Coaching, mentoring, counseling and consulting are the same: truth or myth? Read More ›

Life coaching at its best is demonstrated when we connect fully and deeply with our client and we engage in active listening and powerful questioning while being fully present with our client.  Life coaching is about establishing trust and intimacy with our client where we create a safe place for our clients’ dreams to come to life.

Life coaching is “about relationship.”   And, Christian life coaching at its core is centered around our personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who was, and is, the perfect role model for “relationship”. I believe Christian Life Coaching is living out God’s Greatest Commandment to love God first,  love ourselves and love others.  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, “Love your neighbor as yourself. ” (Matthew 22:37-39)

In secular coaching, the focus is about helping clients get from where they are to where they want to be. Christian Coaching is about helping clients get from where they are to where God wants them to be. What a great way to begin a New Year.. What does God want me to do for His Glory, for His Kingdom?

Relationships and Your New Year’s Resolutions

On December 29th, the Wall Street Journal published an article, “Making 2011 the Year of Great Relationships“, a timely and thought provoking one for me as I ponder my own New Year’s resolutions.  So, I ask the question “What if?” — What if we each made a commitment to making the new year about building and nurturing our personal and professional relationships, beginning first with our relationship with God and then extend outward?  What would it look like in our families, churches, businesses, communities?  What would the world look like if each of us are intentional about building stronger relationships?

The author, Elizabeth Bernstein writes “Increasingly, experts have been telling us how important social bonds are to well-being, affecting everything from how our brains process information to how our bodies respond to stress. People with strong connections to others may live longer. The quality of our relationships is the single biggest predictor of our happiness.”  I would like to add to this by saying, in my opinion, the quality of our relationship with God is the single biggest predictor of our happiness as it is the foundation for how we relate to others.

Relationships and Life Coaching – Improving Your Relationships

Christian Life coaching is about getting from where we are to where God wants us to be and for some of us, we have a gap in where we are in our relationship with Jesus. and where He wants us to be. Most likely, we have a gap in where we are in relationship with our families, friends, communities and business relationships.  What would it look like if we each made building stronger relationships a top priority for 2011, starting with the most important relationship, our relationship with Jesus Christ?   How can an improved relationship with Jesus impact the relationships you have with others? What is one action you can take today to improve a relationship with someone?  How willing are you to take that step?

Relationships, Life Coaching and DISC

Watch for my next post on how DISC can be used as a life coaching tool to enhance our relationships.

You made the commitment and hired a coach and you want to get maximum results from your sessions.  Your  sessions will most likely be anywhere from thirty minutes to one hour at various fees depending on your niche and other factors (honestly the answer when it comes to rates is “It depends”) Prior to your first session, your coach will probably send an intake package to learn more about you and where you are today in relation to your goals.  Some may ask you to take one or more assessments to help both of you gain greater insights into  your personality, values, motivators,  communication and spiritual journey.

In preparation for the weekly session, most coaches use a weekly prep form. I use a form regularly with my clients and it is simple and to the point. I keep it simple and basically  want the answer to 3 questions.   I ask 1) what went well the past week 2) where you had challenges  and 3) where you want to focus the time on our upcoming session.   Remember, you (the client) set the agenda so be specific on where you want to focus.   Spend a few minutes of quiet time prior to each session and come prepared.

Coaching is a lot about change and forward movement.  Your coach will partner with you, ask lots of powerful discovery questions, even challenge you as needed.  Your coach will help you develop support structures and accountability and sometimes make requests for you to take specific actions.   If you say yes to a request, get into the habit to follow through on your commitments to get the most of the coaching relationship.  If you know you will not be able to meet the request, be open and honest with your coach.  You hired a coach to get maximum results that you have not been able to accomplish on your own.  Be prepared to be challenged.  Your coach wants the best for you, and wants you to be successful. It ‘s about YOU, not the coach so be true to yourself.

Your coach will ask you for feedback along the way and I encourage you to give feedback on what is working for you in the coach relationship, and what isn’t working for you. Sometimes you may find that you work well with a coach and the relationship may last months or even longer.   This is a partnership and when it works well, be prepared to see major positive changes take place.  Celebrate with your coach the milestones along the way.

How have you worked in a coaching relationships as a coach or as a client? What worked well?  What didn’t work well?