Life coach coaching can make a difference in a midlife career change

Life coach coaching brings to my mind the quote:

"We cannot live the afternoon of life according to the programme of life's morning; for what was great in the morning will be little at evening, and what in the morning was true will at evening have become a lie." ~ Carl Jung

In 1996, knowing that my favourite skill I enjoyed using was coaching, I did an Internet search on it and discovered Coach University, one of the pioneer coach training organizations created by the late Thomas Leonard.

My Experience of Working With Life Coaches

Since 1981, I had gone through five career transitions, including practising dentistry for 10 years. Through all those transitions, I always worked with a support person, whether a counsellor, therapist or coach.

To assist me in developing my coaching practice, I hired 3 consecutive life coaches. Whenever I had gone through a transition, my experience was like being in front of a "blank canvass," confronting "nothing," wondering how I was going to live or create my life. I felt stressed. I needed to fill the void!

Having someone to talk to on a weekly basis, who was in my corner, made a huge difference. Each of my coaches, females, offered their "yin" energy - I got more into myself - body, heart, spirit - and out of my mind. They assisted me in connecting to what was most important to me and engaging more fully in life with less of a sense that something was "wrong".

What I appreciated about life coach coaching was that the focus was on all domains of my life - my relationships, well-being, finances, community, business, spiritual development and leisure.

My Experience Working With Coaching Clients

A couple of years ago, a CEO hired me to help him grow his company. Our first couple of sessions had nothing to do with business. He was experiencing a midlife transition and was having conflict with his wife - he wanted a child; she didn't. It was getting in the way of their relationship as well as his business.

In him working through this with me, the matter was resolved after two sessions. The couple decided to buy a puppy!

There was no therapy offered here. In our conversations, something opened up for my client that he was "blind" to before. He let go of his attachment to his position.

While I promote myself as an executive coach dealing with transition issues, the client's entire life is there for examination. Personal life and business life can't be separated if the coaching is going to be effective. In my view, life coach coaching needs to be included in most coaching interventions in which there's a long term outcome to be accomplished.

Check out what life coach coaching may be useful for in terms of midlifers dealing with symptoms that aren't familiar to them.

Recommendations in Hiring a Life Coach

1. Clarify for yourself what you're looking for in a coach - skills, experience, training, personality, way of communicating; for most people, certification isn't important; it may be important for you.
2. Determine for yourself whether you prefer that the coaching takes place face-to-face or over the phone or a combination of the two. Perhaps you would prefer group coaching.
3. Ask people in your network, who they would recommend.
4. Visit the International Coach Federation website.
5. Interview at least three life coaches. Some offer complimentary first sessions.
6. Choose one and give the process at least three months and preferably six.


Listen to this

lively conversation between Dr. Frank and myself about life coach coaching.
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visit our midlife crisis coping podcast page.