A life coach functions as a professional mentor who helps clients navigate challenges to reach their goals. Life coaching is a results-oriented process that can help empower people to live the life they envision, whether personally or professionally. A life coach provides support and encouragement, along with assistance troubleshooting various problems that may arise as clients work toward their goals.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

Life coaching is similar to therapy, and indeed, many counseling professionals and social workers transition to a second career in life coaching.^{(See disclaimer 2)} However, the two fields are distinctly different. Whereas a therapist focuses on helping people work through psychological trauma, a life coach focuses on achieving goals and navigating life transitions.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

People generally work with life coaches because they’re feeling stuck or stressed out and are looking for greater meaning in life, or because they want some help to reach the next level in their professional lives. A life coach can work with clients struggling with many different aspects of life, including:^{(See disclaimer 3)}

• Relationships and social life
• Careers
• Habits
• Health
• Creativity

Sometimes, a person might go to a life coach who specializes in a particular area. A few examples include the following:^{(See disclaimer 3)}

• An executive life coach can work with business professionals to help them learn better leadership and interpersonal skills to use at work.
• A career-focused life coach can help people who are feeling stuck at work.
• A dating and relationship life coach can work with individuals who have trouble finding dates and/or building relationships.
• A diet and fitness coach is not a dietitian or a personal trainer but can help people maintain the motivation to continue with their weight loss program.
• A sports coach can help athletes work toward their sports-related goals and cope with public pressure.

There are also financial life coaches,^{(See disclaimer 3)} who may help people acquire the self-discipline necessary to stick to a budget.

To better understand the answer to the questions, What is a life coach and why do people work with life coaches? It can be helpful to take a closer look at the benefits that life coaching offers.

These benefits can include:^{(See disclaimer 3)}

• Gaining a new perspective on one’s problems
• Addressing underlying anxieties and fears
• Improving work-life balance
• Achieving financial security
• Developing better relationships with loved ones
• Being more satisfied at work
• Being held accountable for reaching goals
• Enhancing self-awareness and self-confidence

A life coach asks open-ended questions and offers insights to help clients set goals and reach them. The goal of most coaching work is to help the client make changes to shift their lives and careers.

What does a life coach do, specifically? Because every client and type of coaching is different, no one day looks the same for a life coach. There are some commonalities, however.

1. Coaching

During an initial session with a life coach, clients will be asked to talk about their reason for booking the appointment. Are they feeling stuck? Do they need help navigating a major life transition? Do they need to improve soft skills or figure out the next step in their career?

A life coach will guide the client through the identification of specific and measurable goals. Then, they’ll discuss what the client can do to achieve those goals. A life coach may give the client specific tasks or homework to complete between sessions, which can help them work toward their goals.

During subsequent sessions, clients will report on their progress and discuss any new problems that may have arisen. They’ll ask questions and answer open-ended questions posed by the coach.

Coaching can take place on the phone, via videoconferencing, in person and even over text and email. This flexibility allows coaches to work with people in a range of geographic locations.

2. Following Up

Some life coaches may offer follow-up services between appointments. For example, the coach may send text messages or emails to the client for greater accountability. These texts and emails may contain encouraging and inspirational messages or reminders of what the client is supposed to be working on.

Some coaches may also provide informational content, such as articles, tutorials or other materials that are relevant to the client’s situation and can help provide additional insight.

3. Advertising and Paperwork

Because coaching is usually an entrepreneurial venture, coaches have to take time to build their businesses. This involves maintaining an online presence by writing blogs, updating social media and answering emails. They may also need to develop marketing strategies like promotions, courses or webinars. Life coaches may also need to work on preparing contracts, new client information packets and other office work.

4. Networking

Networking is important for virtually every career field. Life coaches may network with each other for continued professional development and brainstorming. They may share client concerns or roadblocks and get feedback from colleagues.

Coaches might also attend events where they might meet potential clients. For example, small business and executive coaches could attend business conferences and local Chamber of Commerce meetings.

5. Practicing Self-Care

Coaches spend a lot of time helping other people with their problems. They have to be empathetic^{(See disclaimer 4)} in order to envision themselves in the client’s shoes and provide sound guidance.

As a result, it’s possible for a life coach to suffer professional burnout unless they invest time in taking care of themselves. Self-care activities for life coaches may include working out, yoga, meditation, making time for breaks, getting out into nature, eating well and establishing professional boundaries.

What is a life coach’s most important skill? Life coaches can benefit from having a diverse set of skills and personal characteristics that can help them connect with clients and motivate them to reach their goals.

Prospective coaches may practice some of these skills during a life coach certification program. The general life coach requirements can include the following:

Empathy

To be a great life coach, you need to be an empathetic, compassionate individual who approaches every client’s dilemmas with understanding.^{(See disclaimer 4)} Your clients will need to feel confident that they can come to you with any challenge they are facing.

Some of your clients might be struggling to decide whether to switch careers, go back to school to earn a graduate degree or perhaps even to report harassment in the workplace. By treating each client with the compassionate empathy they deserve, you will be better able to see the situation from their perspective.

Active Listening

If you become a life coach, you will spend much of your days listening to your clients, so active listening skills are a must-have for pursuing a life coach career.^{(See disclaimer 4)} Active listening involves much more than just hearing and understanding speech. It requires that you focus all your attention on your client.

Additionally, active listening requires looking beyond verbal language. Sometimes, clients do not share all the information they should about the problems they are experiencing. They might be embarrassed about something, or they might be confused about how their personal lives can affect their business lives. It will be your job to look for the hidden cues that can tell you what is really going on.

Problem-Solving

Life coaches do not need to have all the answers, but they are quite good at problem-solving and brainstorming solutions. An effective life coach is a creative individual who enjoys thinking outside of the box.^{(See disclaimer 4)}

People usually turn to life coaches when they need help figuring out their goals, achieving their goals or overcoming obstacles in their lives. It will be your job to fully understand the situation and then offer actionable suggestions to help your clients achieve personal growth.

Grand Canyon University can help support you as you pursue a life coach career. Our programs explore the specific techniques, skills and coaching strategies that you can use when working one-on-one with individuals and with groups of people at organizations. It’s an applied, hands-on approach that also integrates the Christian worldview and focuses on professional ethics.

If life coaching sounds like a field you’d be interested in pursuing, check out the Master of Science in Psychology with an Emphasis in Life Coaching degree at Grand Canyon University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences. We also offer a Graduate Certificate of Completion in Life Coaching. GCU provides flexible academic options; both programs are available via online coursework, and the MS is also available via on-campus evening cohorts.