Lisa Read | Life Coaching Q&A

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What are the benefits of having a coach?

How does coaching work in practice?

How do I contact Lisa Read Life Coaching?

What is Life Coaching?

“I didn't really know what to expect, but what I got was a great deal…”

Coaching is a conversation between a coach and a client in which the coach is there to provide an objective sounding board for the client to develop their own ideas. A coach provides support and motivation to their clients, whilst encouraging them to think for themselves and take action. The type of coaching I use is known as ‘non-directive’; this means I do not assume a position of authority, rather that I believe in my clients’ capabilities and creativity and allow them to set their own agenda. However, I may well set you tasks depending on your situation.
These will be designed to help you move closer to achieving all the things you want to achieve.
I will also expect you to do the things you say you are going to do. Life coaching is about taking personal responsibility for your life.

What are the benefits of having a coach?

There are a number of benefits to having a coach. The late Thomas J Leonard, founder of the celebrated Coachville website has identified the top ten reasons as being:

1. You will set far better goals that motivate you.

>Your coach will help you to identify and set the goals that you really want, not the shoulds, pipedreams and goals of your parents or society. Your coach will help you clarify your personal values, so that you have something really solid on which to develop your goals. When your goals are based on the things you value most, they are more naturally motivating.

2. Accomplish goals, tasks and projects much more quickly.

You can learn how to be far more effective, efficient and productive in everything that you do.

3. Make fewer mistakes in your business life or in your personal life.

With a coach, you don't have to learn everything from your mistakes. This takes too long and is expensive! Mistakes are more costly nowadays what with the greater pace of change. Your coach will keep an eye on you and help you make better decisions, reducing the risk of mistakes. Working with a coach can be like taking out insurance against making mistakes!

4. Move up to the next level of your professional and personal life.

Almost everybody is moving up a ladder of some sort - business success, personal development, awareness and emotional balance, for example. Your coach can help you see where you are right now and point out ways to grow and get where you want to get to. Or, if you're not even on the ladder, the coach can guide you to the right one, or at least the one that's leaning against the right wall, and help you get started on your path (please excuse the mixed metaphors!).

5. Reduce the number of problems you have and better resolve those that are left.

The first step in solving a problem is to ask yourself why you have this problem at all. The second step is to ask yourself why you have problems at all. The third step is to get on track to having no problems - being a Problem Free Zone (PFZ). This is not a joke. Being a PFZ is becoming even more important along the path of sustainable success. Life's too short and problems are too expensive.

6. Make more money in your career, profession or business.

Clients don't keep paying their coaches just for the fun of it. Although money isn't everything, coaching can help you to improve the financial bottom line. You can work with your coach on, for example, getting a raise, choosing a better career, starting a business, improving profitability, adding more value to your customers, proper pricing, productivity and more.

7. You'll be a lot happier and this happiness will last.

Coaches know how to help you to reduce stress, integrate all aspects of your life, simplify or downshift, and reorient around what makes you the happiest. What good is increased productivity and profitability if you're not happy?

8. You'll be much more effective and influential with others: family, business and personal relationships.

A coach can help you to come across better, relate well with others, listen aggressively, influence, coach, motivate and support others.

9. You'll become much more attractive to others - on the inside and on the outside.

Selling, as a profession and as a proven technique/process, is having to change dramatically. Why? Because humans are getting better at choosing for themselves and buying better. Humans will respond less to advertising and selling techniques and instead be drawn to a product or service and they will be more likely drawn because of who is offering the product or service. This process has been called attraction - and it's real. It works. And it will replace much of the promotion, marketing, selling, seducing and other very expensive budget items. Attraction is the next generation of selling and the well-trained coach can help you and your business get on this track immediately.

10. You'll have a better life, not just a better lifestyle.

The term Quality of Life has become overused in the past few years, but the trend of seeking to create a much better life is accelerating. In fact, people are re-examining what they had assumed that a good life was (married, 2.3 kids, nice car, secure job, 4 weeks of vacation a year) and are now creating their own life, often breaking the rules and flying in the face of conventional wisdom in the process. © www.coachvile.com

See my testimonials page for more information about what my clients have gained from being coached.

How does coaching work in practice?

Most of my sessions are conducted over the phone. I do this for a number of reasons: firstly it is the most time-efficient, because lets face it, not many of us have lots of free time. You don’t have any travel expenses or the time incurred travelling to and from a session to make up for. You can choose a time that suits you* and even be coached during the evenings or early mornings. Face to face sessions are available should you prefer them, in a neutral location in Sheffield.

*subject to my working hours

How long do sessions take?

Sessions are a minimum of 40 minutes, up to two hours long. The initial session is usually the longest, during which I will gather information about you and help you to identify what you expect to gain from coaching. After this session it is up to you how many sessions you would like to have, although typically clients work with a coach for between three and six months.

How much does coaching cost?

Please refer to my fees page for up-to-date information about the cost of coaching sessions.

How should I choose a coach?

Choosing the coach you want to work with is very personal to you, but essentially you need to be able to speak openly and easily to your coach about subjects which may be deeply personal to you. Good coaches should be well trained, continue to learn about coaching on a regular basis, and be willing to apply their knowledge to their own lives. When it comes down to it, I’d advise anyone thinking about coaching to give the coach a call and see if you can get on with them.

I am a person, just like you. I understand that to call someone up and ask about coaching could be a bit daunting. You may have questions in your mind such as: ‘What if the person at the other end of the phone is some scary power hungry woman who’s going to make me feel like a failure?’, or ‘Am I going to be pressured into signing up for something I don’t really want?’ I want to assure you that if you ring me I will be more than happy to answer your questions regardless of whether you book a session or not. And I will never hassle you to sign up for coaching sessions, you are completely in control of the situation. I will treat you how I would like to be treated myself, with warmth, kindness and respect.

How do I contact Lisa Read Life Coaching?

Plesae visit my contact page.

What else do I need to know?

• Life Coaching is 100% Confidential, and you can be assured that whatever you wish to discuss you are not being judged in any way.

• I comply fully with The Coaching Academy’s Code of Ethics. To see a copy of this click here

• Any records about you are for my personal records only and will not be passed on to any other person or company.