com
all 1,206 news articles


The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com

Raiders at Saints (10 am, Ch. 5)
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 2 hours ago
Interim promotee Tom Cable makes his NFL head-coaching debut. If he wants to ditch the temp-hire title, he must start winning games ASAP. ...
NFL Preview - Oakland (1-3) at New Orleans (2-3) Kansas City Star
Saints-Raiders Behind Enemy Lines III Saints Insider
all 75 news articles


Seattle Post Intelligencer

Coaching saga permeates game Auburn, Arkansas contest
Press-Register - al.com, AL - 18 hours ago
He returns today as head coach at Arkansas, taking his new team into an equally volatile environment. The Tigers (4-2, 2-2 SEC) and Arkansas (2-3, ...
Petrino, Tuberville coaching flap? History Memphis Commercial Appeal
Time to take a step forward Times Daily (subscription)
Petrino, Tuberville Not Focused On Controversy The Morning News
Dawg Post - SportingNews.com
all 351 news articles


MLB Notebook: Reds' Baker takes 'dream' coaching job
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - Oct 9, 2008
AP This weekend, Baker will be the fill-in coach for 9-year-old son Darren's 10-and-under traveling tournament team. Baker, 59, spent his first season as ...
Dusty Baker gets fall coaching gig - his son's team Sacramento Bee
all 119 news articles


Caputo to coach Gungahlin
The Canberra Times, Australia - 4 hours ago
Next season he swaps his boots for a clipboard when he takes over as Gungahlin Eagles head coach. After retiring in 2003 he decided on time away from rugby ...


Stuff.co.nz

Remind me again, why can't Bluey coach the Kiwis
Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand - 4 hours ago
Columnist John Dybvig believes the New Zealand Rugby League should ''have had the balls" to break their own rules and let Brian "Bluey" McLennan coach Leeds ...

Coaching - Google News

home | site map
© 2006