Becoming a Professional Life Coach: Lessons from the Institute of Life Coach Training

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393708365 ISBN 13: 9780393708363

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2015

An updated version of the best-selling therapist-to-coach transition text.

With his bestselling Therapist As Life Coach, Pat Williams introduced the therapeutic community to the career of life coach, and in Becoming a Professional Life Coach he and Diane Menendez covered all the basic principles and strategies for effective coaching. Now Williams, founder of the Institute for Life Coach Training (ILCT), and Menendez, former faculty at ILCT―both master certified coaches―bring back the book that has taught thousands of coaches over the past eight years with all-new information on coaching competencies, ethics, somatic coaching, wellness coaching, and how positive psychology and neuroscience are informing the profession today.

Moving seamlessly from coaching fundamentals―listening skills, effective language, session preparation―to more advanced ideas such as helping clients to identify life purpose, recognize and combat obstacles, align values and actions, maintain a positive mind-set, and live with integrity, this new edition is one-stop-shopping for beginner and advanced coaches alike. Beginning with a brief history of the foundations of coaching and its future trajectory, Becoming a Professional Life Coach takes readers step-by-step through the coaching process, covering all the crucial ideas and techniques for being a successful life coach, including:

· Listening to, versus listening for, versus listening with
· Establishing a client’s focus
· Giving honest feedback and observation
· Formulating first coaching conversations
· Asking powerful, eliciting questions
· Understanding human developmental issues
· Reframing a client’s perspective
· Enacting change with clients
· Helping clients to identify and fulfill core values, and much, much more.

All the major skillsets for empowering and “stretching” clients are covered. By filling the pages with client exercises, worksheets, sample dialogues, and self-assessments, Williams and Menendez give readers a hands-on coaching manual to expertly guide their clients to purposeful, transformative lives.

Today, with more and more therapists incorporating coaching into their practices, and the number of master certified coaches, many with niche expertise, growing every year, Becoming a Professional Life Coach fills a greater need than ever. By tackling the nuts and bolts of coaching, Williams and Menendez equip readers with the tools and techniques they need to make a difference in their clients’ lives.

About the Author:

Diane S. Menendez, Ph.D., is a master certified coach and has coached leaders, teams, and organizations for more than 25 years. She specializes in executive coaching, leadership development, and culture change in large organizations.

Review:

“[I]f you are curious about the life coaching profession, Williams and Menendez’s resource is a thorough one. The book provides a deeper understanding of the field along with the techniques and skills necessary to join it. . . . I found it useful as a way to learn more about the field of life coaching in general ― and even to learn techniques I can use on myself.”
- PsychCentral

“As a career counselor in private practice, I am always on the lookout for new tools and techniques to use with my clients. [This book] did not disappoint me. The book contains practical reminders of the basics of coaching and new ideas for improving coaching practices. . . . The authors guide readers through the fundamentals of coaching and do a great job in pointing out how counseling and coaching are similar and how they are different. . . . Readers obtain a potpourri of advice for becoming life coaches, as well as a refresher course on a number of important psychological theories and practices. They should find this book a pragmatic reference to accompany them on their transition from counseling to coaching.”
- PsycCRITIQUES

“What a resource! This is the definitive book on life coaching, as useful to the master coach as it is to the novice. An essential book worth owning!”
- Richard J. Leider, Founder & Chairman, The Inventure Group, and author of The Power of Purpose and Repacking Your Bags

“This is the definitive book on how to become a whole-person life coach. Taking theory to practicality, it gives readers basic to advanced steps for using coaching as a paradigm for any changes or goals their clients may desire. Many helping professionals now say they are coaching . . . this book will teach them the key competencies for doing it.”
- Hale Dwoskin, author of New York Times Bestseller, The Sedona Method: Your Key to Lasting Happiness, Success, Peace, and Emotional Well-Being

“For anyone considering coaching or considering hiring a coach this book is the best way to get the clearest, most complete understanding of the process. Step by step the reader is taken from theory to real-world examples and finally to practical exercises offering helpful strategies. I have already begun to apply these insights to my own clients. Becoming a Professional Life Coach is a resource I will return to again and again on a regular basis.”
- Rich Tafel, Executive Coach and President of RLT Strategies