If you know me, you know that I am passionate about coaching and I speak often about our MISSION – to see that everyone has coaching skills. What fuels this passion? First and foremost, it is the positive impact coaching has on the personal and professional lives of those who take the skills development courses and do the work.
There is another reason I am excited about coaching but one that gets mentioned less often. This has to do with the tremendous number of opportunities and the many paths that one can take in the field of coaching. Individuals who enter the coaching field come from diverse backgrounds, with different educations and their own set of goals but tend to share a common passion for helping others achieve their best. I think this is one of the reasons that coaching attracts so many high quality and truly awesome people. Just as people enter coaching with differences, the field of coaching provides many different opportunities to allow each person to follow his/her passion for helping others in ways that fit with their own goals, personality, life style and needs. That is truly powerful.
Many people think coaching is for someone that wants to be a Solopreneur; a person that wants to start their own business, build a clientele, work virtually etc. And that is definitely one common path. But that is certainly not the only path.
Another option is to pursue Coaching Within Organizations; this involves coaching employees, using coach like skills within an organization to lead others and help them achieve their best. Most often this starts with mid-level to senior-level managers but often permeates the organization at all levels and in all functional areas.
A third path, and one that is not as commonly considered, is to become a Coaching Educator. In this path you are educating others, helping them develop coaching skills rather than coaching per se. Of course, you are using your coaching skills in the education process.
Again, one of the great things about coaching is that these different paths are not mutually exclusive. You can pursue one or a blend. To help you sort through the options and determine the best fit for you I’ve created this Quick Guide to help you compare and contrast the three paths. The guide and attributes listed are just one way to think about the different paths.
Coaching Paths: A Quick Guide
