The Role of a Life Coach: The Ideal Career for Choice to Help Others to Achieve their Goals

Life coaching has become increasingly popular career choice in our fast-paced world. More than ever, individuals are seeking clarity, motivation, and direction in their personal and professional lives. But what does a life coach truly do? How can they boost emotional wellbeing and provide support on life's unpredictable paths? Do you have what it takes to support others towards a brighter future?

What is a Life Coach?

A life coach is a trained professional who works with clients to identify their goals and obstacles, fostering personal growth and transformation. Unlike therapists, who often investigate past experiences to address emotional issues, life coaches focus on the present and future. They provide practical strategies that guide clients towards achieving their desired outcomes.

Life coaches come from various backgrounds, with some specialising in areas such as career transitions, wellness coaching, or emotional wellbeing. For example, a career coach might help clients navigate job changes, while a wellness coach focuses on health and lifestyle. Their primary role is to assist individuals in unlocking their potential, making them invaluable support on the journey towards self-improvement.

Types of Life Coaching

Mental health coach

Mental health or wellbeing coaches focus on psychological wellbeing, supporting clients to overcome various emotional problems. They may also help them achieve goals by identifying mental barriers to success.

Research shows that emotional wellbeing is essential to leading a fulfilled life. Fostering positive emotions increases life satisfaction by building resilience. This includes our ability to manage emotions, cope with stress, and face life's challenges head-on. Wellness coaches play a critical role in supporting emotional wellbeing by offering a safe environment for clients to express their concerns and discuss their aspirations.

Relationship coach

A relationship coach will specifically focus on improving relationships by identifying problems and areas of conflict and seeking to resolve them. They often mediate conversations between individuals to help them agree on sensitive issues, and help to promote resolutions.

For individual clients with a history of relationship issues, a relationship coach can help identify problems that hinder their clients ability to form healthy relationships and help them overcome the barriers they face

Mindfulness coach

Mindfulness coaches aim to help their client's explore, develop, and/or maintain mindfulness practice. They are often trained in tools and techniques such as breathwork, meditation, gentle mindful movement, qi gong, tai chi, compassionate communication, and bringing mindfulness into daily activities. This type of coach offer support to allow their client's to be mindful and in tune with their own thoughts and feelings, opening doors to self-awareness and understanding.

Spiritual coach

Spiritual coaches have unique training and expertise that enables them to help their clients meet spiritual objectives, such as finding enlightenment or a sense of inner peace. They may also use spiritual teachings and principles to help their clients overcome issues, or focus on meditation and prayer, encouraging them to find deeper meaning in their lives and promote feelings of spiritual awareness and wellness. Spiritual coaches often specialise in a particular religion but may also offer general spiritual coaching.

Health coach

A health or wellness coach will pay close attention to aspects of their client's physical health, such as diet and fitness, and feelings of subjective wellbeing. They may have additional training or certifications in personal training or nutrition, enabling them to give tailored advice on how to meet health and wellness goals. Clients may have specific goals, like losing or gaining a certain amount of weight, and this type of life coach can create action plans to help clients achieve them.

Finance coach

Financial life coaches help people build better financial habits, manage their money effectively and reach financial goals. They may work with someone who's struggling to meet their financial obligations, is worried about debt, or saving for their future, offering personalised advice on how to be more competent with money.

Career coach

Career coaches focus on work-related goals and help clients to maximise their potential. They often support people facing challenges at work, or those who are considering a significant career change, by developing strategies for reaching goals. Career coaches can also help people identify their work-based values, strengths and talents, suggesting career option and support for setting goals to get there.

Business coach

Business coaches help companies and entrepreneurs find success by offering their expert advice and support. These coaches may have prior experience creating and running businesses, giving them unique insights that they can share with clients. Partnering with a business coach can help entrepreneurs succeed in opening a business or becoming self-employed, as they can learn from their coach's personal experience.

Executive coach

Executive or Leadership coaches work with a company leader or leadership team to help them improve their leadership skills and strategies. This can help leaders achieve company goals or enhance operations. These coaches often have years of experience in providing support to executive leaders and may experience in executive-level roles, which can help them offer more effective advice to company leaders.

Supporting Others in Their Journey

They use various coaching techniques such as mindfulness practices or cognitive reframing to empower individuals and their choices. For example, teaching clients how to reframe negative thoughts can lead to a 40% increase in their perceptions of personal resilience. By providing peer support, life coaches foster emotional resilience, helping individuals cultivate a positive mindset and develop essential coping strategies for dealing with uncertainty and life changes.

One of the most satisfying aspects of being a life coach is the chance to support clients through their unique personal journeys. Although life coaches are not trained therapists, developing core skills such as active listening, compassionate engagement, and setting goals that align with each person’s values and visions, are essential to being a successful coach.

Life coaches employ a personalised approach, recognising that everyone’s journey is different. They assist clients in defining what success looks like for them and creating a step-by-step roadmap to achieve those goals. For instance, if a client wants to improve work-life balance, a coach might help them prioritise tasks, leading to a reported 50% increase in satisfaction with personal time management. Coaches also track progress, celebrate milestones, and adjust strategies as needed, supporting clients continuously.

Training as a Life Coach

You don't need to have specific qualifications to become a life coach as it is an unregulated profession in the UK, however to ensure your client's and/or employer know you're a certified coach, it's recommended that you undertake training with a provider that has been accredited by a professional coaching association.

It's recommended to find a course that is accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and/or the Association for Coaching (AC). Both ICF and AC are leading independent professional bodies that are considered to maintain the gold standards of life coaching.

The ICF offers three credentials, corresponding with the quantity of education and experience required to earn it. The credentials are:

• Associate Certified Coach (ACC) – Completed 60 hours of coach specific education and 100 hours of client coaching experience

  
  

• Professional Certified Coach (PCC) – Completed 125 hours of coach specific education and 500 hours of client coaching experience

  
  

• Master Certified Coach (MCC) – Hold or have held a PCC Credential, completed 200 hours of coach specific education and 2,500 hours of client coaching experience

You may also want to consider joining a Professional Association to support you on your journey, receive the latest news and guidance about training and CPD, and to establish a peer network of like-minded professionals.

Want to know what it takes? Watch the series of 8 videos from the ICF.

The Future of Coaching

The role of a life coach goes beyond providing guidance; it centres on building meaningful relationships that empower individuals to face life's challenges. This profession plays a significant part in enhancing emotional wellbeing, serving as a crucial support system for those navigating their personal and professional journeys.

By fostering peer support, promoting mental health, and aiding individuals in reaching their goals, life coaches become essential contributors to the evolving landscape of emotional and professional development. As both the coaching and mental health fields continue to grow, staying knowledgeable and committed to ongoing education will be vital for current and prospective coaches alike. Embracing this journey will not only enrich one’s professional life; it also enhances the wellbeing of those around us.

If you are looking for an opportunity to train or work as a Life Coach, visit the Harmonia Careers Jobs Board to search the latest vacancies.