Life Coach Certification Controversy
I’m involved in a coaching forum and was perusing the entries awhile back and found an online conversation fraught with frustrations and stress. The stress and frustration had to do with a coach’s inability to share their wisdom, knowledge and experience with the client. One of the posts was something like this:
” … unfortunately, as (a certain brand) coach we are not supposed to impart our wisdom. We are supposed to draw it out of client. I bite my tongue because I want to share some of what has been talked about here, but I am in life coach certification right now and my supervisor reminds me that I am suppose to be wisdomless and bring it out of the client because they are naturally creative, resourceful and whole.”
This is exactly why I haven’t gone through a formal life coach certification program! 
Now I believe my clients are naturally creative, resourceful and whole. They’re wise enough to seek support when they are going through challenges, change and transition. It seems to me it is almost unkind and callous to withhold these thoughts from a client.
So as a result, my style of coaching includes mentoring in addition to coaching (suggestive of asking powerful questions) which means besides helping the client plumb the depths of their own intuition, knowledge, inner guidance and wisdom, I often advise, counsel, guide and/or teach.
I continuously remind the client that they will know and that I am not them nor in them so I could be completely wrong but I have found that they come to rely and respect what I offer them since I too have often walked in their shoes and continue to walk my own path of transformation daily. And as another brilliant coach I spoke to today said, “Or, if nothing else, we will create a new conversation about where they were looking – if they totally disagree with me.”
Having lived 66 years and having consciously pursued a personal and spiritual growth path and being an acute observer of the human condition – mine and others – I feel it is my responsibility and joy to share that with those who ask.
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September 15, 2011 | Tags: life coach certification, mentor
Category: so you want to be a life coach
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Can’t believe you have lived 66 years, your photo doesn’t show it! I used to worry about pension stuff then I decided I will just keep working at what I love to do…yoga, EFT, Bowen Technique and who knows what other wonderful energy healing will come my way…Have a great day.
Great post,
I’m not a coach, but I’m building a home based business and I’m in the middle of the process of changing myself and pay attention to my own inner guidance and follow that; stop worrying about the opinions of others.
I need to be a good salesperson and a good teacher, but also a coach.
You can only teach what you know and you know something when you’re doing it or if you’ve done it. At least that’s what I learned. (I’m talking here of course about knowledge and skills) needed for the new life as entrepreneur.
My numbers of wisdom (60,11):36=(years+months of experience:years of employee in a job)
With sincerity,
Deana
A “Coach is supposed to be wisdomless?” That is a bit scary to me. Though, I am not “educated as a Coach”; but rather my educative background is clinical psychology. What does “wisdomless” mean, anyway? How does one work with a client, as any type of helping professional without ‘wisdom’ of life experience? Never mind certification or theory or education, I am talking about experiencing life’s obstacles and muddling through them. This is a “wisdom” that only Life can impart. And, it is an extremely important factor in being a helping professional. If I may, as therapeutic helping professionals we are “told” throughout our training that “we are given the tools to help another- but it is through our own interactions with Life that we will truly gain our ‘wisdom’ to help another.” Thus, the letters after one’s name say “hey-I have tools”; but the best helping professionals, and that includes ‘Coaches’, are those who utilize ‘wisdom’ in their work with clients. Perhaps, we should start listing numbers after our names instead of letters: Angela D., 41:15 [years of Life experience: years of true wisdom].
~with sincerity, Angela, 41:15, and counting.
Found you through Twitter–thanks for following me. I am glad to see this issue addressed. In 2006 I wrote an article called “Selecting a business coach without being eaten alive” and discussed the option of hiring what I call a Natural Coach–someone with the talent and experience vs. the certification. I look forward to exploring your website and reading your Tweets.
Karen
YOU so right on with this article and I love the comments! I agree with everything said. And as far as you having wisdom and using your all of intuitions and skills in helping your clients…….You are the master!! I know because I am a client experiencing amazing growth with your guidance.
Thank you Maia
~Crystal
What a great resource!
When I hear people say that the coach is supposed to be “wisdomless”, I reflect on the possibility that the one speaking is not encoding what it is that he or she means, or perhaps the listener is not decoding the message the way it was intended. Of course as a life coach and counselor, I share my knowledge and experience with clients, and yes I feel that I have acquired wisdom as a result of my life journey. However, my truth and my wisdom is not necessarily the wisdom that the client needs. The journey is helping the client go ever deeper to find the wisdom that exists inside and draw it out to apply to his or her unique life situation. “Playing tennis” with the client; brainstorming ideas back and forth, is a way to share information and ideas without imposing my will on them. The point of my practice is to empower clients, not to create one more reason for them to doubt their own ability to solve their own problems by waiting for me to give them their answers.
L. Jasmine Harris
http://www.balanced-lifecoaching.net