Life Coaching – Its Integral Role in Global Change

Serena Williams, Bill Clinton, Andre Agassi, Hugh Jackman… just a few of the many highly successful people who use a life coach. Why? Because they know that self awareness is the key to successfully navigate obstacles, to keep taking empowered actions towards their goals, while their coach holds their vision constant for them. The most cited benefit of coaching is that it raises self awareness. Life Coaching really is the ‘IT boom’ of the 21st century. “Coaching is the second-fastest growing profession in the world, rivaled only by information technology.” – National Post, April 2007.

Wikipedia defines Life Coaching as a practice that helps people identify and achieve personal goals. Life coaches help clients set and reach goals using a variety of tools and techniques. Life coaches are not therapists nor consultants; psychological intervention and business analysis are outside the scope of their work.

An excerpt from the International Coach Federation Client Survey. © Copyright 1997-2000 ‘When asked the value of their coaching investment, 98.5% of coaching clients said their investment in a coach was well worth the money.’

Global change has never been faster, never have there been more hidden truths exposed and dictators overthrown. There’s a global realignment of energy happening, shifting from creating with force to creating with power, from controlling leadership to authentic, empowering leadership. Previously suppressed secrets, lies, non-existent money spent, denied subconscious parts of the human collective are being brought to the surface in chaotic ways, and all systems are forced to realign with truth, with authenticity. The challenges are great, as many new systems are not even conceived of yet.

This is where life coaching comes into its power. On an individual level, coaching supports this change process, by raising clients’ self awareness through the power of questions. Great questions unlock their own answers just out of reach, clarifying and removing obscure obstacles. At the deepest and most powerful level those obstacles that are rooted in the subconscious are uncovered, like limiting beliefs and conflicting values, clearing the way for lasting change.

Every coach – client relationship is different, working at a level that is appropriate for the client, and within the scope of the coach. A change process is facilitated. One which is not chaotic, but very consciously and safely held by the coach. This assists the global shift to authenticity and the creation of new frames, systems. Many statistics suggest that increasingly employees and investors choose companies who are environmentally friendly and empowering employees. Also, consumers are making more environmentally and ethically aware choices.

Beyond Personal Performance Coaching for individual change, the many different areas of coaching keep expanding into every possible area of life, some of which are Spiritual, Corporate, Small Business, Youth, NLP, Fitness, Health, Relationship and Retirement coaching. The most compelling statistics are those illustrating how coaching in businesses is becoming the norm, rather than an added extra, due to the benefits of increased productivity, better use of resources, more motivated staff, clearer communication, better relationships, better decision making and the bottom line, more profit.

“Recent studies show business coaching and executive coaching to be the most effective means for achieving sustainable growth, change and development in the individual, group and organisation.” HR Monthly
“Business coaching is attracting America’s top CEOs because, put simply, it works. In fact, when asked for a conservative estimate of monetary payoff from the coaching they got… managers described an average return of more than $100,000, or about six times what the coaching had cost their companies.” FORTUNE Magazine

Challenging times call for effective change, life coaching is the vehicle.

‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.’ Charles Darwin
Business Coaching Statistics in major English speaking countries:
“Use of business coaching is widespread in UK organisations, with almost nine in ten respondents reporting that they now use coaching in their organization (88%).” – University of Bristol Newsletter, 2005
MarketData Report in 2007: a recent study estimates that the $2.4 billio
US business coaching market is growing at about 18% per year.
“The Australian Institute of Management says 70% of its member companies hire coaches for business coaching.” – Inside Business Channel 2, July 2006