Comments on: San Francisco’s Mayor Highlights Life Coaching’s Image Problem

By: I. Barry Goldberg

I. Barry Goldberg — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:20:32 +0000

I have a different take on this issue- and not a popular one.

How do we allow for the consideration that the lampooning and satire are based in reality?

Let’s face it. Many who are coaching have done years of their own work, studied at serious schools of behavior and coaching, maintain rigorous standards and even participate in regular peer review. But for many, their preparation was something akin to being fired from an HR job or attending an EST workshop and then investing in business cards. Even for those who carry credentials, the barriers and standards are closer to those associated with Real Estate than other professions. As such, we have to expect that the people whose work is questionable will be those who, sadly, create the image. As Mark rightly points out, the barriers to entry are just not that high.

One other thought on this. Maybe we need to look at why we are so thin skinned about the satire. Lawyers do not often fall to bemoaning the state of their profession based on lawyer jokes. Perhaps if we cleaned up our act as a profession, we could have a little more of a sense of humor about coaching jokes.

By: Rey Carr

Rey Carr — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:58:20 +0000

Suppose you were to take a completely different perspective and see the headline as a “good thing.” That is, (1) one of the most promising politicians in the US sought out a life coach to assist with one of the most difficult decision he had to make; and (2) working with a life coach helped to free buried emotions and more deeply experience them with tears just being a physiological reaction to emotional awareness, release and resolution.

A coach can often help a client realize that a step back is a step in the right direction (for that client). Knowing Mayor Newsom, I’m delighted he sought the assistance of a life coach and reviewed what’s most important to him, where he wants to go and how he wants to get there.

By: Julia Stewart

Julia Stewart — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:48:42 +0000

I wouldn’t worry about it. With people like Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, and GE CEO, Jack Welch, telling the public that coaching is basically the best thing ever, we don’t really have a serious image problem.

BTW, when I heard that my ex-husband, the attorney, thinks life coaching is a joke, I thought, “Oh yeah, I should have become something more respectable, like a lawyer, because nobody makes jokes about them, right?”

By: Barb Elgin, MSW, LCSW

Barb Elgin, MSW, LCSW — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:44:16 +0000

To add to Kurt’s comment: my coaching niche is dating and relationship coaching. Which is a very viable alternative to marriage counseling. Although, of course not coverable by insurance (as far as I know). In some circles relationship coaching does not yet command the respect marriage counseling does, even if it may be more effective than marriage counseling. I hope to see some research tease this out in the near future.

By: Kurt Stewart

Kurt Stewart — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:49:09 +0000

Mark – Thanks for bringing this issue up. I think coaching in general does face some challenges around its image. The term “life coach” has become pretty loaded for many people. I’ve heard comments along the lines of “a life coach is what you become when you’ve tried everything else and failed”.
Also, there is a perception that if you have a coach, you have enough disposable income to “indulge” in the kind of “navel gazing” that coaching allows for.
What I would say is that these issues are focused on a very narrow band of coaching. One-on-one, personal life coaching, as in the case of Newsom, is just one of many forms coaching can take. If we want to improve coaching’s public image, why not talk about how coaching has been introduced into public schools, or how pro bono group coaching is used to support people who are out of work? We need to profile all the other beneficial areas in which the coaching practice has helped support communities and organizations as well as individuals.
Another thing I would add is that this image problem is more predominant in the U.S. I work for a global coaching company with clients in China, India, Europe, and South America, and generally, people in those places have a very positive idea of what coaching is and what it can do for individuals.
Some of the snarkiness around coaching could be removed if the general public had a broader idea of just how many forms it has taken and how many lives it has positively impacted.

By: Patricia Burgin

Patricia Burgin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:35:10 +0000

Thanks for writing this Mark. I love it that with Coaching, the market ultimately decides if you are making wise and significant contributions to clients and community. Living with the fact that anyone–skilled, gifted, trained, or not–can call him or herself a coach is part of the deal. They come, they go. Keep writing!

By: Barb Elgin, MSW, LCSW

Barb Elgin, MSW, LCSW — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:02:22 +0000

Oh, and, btw, I wrote to Rachel Maddow after her guest trashed coaching, but, of course, I never heard back from her.

By: Barb Elgin, MSW, LCSW

Barb Elgin, MSW, LCSW — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:01:38 +0000

Mark – I’ve seen other TV types put coaching down, including Rachel Maddow (well, she has a regular guest on her show who does a comedy riff and one night, you guessed it, coaching was the butt of the joke) and Penn and Teller have slammed coaching on their show.

As a social worker perhaps I’m ‘too used to’ the disrespect. If that’s what you call it.

It does get frustrating sometimes when you see someone with no recognizable coach training putting themselves out there as a coach.

What’s the solution? Maybe it isn’t a big deal. After all, most other professions are made fun of too. Some more deserved!

We need better PR – perhaps celebrities coming out and sharing their stories of how coaching is no joke and it helped them. I remember Thomas Leonard starting to embark on that idea right before he passed. In fact, I was talking with him about spearheading that sort of a project. And, you know the rest of the story!