Life Coaches Are For Everyone

These Days, People Are Turning To Outside Help For Nearly Every Aspect Of Life

(CBS)  Braverman, a former social worker, is one of more than 30,000 life and leadership coaches now estimated to be practicing. She says people don't necessarily need life coaches, but some people want it.

"It's a wonderful gift to give yourself to have a supporter just for you," she said. "To cheer you on. To hold you accountable for the things that you really want to do."

Case in point: Marian Haider. She says she might never have had this moving day, daring to live on her own in a new apartment, without her Braverman, who coached her through a divorce. She said she still relies on friends and family, but coaching allows her to be selfish.

"I just wanted someone that could help me work through the process and just focus on me," she said. "I had actually been to a therapist or a counselor at various times in my life. The therapy and counseling was quite helpful. But quite frankly, I didn’t want to rehash my childhood."

Braverman, like most life coaches, was quick to say she is not a therapist. She doesn’t psychoanalyze her clients. She does get them to make promises that they will accomplish certain goals. Haider said she would frequently update Braverman on how she is doing. And, says trend spotter Salzman, there is a reason clients want to show their coaches they are making progress:

"There is something about the fact that there's a financial transaction," she said. "They feel like they’ve invested in it. Therefore it has value. Your friends' advice, it wasn’t as valuable. You didn’t pay for it. You got it for free."

Salzman says coaching is not just an American trend.

"I had dinner in London a couple of weeks ago with four women, all in their 30s, three of whom were recently married thanks to dating coaches," she said. "And the best plastic surgery coach I think anyone knows. It was a woman out of Montréal that tells you where to go to for various procedures … you just don't go to plastic surgeons blind, you call the plastic surgery coach and they tell you what you should ask for."

And the kind of coaches there are run the gamut. Salzman said the weirdest kind that she has ever heard of is a housebreaking coach people hire for their pets.

There are also housekeeping coaches like Phoebe Coles — a family manager coach to be exact. Her background was in the Army. For $200 for a full makeover, she coaches clients like Gena Salonga, a mom who’s trying to start a new business, on how to run their homes.

"We like the idea of just having someone come alongside us and say, 'Hey, you can do that. You can have a smooth-running home,'" Coles said.

"I think my girlfriends and I get together, we all have the same problems, that’s the problem," Salonga said. "We all just gripe about what to do during the day. But we don’t have any real solutions, so Phoebe is my solution."

And maybe someday we'll all have a Phoebe for every aspect of our lives.

[mikejohnson_]

I wonder if all the people donating to the non-profit Paula Rothenberg heads (Wellness Center- a non-profit for helping families of those afflicted with cancer?)
know that their donations are helping her pay $250/hour for dressing better?
Shouldn't this be spent on helping families of those with cancer?

[tiraalvar]

How very sad to think there are people out there willing to throw money out the door just to have a "yes man" follow them around and tell them what to do. These people should have paid more attention to their mothers when they were younger. It is no wonder people from other countries don't understand us. We don't even understand ourselves enough to be able to dress ourselves. We have to pay someone else to do it for us. What a joke, and the life coaches are laughing at us all the way to the bank!

[thethinktank]

What a great story. How about more of the same?
Folks need to know that coaching is having someone who believes in you and helps you set bigger goals for yourself . . . Your chief, non-judgmental supporter.
A coach usually works one-to-one over a period of time. This way the work is targeted and focused to the client's need, plus the coach is able to make sure you really develop new skills and habits.

Coaches help clients set goals, provide feedback, perspective, encouragement and new ways of tackling situations.
Coaching is all about having someone believe in you and encourage you, about getting valuable insight from a %u2018truth-speaker%u2019, about seeing things from new perspectives and setting your sights on new horizons.
Every successful athlete and performer today has some sort of coach. A life coach makes coaching available to anyone wanting to achieve their best, in any field. It's not just for "Tiger" anymore.
Coaching is not another %u2018how to%u2019 course.
It is a powerful alliance between people that produces exceptional results.

Remember . . . professionals have a coach. Amateurs do not.

