People at all stages of professional development need coaches to help them. Chief executives frequently use coaches to bounce ideas around, entrepreneurs use their coach to help them think strategically about the business, and coaches help others sort out career decisions. Emerson once said that "we all need someone who can help us to do what we already can."

Consider the impact you can have by offering to coach your partners, employees and clients. You can be a coach to the people around you and help them to achieve their goals faster and easier.

People seek coaches for two basic reasons:

* Some people seek coaches to help them find a balance between their personal and professional lives.

* Others want coaches to help them become more productive in their business or help increase their business.

People aren't looking for quick answers anymore. They're looking for ways to produce permanent change. The traditional consultant doesn't really bring about permanent change. A coach is a type of consultant who works with clients to come up with their own changes that are permanent.

Coaching is the next evolutionary stage of consulting. Coaching is a blend of business, finance, psychology, philosophy, transformation and spirituality. It helps people get more of what they want out of life, whether it's business success, financial independence, academic excellence, personal success, physical health, relationships or career planning.

Coaches are sounding boards, support systems, cheerleaders and teammates all rolled into one. Bottom line; the task of a coach is helping others realize their full potential.

Q:What is Coaching?

A:  Coaches use questioning skills, listening and motivational techniques to help people build the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to improve their professional and personal lives.  A coach is a collaborative partner
who helps you accomplish things.  Coaching isn't a substitute for personal responsibility and personal change or choice.

You need a coach if:

* Your business is not performing as well as you want.
* You feel you're working harder and are less satisfied.
* Your business is doing well and you're getting tired of working so hard.
* A large downsizing in your company is causing great change in the work environment.
* You feel your career is nearing a plateau.
* You received a sub par performance review.
* You're unable to mold and lead your staff.
* You're not comfortable making strategic decisions.

A coach provides you with a place to get some perspective. A coach is someone who isn't caught up in all the day-to-day stuff and who can see the big picture.

As a coach, you can help people in the following ways,:

     1. To make better decisions, for themselves and their career.
     2. To make and keep more money.
     3. To create a balanced life that works.
     4. To substantially increase the quality of their life.
     5. To be able to know what they need and ask for what they want.
     6. To get more done, in less time.

There are five specific skill sets required to be an effective coach. As we examine each of them, take stock of your own aptitude in each of these areas.

Questioning skills - In your role as a coach, one of your most important tasks is to ask questions that cause others to consider possibilities they have not yet explored.  Asking relevant questions is like holding up a mirror to their actions and decisions so they can see for themselves whether it is the right thing to do.

Here are a few tips about asking intelligent questions with impact:

Ask OPEN questions when you want to engage the other person in conversation.   Open questions literally "open up" the dialogue.  Open questions require more than a word or two to answer adequately.  Open questions generally begin with "What"  "How"  "Who"  "When"  "Why".  Be careful when asking "Why" questions. Too many can come across as confrontational.

Open questions come in different types:
Subjective questions - use these when you ask for an opinion.  "What do you think about......?"  "What are his qualifications?"  "How do you feel about.......?"

Objective questions - these are to ask for specific information.  "What evidence do you have for that conclusion?"  "How have you been handling this process?"  "What factors are necessary to raise your Customer Satisfaction Index?"

Problem Solving questions - ask these when you want action ideas. "What should you do next?"  "How would you implement the steps we just discussed?"

The other skills required to be a good coach are:

Harmony skills - verbal and nonverbal behaviors you use to establish rapport and get on the same wavelength as the other person.  Harmony skills include: 
* consciously using and reading body language (theirs and your own)
* avoiding jargon that could confuse or alienate others
* being open about your feelings enough to seem like a real person
* observing behaviors with an open mind, instead of just reacting

Understanding skills - these are the behaviors you use to help you listen to and understand the other person.  Understanding skills include listening without interruption and your ability to use paraphrasing to test your grasp of the message the other person is trying to relay.

Conflict-handling skills - the behaviors you use to handle disagreements and resistance in a positive way.  Conflict handling skills include surfacing objections by inquiring about the presence of concerns or disagreement, searching out the reasons for disagreement and constructively disagreeing with the other person's point of view.

Agreement skills - the behaviors you use to find common ground and get the other person's buy-in.  Agreement skills include consciously using good open questions to establish the other person's needs and wants, using benefits (theirs, not yours) to make your case, and keeping it simple by using one reason at a time.

Across the board, people are looking to be in touch with what they truly want in life.  People are looking for the tools and skills that will help them achieve both a balanced home life and a successful work life.

Personal coaches help people find success in life.
Coach someone today.