While there are certainly many paths to becoming a coach, two are definitely more common than others. Each of them has different requirements for what to pay attention to and what challenges you will face.
The first path: from manager to coach
Many managers at some point in their careers come to the conclusion that they have a talent for developing people, and focusing on this brings them much satisfaction. For some (those who definitely want to change careers or those who feel burned out), it can be the beginning of a new career path, for others it can be a supplementary occupation combined with an existing position.
If you are in this group of people interested in coaching, here are some useful tips:
- Allocate enough time to study, even if you want to treat the coaching profession as an additional occupation. You need dozens of hours of study and 100 hours of practice to get the right credentials. The plus side of this path is that, being a manager in the company, you have easier access to potential customers.
- Accept the fact that you will change your approach to being a manager. Although at first the new skills may seem to you to contradict the knowledge you have gained so far, it is about going through a process: from judging and making quick decisions (as a manager) to supporting and not having to control (as a coach). And then still these two polarities need to be integrated. It will take effort – I assure you it is worth it!
- However, if you come to the conclusion that you don’t want to go down this path, the competencies you gain will significantly increase the likelihood of your leadership effectiveness and promotion.
The second way: from trainer to coach
This is by far the more common path to becoming a professional coach. People who are involved in broad business education (training in managerial, sales or product skills), at some stage of their work, will find it useful to strengthen their competencies with coaching skills.
If you are in this situation, consider a few things:
- Come to terms with the fact that you’re not the one teaching at the coaching school. Difficult it is, you certainly have a lot of ideas about how it should be … So that you are not affected by it, undergo education, let go of control and turn on the “beginner’s mind.”
- Turn off giving advice. Although you are a coach with years of experience and have many good practices in your head, hold back during the first coaching sessions. Instead, ask with curiosity. In the coaching profession, you are not paid to impart knowledge but to develop people. This is a difficult change, and you will certainly need time for it.
- By practicing freelance work, it will certainly be easier for you to find time for your education and practice. Likewise with clients – you’ll have less trouble reaching them by teaching classes. Just remember to invite for your post-training coaching.
- However, if you decide that you don’t want to be a coach, you will still gain. The knowledge you gain will enhance your skills, introduce a new approach to training and make it easier to reach participants.
For people who feel a calling to develop others, being a coach is an excellent career path – whether 100% or as a side job. However, regardless of the form of this profession or the place from which you want to launch into coaching, this knowledge will be useful in any professional situation.
