This is a review of the book, “Becoming a Professional Life Coach.” Even the introduction to this book is essential reading for life coaches. Citing the men, women, theories, and techniques that form the basis of what is today known as life coaching, the introduction skillfully summarizes the knowledge that we all—to one degree or another—now depend on.
For me, it was fascinating to learn that the history of coaching dates back as far as ancient Greece, with philosophers such as Socrates and Plato. “The unexamined life is not worth living.” (Socrates). And I was astonished at how many theorists, writers, and scientists have contributed to the wealth of knowledge we now have about life coaching.
The book covers practically everything a life coach would need to know about coaching a client. Each technique is clearly explained and includes real-life examples. Not only does the book lay out each coaching skill in detail, such as the six types of conversations you can have with a client (to empower them), but it also gives the coach hypothetical cases to consider, and questions to ask themselves about how they would use the particular technique as they are learning it.
Parts 1 and 2 of the book go over the fundamentals of life coaching, and general principles that can be applied to most coaching situations. I found the section on the three levels of listening especially valuable.
Part 3 is essentially a learning and coaching course where the coach can actually go through the methods and do the comprehensive exercises to see how they will work on a client. And the coach can then use the methods and exercises with their own clients. Some of the topics included in these methods are “What Gets in Your Way,” “Walk the Talk”, and “Play Full Out”. Each chapter in this section could be a book in itself about how to live your life, because they cover coachable ideas that can be added to deepen one’s life experience.
It’s important that a coach experience coaching before they coach others, so they can better understand their client’s position when being coached. This book facilitates that very well by the skillful way that it’s organized.
In my opinion, every life coach who is serious about learning and improving his or her coaching skills should read this comprehensive book. They will be able to continue to use it as a reference for their entire coaching career.
You can get your copy on Amazon HERE.
