Today, we’re focusing on free Life Coaching Resources but some of these resources will be helpful in other areas of coaching as well.

• Our Top Pick of the Day -  20 Free Tools – you have to enter your email address to get the free download but you are immediately redirected to the download page where you can download your pdf document.  The document contains many useful tools for utilizing with clients including homework for your clients, the Life Wheel, the LIfe Roles wheel. conflict recognition and resolution and even some pretty nifty ideas to help clients with many things.
• 50 Power Questions is a list of powerful questions to help you and your clients focus.  A nice resource we found on David Wood’s Life Coaching site.
• The Coaching Institute’s Life Coaching Articles is a compilation of articles covering different life topics.
• Outshine’s Newsletters share some good points on different life problems and learning how to attack them.  Some of the articles aren’t at the top of our list but others contain good information.

We will continue to deliver our top picks and coaching resources.

If you have valuable free coaching resources, please share them here so that other coaches can benefit from your finds.

Karen J. for ProfessionalCoaches.com

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According to the ICF, the following are the core competencies of professional coaches:

• Setting the Foundation

• Co-Creating the Relationship

• Communicating Effectively

• Facilitating Learning and Results

Regardless of what type of coach you are, these core competencies ring true.  Without them, it would not be possible to support or guide clients toward an appropriate goal. But, do these competencies look the same in all types of coaching?  Are they applied the same by life coaches and executive coaches?  Or is it more about the individual coach rather than the type of coaching?  Every coach implements these competencies in one way or another, but depending on the coach, more focus may be given to one competency over another.

Members of the ICF are also listed in a directory on the website.  A potential client can enter in several pieces of qualifying information including geographic location and type of coaching desired, and then a list of ICF member coaches is displayed.

This added marketing benefit may be reason enough to join, the additional credentials notwithstanding.  For many potential clients, additional credentials can be a relief.  There has been some buzz over recent years regarding the regulation of the coaching industry.   As such, having additional credentials may put potential clients at ease.

They are in the process of updating and redesigning their website so we’ve found that a few of the links aren’t working but we’re sure they’ll be fixed once they get the kinks ironed out.

Lisa on behalf of Contemporary VA

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Linda for Contemporary VA

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Because finances play such a large role in a person’s well being, coaches must definitely address the subject by bringing a plan with them to the table. I like to use 3 S’s to explain how financial goals should be set and believe other coaches could use this same system with great results. The 3 S’s are: stabilize, standardize and simplify.

Stabilize
In the step of stabilization, families need to quit adding to debt, especially credit card debt. Because debt can easily grow large and create stress fractures in any family unit, stopping the outflow of money that hasn’t even been earned yet is a priority. Another step in the stabilization process is to track cash spending for a month’s time.

Once the spending habits have been stabilized, it’s time to determine how to standardize finances.

Standardize
In the standardization process, the family creates a spending plan by putting essential spending first. This includes the rent or mortgage, utilities and taxes. This is similar to creating a budget, but should be flexible enough to handle emergencies and should include “fun” spending money. Using the tracking done in the stabilization step can help a family create a realistic plan they can live with. 

This step also includes building a savings plan. Since savings is the financial rock upon which families need to stand upon, this step needs to be implemented as soon as possible.

Simplify
Once the plan has been built, it’s time for families to simplify their financial choices. Help families understand how important it is to determine the difference between wants and needs. Yes, a family might need a car for transportation, but the choice of a BMW versus a Chevrolet is a want. If the family is really struggling financially, helping make some changes to simplify and downsize might be a great longer term option to get the family back on track.

By implementing the 3S plan, families can begin to make their money work for them – instead of having to spend all their time working for their money.

Linda at Professional-Coaches.com Similar Posts:

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Firstly, I would define it in simple words:

Life Coaching is a profession in which few processes and techniques are involved, by which coaches assist you to improve your life, business, relationships and your day to day activities. In my opinion, life coaching aims to help you achieve clarity and confidence to work through issues that are holding you back from enjoying a challenging and harmonious life.

Let’s see its depth and get understanding how it works:

Life coaching is not about making simplistic judgments about someone’s life and telling that person how they ought to live it. The majority of coaches set out to fix what is wrong with people. I don’t believe in that approach at all.

Personal experience and social science research have shown that people are the sum of their genes, their cumulative experiences and the circumstances in which they live their lives. I believe, therefore, that successful coaching has to be based on an understanding of all these factors and not just focus on superficial behaviors.

But like anything else, life coaching works best under the right conditions. For me, then, effective, authentic coaching is based on the following principals:

1.    After discussion and understanding client’s need, set coachable goal for the client,

2.    Ready to get most from life coaching,

3.    A shared feeling of trust and empathy between client and coach,

4.    A relationship of equality between client and coach,

5.    A desire on the client’s part to focus on the future, while acknowledging the effects of the past,

6.    A willingness by the client to work through challenging issues towards empowerment, self-confidence and a happier, more productive life; and

7.    A belief in people’s ability to accept them and yet make changes that will improve their lives.

At the end, I want to summarize it:

Life coaching is for everyone, to achieve your personal, spiritual, family and business goals much more effectively, more efficiently, more completely, with more fun, and in less time than any other human improvement process. Life coaches assist you to: overcome obstacles and fears, focus on solutions, have someone to bounce ideas off, no matter how silly they may seem, discover truths about you, and how you can improve, accomplish more than you thought possible, and achieve balance in your personal, work and family lives. Your coach will UNLEASH YOU, to become the person you always wanted to be and were capable of becoming.

Are you a ‘personal coach’? Are you a personal or professional coach? we would like to hear from you, write us at admin [at] contemporaryva [dot] com

Professional-Coaches.com

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