What does coaching entail?
What would it take for you to live a life that is clear, intentional, focused? What advantage would you need to move from where you are at, to that intentional life?
What if all it took was a good conversation?
Picture having someone who listens not only to the words that you are saying, but also for the heart and soul of what you want to express. Picture your listener focusing on finding what energizes you, on what gives you power to move forward. Picture leaving the conversation with new perspectives and ideas that transport you to where you want to be.
A conversation like this is Coaching.
What comes next?
Getting started is really easy! Here are a few forms that can help get things underway.
Coaching Agreement Form
This form clarifies what the coaching relationship will look like. It is an agreement between us about what coaching is and what it isn’t. It also gets into specifics about scheduling, payment and so on. It takes about 10 minutes to read through and complete.
The life wheel
The Life Wheel is a way to look at different big aspects of your life and think about how you are doing. After connecting the dots, you can look for flat spots on your wheel. Those are good places to coach around, bringing your life into better balance!
New Client Form
Once you have completed the agreement, this form will help me to get to know you better. This one has a few more “essay questions", so it might take a little longer to think through. In the end, it will help me to know better what questions might be effective for you to move forward.
Additional Assessments
An assessment is another great tool to get a coaching conversation going. Try one of these assessments and bring them to a coaching call. What are your results telling you? What new awareness do you have after seeing your results?
Call Preparation Form
This short form can be used before every coaching session. It is a tool for you to reflect on progress you have made or to think about what might be a good topic to coach around on your next call.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Life Coaching?
In Life Coaching, we address the big questions - What is my purpose? What do I want my legacy to be? How do my strengths align with my roles? What's the next big thing for me? Of course, these big questions cannot be resolved in a single call, and so we might narrow down the big questions to manageable smaller questions.
How is coaching different from counseling?
In coaching, you are the expert, not me. Unlike counseling, coaching assumes that the client is generally healthy and motivated to move forward in life. Coaching rarely looks back on the past, but is future-oriented. Coaching does not give advice or provide expert opinion, as is the case in consulting.
Can you provide other kinds of coaching?
Yes. My training and skills are applicable to coaching just about any topic that you bring. Life Coaching is my favorite, but I am also happy to coach around other issues like time management, health, exercise, and so on.
How much does it cost?
I currently charge $20 for a half-hour coaching session, or $40 for an hour-long session. For some situations, we might also agree to pro-bono sessions or to bartered sessions. In a bartered session, you would provide something of value to me in exchange for coaching.
I accept payment online by credit card (via Square) or PayPal. If you are paying by mail, just select the "Free" appointment type when scheduling, email me to get my address.
If we have agreed to a different rate, just email me, and I will send you a scheduling link with the correct payment amount.
Keep in mind that you are not paying for the coaching conversation itself. The value is in the RESULTS that come from the conversation. How much is it worth to you to attain that goal? Often, when we are investing some money in an effort, we are more likely to take action. This is just human nature.
How do we meet, how often, and for how long?
Most coaching sessions are by phone or by teleconference (e.g. Skype). I find that meetings every two weeks set up a good rhythm, but I wouldn't object to more frequent or less frequent coaching sessions. A good initial commitment is 8 sessions, at which point we would evaluate whether to continue.
Do we coach on one topic or many?
Again, that is entirely up to you. Sometimes coaching around a single topic for eight sessions can be very productive. You can assess progress, find sticking points, and learn what works and what doesn't. If we are coaching a single topic, it is a good idea to agree on this in the first session.
Is this confidential?
Yes. All coaching conversations are confidential, following the ethical guidelines of the International Coach Federation. I will not divulge to anyone that we are coaching, nor any of the content of our sessions. You as the client, however, are free to tell anyone that you are coaching with me and can share any of the specific insights you are gaining. If I tell you something I'd like kept private, I'll say so.
What if I can't make my appointment?
Rescheduling an appointment is easy with my appointment tool. Feel free to move your appointment around as much as you like, but I like to know of a cancellation within 24 hours of the scheduled time. Missing an appointment without notice is considered a paid session.