The top coaches have mastered 4 levels of coaching.
This blog entry describes all 4. Note that I am not talking about having lots of hours as a coach. Rather, it is about the relationships you can build with clients, the value you bring to them, and your ability to help them solve their most pressing issues.
Here is how a true master coach progresses:
Level I: Active Inquiry. Many coaching programs go no further than this, which is the ability to ask open-ended questions and hopefully have your client generate insights. This is a good beginning, but not
enough if you want to be a top-tier coach.
Level II: Content to add to the bones of active inquiry. Here, the coach builds his or her toolkit with great
frameworks, tools, and distinctions that help clients get to the root cause of their problems and solve them.
Level III: Thought leader. Coaches who reach this level can come up with their own frameworks, sometimes on the spot. They know how to improvise and be agile. These coaches can develop proprietary intellectual content, including their own methodologies and frameworks, and build their reputation as a go-to coach for a specific issue in a specific market.
Level IV: Being a trusted advisor. At Level IV, and often sooner, the great coach moves past intellectual conversations and earns the trust of clients. Here, we get into the realm of being, not just thinking or doing. The coach literally becomes a stake in the ground for the client's most pressing aspirations and goals. He or she becomes an invaluable resource to the client, sometimes caring more about the client's career than the client does him- or herself! The Level IV coach has a set of orientations and a way of being that sets him or her apart in the market, attracts clients naturally, and allows him or her to produce extraordinary results for clients.
The Center for Executive Coaching is committed to helping our members reach all four levels of coaching. Because we typically attract seasoned professionals with a track record of success, we have a head start!
Interested? Sign up today at:
http://centerforexecutivecoaching.com
If you happen to be in the Asia-Pacific regions of the world,
sign up at http://www.cecasiapacific.com.
If you would like to add business coaching to the mix,
the above still applies and you can register at:
http://www.instituteforbusinessgrowth.com
Sincerely,
Andrew Neitlich
Director
The Center for Executive Coaching
