Have You Earned the Right to Coach?

Reprinted with permission from Coach Dave Buck.

Exploring Three Powerful Truths About Professional Coaching.

Hey there! Coach Dave Buck here.
I bet no one has asked you this question directly, BUT most people that you talk with about your coaching service WILL ask themselves this question about you…
And…
You answer this question with every conversation you have and everything you say or write about your coaching business.

BIG Truth #1
Unless YOU KNOW that you have earned the right to Coach…very few people will ever hire you.
Your energy is ALWAYS flowing. When you are talking to someone they feel the energy you are exuding. Are you exuding the energy of, “I have earned the right to coach you!”?

BIGGER Truth #2
You do NOT earn the right to Coach through Coach Training.
You EARN the Right to Coach by playing BIG in life.
Then you become masterful as a Coach through training and practice.
This is why before you do ANYTHING else – including coach training – you MUST declare and articulate HOW you have earned the right to Coach and WHO you have earned the right to Coach.

BIGGEST TRUTH #3
You have already earned the right to Coach a large number of people. However, you may not know it yet because you have grossly underestimated the incredible value of your life experiences and the expertise you have accumulated! (Not to worry: We all do this)
AND/OR you have never taken the time to declare this clearly and powerfully.

CLARITY = CLIENTS
Yes, I know that is a really big font! This point is more important than just about anything else I can say. Your ability to sign paying clients and thrive in the world as a professional coach absolutely begins with your 100% clarity about…

1) Your Expertise
2) WHO YOU ARE, and
3) HOW you coach & WHO you coach (this may sound strange, but “How You Coach” has little to do with Coach Training, so you can define this even if you have little or no formal coach training. Coach training will determine how WELL you coach)
The diagram below will explain more about each of these three key areas.

Coaching is a blend of sharing your expertise in a way that is personalized to the player AND challenging your player to figure things out for themselves.

The value of a Coach has three major elements:

1) Expertise
Your knowledge, talent and experience are probably the first thing a new player wants from you as their Coach. Now you can share it with them and it will greatly expand your credibility and build trust.
Knowledge – information you have studied and integrated
Talent – natural ability that you have refined through practice and application
Experience – Living life while keenly observing and learning
Another key point here is that when you are new to Coaching, this is your main drawing card. The edict against expertise gave new coaches almost NO chance to get started. No wonder most of them fail!

2) Who you are as a person
Who you are as a person is a pretty BIG deal (an understatement, I know) and challenging to quantify in just a few words. I like these three C’s: character, community and connection.
Character – your values and who you have become.
Community – your relationships with others as a reflection of you
Connection – your connection to a higher purpose or greater calling.
The Who You Are is the key to your overall attraction.

3) Coaching ability
You coaching ability is your ability to guide another to play better and get better results.
Practices – Your ways of identifying essential skills and playing toward mastery.
Principles – Your understanding of the essentials of improving human performance.
Approaches – Your overarching theory about how to play well.

There are three powerful by-products that are essential to your value as a Professional Coach.

A) Resources
Everything you bring to the table to support your player.

B) Results
Your track record with others actually adds value.

C) Methods
The way you do what you do consistently so that the basics are covered and creativity becomes possible.

Keep Playing!

Coach Dave Buck
CEO & Head Coach
CoachVille
(c) Copyright 2008 CoachVille LLC
Distribute freely with attribution to www.coachville.com

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