Brian Howe
ThinkTank Coaching
www.coachbrian.com
770-922-6007

[thethinktank]

What a great story. How about more of the same?
Folks need to know that coaching is having someone who believes in you and helps you set bigger goals for yourself . . . Your chief, non-judgmental supporter.
A coach usually works one-to-one over a period of time. This way the work is targeted and focused to the client's need, plus the coach is able to make sure you really develop new skills and habits.

Coaches help clients set goals, provide feedback, perspective, encouragement and new ways of tackling situations.
Coaching is all about having someone believe in you and encourage you, about getting valuable insight from a %u2018truth-speaker%u2019, about seeing things from new perspectives and setting your sights on new horizons.
Every successful athlete and performer today has some sort of coach. A life coach makes coaching available to anyone wanting to achieve their best, in any field. It's not just for "Tiger" anymore.
Coaching is not another %u2018how to%u2019 course.
It is a powerful alliance between people that produces exceptional results.

Remember . . . professionals have a coach. Amateurs do not.

Brian Howe
ThinkTank Coaching
www.coachbrian.com
770-922-6007

[bigagenda]

It's exciting when our profession is being profiled to the world Thanks CBS! I hope CBS will do it soon again as there is so much more to coaching and its results.

In the examples here much of the coaching looked a lot like consulting rather than coaching, though - the coach was telling the client what they should do rather than inquiring with powerful questions what the client wants. And that's exactly where the power of coaching lies: the client - an individual or a team - finds the "right" answer within themselves and then commits to accountability (first to themself, then to the coach) for following through with the change or decision.

Although the client might forget, the coach keeps reminding them about the client's big A agenda, i.e. their values and life purpose/mission so that the choices and commitments to change are aligned with the bigger dream for themselves and become fulfilling and satisfying, not a chore and something outside of themselves.

With so many coaching methodologies and schools out there, CBS would do well to feature coaching in a series?

With heart,
Kristiina Hiukka
CEO and Team Coach
BigAgendaCoaching
www.BigAgendaCoaching.com

[lenrothman]

I'm an executive and life coach and have a personal coach! While the best athletes all have coaches, more and more of the most successful people have coaches. Having a coach has given me the opportunity to experience what my clients exeereince when they're being coached. I'm an even better coach because of it.

"Walking the talk" is vital as a coach!

Len Rothman
Director, International Business Coach Institute
www.actioncoach.com/lenrothman

[lenrothman]

I'm an executive and life coach and have a personal coach! While the best athletes all have coaches, more and more of the most successful people have coaches. Having a coach has given me the opportunity to experience what my clients exeereince when they're being coached. I'm an even better coach because of it.

"Walking the talk" is vital as a coach!

Len Rothman
Director, International Business Coach Institute
www.actioncoach.com/lenrothman

[bakbak77]

Thanks for a great article on coaching. As more people live at a distance from family and friends and the work place has fewer true mentors, the benefit in a person's life for a work-along-side guide and encourager is more useful. Yes, I am a life coach and have the privilege of seeing clients reach their goals.

Barbara A. Kee, PhD
www.DissertationCoachDrKee.com

[mars777-2009]

Thank you for a wonderful presentation on the value and versitility of life coaching! I am a long-time therapist now coaching the Law of Attraction. Progress is fast and awsome!

Sincerely,
Janet Gray, LPC, NCC, CAS
[e-mail]

[roach9703]

Gee, now I can pay somebody $250 per hour to tell me what to do and what to think. Now, if we get the government involved with licening requirements, we will have a new super credential bureaucracy, and we will need lawyers for all those consumer complanints, and ....

[fishing10111]

Thank you for a great program on Coaches. As an "un-career" certified coach I guess I fall into the category of unusual specialties in my field. I help people transition out of their jobs and into their own business. People need real solutions and not just advice. This is where coaching can really benefit the person that wants to break out of the pack and set themselves apart. Thanks again!

Tammy Landau, The Un-Career Coach
www.summitprofessionalcoaching.com
www.careerbraindrain.typepad.com

[o2817098]

Life Coaches are truly for everyone who is ready and willing to commit to achieving peak performance in your personal or professional life. CBS Sunday Morning News did a wonderful job of sharing the specialties and scope of the profession. You can find a coach specifically to help you achieve your own goals (or even to help you define what they are!) by visiting the Coach Referral Service at the International Coach Federation's Website, http://www.coachfederation.org/ICF/For+Coaching Clients/Selecting a Coach/.

