Tag: Coaching

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Personal and Business Coaching: Considerations for Hiring a Coach

If you are interested in Personal and Business Coaching to improve your own and your business performance you are on to a good idea. Nevertheless, consider some of these issues before engaging a personal and business coaching.

Coaching should have a Strategic Focus and hold you accountable, to consistently focus on your strategy, and provide expert help with strategic decisions. The primary focus should be on the overall business system, and whether it will continue to deliver results well into the future. This requires that every part of the business is managed so that long term goals and plans are prepared and implemented, while profitability and cash flow is maintained.

Will your coach adopt the following approach:

1. Big Picture and long term view

2. Key Results (Profit, Sales)

3. The business as a system

4. Is the system working and delivering results?

Ensure that the coach demonstrates the skills you will need. A simple presentation of what can be done is not good enough. For personal and business coaching to work well your coach needs to demonstrate expertise in a way that you will benefit, and in such a way that it is suitable to your personal preferences and needs. Ideally your coach will also focus on how you will achieve success in life, not just in business, by working on your own dreams, goals, skills and habits. The following are some of the points you should expect your coach to focus on:

1. Reflection and balance in the goal you set

2. Clarity of purpose and goals

3. What is working and what is not working? Simple but this requires a good understanding and insight into what you consider important.

4. What will work better?

5. Happiness, fulfillment, excitement, enthusiasm.

Remember, you may want to achieve a business goal, but life is about more than business or a successful career. It should also be about getting what you really want. Start asking what you really want out of life, focusing on happiness. Balance yourself by considering and acting on your Intellectual, Emotional, Spiritual, Physical and Material well-being. At the same time balance the important parts of your life – Family, Friends, Social, and Business/Work/Career.

Imagine how different our lives could be if we manage ourselves each day to be and do what really matters most. That is what personal and business coaching should deliver, not just a focus on business goals such as sales and profit, but on goals that enrich your life.

Lastly, negotiate a monthly fee and no upfront payment. That enables you to stop the coaching if it does not deliver what you expect. However, if you wait till the time or the season is just right, or for the perfect coach, you will never start personal and business coaching. Give it a go and start taking progressive action on the aspects that are important to you.

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Coaching Certification – It’s Not Important, But What Is?

In the coaching profession it is not necessary to get a coaching certification. In other words just about anyone can begin coaching without prior certification from any school or institution. Although there are some places that are making moves to regulate the profession, getting a coaching certification is not a requirement to be great at what you do.

What makes a great coach?

Having a coaching certification is not the basis for one to be considered an amazing coach. If you have prior experience in your field of expertise and you have the zeal and passion to support others then you may have what it takes to be a successful professional coach. You know the ins and outs of the business because you’ve been there done it. Anyone can start their own coaching business with virtually zero training or certifications.

However there is one “training” activity all successful coaches partake in consistently. They are always being coached themselves by a coach who is ahead of where they want to be. It makes sense right? If a coach wants to help their clients grow they must be growing themselves. This is where the true learning comes from. Being coached regularly is the best way to improve as a coach and a mentor.

But in case you’re wondering why there are people who want to get certified, they were indoctrinated by coaching organizations and schools. They believe it’s essential and that’s why these institutions exist to certify them.

Many people want to get certified because they want a validation that they are good coaches. But the truth is, it is highly possible to be certified even if you are not that good of a coach. In the same way that there are many great coaches that exist out there without coaching certification.

There is nothing wrong with getting a coaching certification, but then again there is no guarantee that a certified coach can deliver better results than an uncertified one. In fact, anyone with a printer can claim that they are certified coach-and I mean anyone who may not even have experience in business or in other fields. Who knows right?

If a coaching certification doesn’t matter then, what does?

Experience, ability, a great system-these are just few of the elements that matter when it comes to choosing a business coach. Clients want to invest in people who can help them; a person whom they believe in. And coaches must have a solid background in business or in other fields in order for them to gain the respect and trust of their clients.

Experience in their field can speak for itself. Bill Gates, for example, does not need to be certified in order for him to become a successful business coach. Ask yourself, does he need a certification?

What’s also important is whether or not the he or she was able to deliver desirable results for her or his previous clients. Was she or he able to improve a business, achieve goals or improve relationships? This is an effective way to measure whether or not a coach has a system that works for their clients.

The most important reasons why certain coaches succeed in their field is their irreversible passion for what they do. Coaches can make a great difference in people’s lives only when they have a heart for coaching. And having a coaching certification cannot replace passion, experience, real and raw skills.

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How to Pick the Right Vocal Coach

If you want to become a better singer, or if you’re trying to turn into a professional, or some times if you have a kid that hopes to sing, you’ll want to locate a vocal coach to instruct them how to make their voice stronger and to demonstrate to them how to do the right breathing exercises. However, choosing the best vocal coach though may end up being stressful and cumbersome.

When you find yourself interested in the right coach you’ll need take careful stock of the solutions to you. You don’t want to go with the first person that you find. Check around with family and friends and see if there is anyone that they can recommend. Look in the yellow pages and call everyone that you can find. Make sure you meet with good prospects in person and talk to them about your wants and needs. You can inform them whatever you expect from them, and they in return can advise you what they need and whatever they expect by you as a student. Determine whether there is any way that you can do a lesson before signing a contract together. This way you can see how they teach and how you connect with them.

If you have narrowed down pursuit to around three potential teachers, then you can research what their previous students have to say about them. Request more than just one referral, you should get no less than three referrals, this way you can have a better understanding of how the teacher is.

Narrow this list down further to two potential teachers. You should arrange a discussion with him or her. By doing this it is possible to meet them personally and enquire of any of the questions you will probably have. A few of the questions that you ought to ask are: what kind of education or training they have received, how much singing experience they have, the length of time they have been teaching, and last and surely not least is what style they teach their students.

You can find obviously other questions that you should ask like where they studied, who their coach was, where they’ve already performed. You can find anyone with a music degree or education, that doesn’t make them a good teacher, or even a good singer. You additionally must find out if the style that they teach fits the style of singing you wish to learn.

Once you have had the essential questions answered you can start going into more detail and learn specific information regarding the lessons. As an example you are going to have to know how much time the lessons are, what the price is per lesson, what is going to be taught in the given time frame, what techniques will be taught. Determine whether the teachings will include warm ups and scales and if there will be choreography and coaching the way to react when on stage.

In case you have all the details hashed out, then you’re able to go and start your lessons. You will notice that having the right vocal coach will help you tremendously in preparing you for a career as a professional singer. You will learn a lot of things from your vocal coach, so long as you have chosen wisely.