Working with a professionally trained coach can seriously help you excel by having a partner invested in your best. Your coach will hold you accountable, be an objective and unbiased sounding board, etc. Just be cautious when selecting a coach by researching about coaching, knowing your objectives, interviewing at least 3 coaches to find the right fit and selecting a coach who%u2019s professionally trained and committed to upholding the ethics and guidelines. There%u2019s a lot of people out there who call themselves a coach, so buyer beware!!

If you%u2019d like to work with a professionally trained and certified coach to eNeRGize your work and life success, feel free to contact us.

Thank you!

Natalie Gahrmann, MA, PCC, CUCG
N-R-G Coaching Associates
www.nrgcoaching.com

[bacardistuff]

Boy, I would love to know what Scott Baio is paying HIS life coach!

[tholley5]

Great piece on life coaching! Your story helped to demystify the coaching profession and give viewers a better sense of the important work we do in the world. You covered a nice range of coaching niches. Please allow me to add wellness coaching to your list. The contribution these coaches are making towards reducing health care costs, increasing options for health consumers and improving the health of the nation is noteworthy. Lastly, the term "coaching" has been used very loosely. Thanks to organizations such as the International Coach Federation (ICF), much work is being done to enhance and protect the integrity of the coaching profession. Kudos for featuring a coach training program that is accredited by ICF.

Terri Holley, MS CHES
Wellness and Life Coach
Momentum Health and Life Coaching, LLC

www.mhlcoaching.com

[mikedorman1]

Thanks to CBS for presenting the values of coaching. As one of many professional and certified coaches practicing today, the help in spreading the word about the values derived from effective coaching is most welcome and appreciated.

Our particular business is directed to the individuals and teams associated with organizational leadership. Although your report mentioned business related coaching I would like to emphasize that the coached approach to enhancing leadership performance, skills and effectiveness truly has dynamic impact on the degree of achievement in areas of innovation, visions and goals. Effective coaching plays a very significant role in moving the organization to their next level.

Again my thanks for the focus you have brought to this most honorable work.

Sincerely,

Mike Dorman
The Third Zone
www.thethirdzone.com

[pat1990]

Your interviewees took the mystery out of coaching with their true stories. And most of the coaches you selected did justice to this service by using everyday language. Thank you for a report with good news.

Patricia Weber
America's #1 Sales Coach for Introverts, Shy and Reluctant
www.introvertscansucceedatsales.com

[rtwelch1]

As an executive and career coach for well over 10 years, I have watched this field grow by leaps. Caution to new coachees...with so many coaches having entered the field, make sure your coach is qualified and right for you.

Also, in regards to executive coaching, the benefit expands well beyond the individual being coached. The positive effects of the executive's improved performance particularly in terms of leadership can be far reaching. A tremendous competitive advantage not only for the executive but for his or her entire organization.

Tom Welch
America's Career Coach
www.workhappy.com

[reueljhunt]

Great piece on coaching, including examples of effective coaching, with some distinctions between coaching and therapy, helping the public better understand this new expanding profession. And, some of the coaching looked a lot like consulting. Distinctions between coaching and consulting would have made the piece more valuable in educating the public and in helping the emergence of the coaching profession.

Reuel J. Hunt
www.CoachingKids.org

[debease]

Thank you for enlightening the public to the advantages of using a coach to improve many aspects of one's life.
As an Image Consultant and Makeup Artist, I love helping woman discover how they can save time and money by learning the tricks and tools needed, to look their best every day, on any budget.
There simply is no down side to learning how to improve your life!

Thank you,
Scarlett New York Image Consulting
web: http://www.scarlettnewyork.com

[debease]

Thank you for enlightening the public to the advantages of using a coach to improve many aspects of one's life.
As an Image Consultant and Makeup Artist, I love helping woman discover how they can save time and money by learning the tricks and tools needed, to look their best every day, on any budget.
There simply is no down side to learning how to improve your life!

Thank you,
Scarlett New York Image Consulting
web: http://www.scarlettnewyork.com