Time Management

Life Coaching Essentials Corporate Training Materials.

[Audio] Life coaching is a growing industry that transcends typical counseling, therapy, and even mentoring. The goal of life coaching is to address personal goals, aspirations and relationships and how they work in a person's life. The key is to discover which obstacles the client can overcome and which paths will lead them to their own success..

[Audio] Determine the purpose of life coaching Define benefits of life coaching Know the tools and techniques for life coaching Outline a life coaching session Know the different areas of life coaching.

[Audio] Many people often mistake a life coach for a mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or a therapist. This misconception often lead people to believe they do not need a life coach since they feel as though nothing is wrong with their mental health. However, a life coach is designed to help improve a person's professional and personal life by working with them to achieve their goals..

[Audio] Life coaching is about encouraging and empowering the client in their personal and professional life. One of the biggest problems many people face is a difficulty to make life decisions. Some maybe minor, such as deciding to join a gym or repaint your house, while other decisions can be major, such as a decision to start a business or change careers. People have different reasons for being afraid to make decisions, whether they are scared the decision will be the wrong one or that they may let themselves or someone else down with whatever they choose. While life coaches are not intended to make the decisions for the client, they are meant to guide the client and inform them about their choices and the pros and cons of their decisions – which enables the client to work toward making their own choices..

[Audio] Life coaches can be a great tool in many areas, especially for getting assistance with organizing and prioritizing a client's projects and deadlines. For some clients, they are unable to organize and prioritize the different aspects of their life, including work and personal business. When they cannot get these affairs in order, deadlines and timelines are often missed or projects are forgotten altogether. A life coach can help the client take a look at everything happening in their lives and determine what is most important to accomplish and what they want to work in or out of their schedules. It also helps the client to feel less overwhelmed with their schedule and feel more empowered to tackle what they need to get done in their own timeframe..

[Audio] Every person will come across some form of urgent or high risk situation in their life. For some people, they need help finding out how to cope with these situations and how to overcome them. These types of situations can cause a large amount of anxiety and can put a lot of pressure on a purpose – which usually makes them shut down and avoid facing the problem. For a life coach, the goal is to help the client focus on the problem at hand and make them realize the options they have at their disposal – but can very quickly use. The focus goes back to making key decisions and prioritizing different aspects. A life coach can help the client recognize an urgent or high risk situation while giving them the tools to address the situation and remain calm while working through them..

[Audio] It is important to have a healthy balance between our professional and personal lives – one area should never overpower the other. But, with many people, finding the right balance that works for them is the hard part. Some people find they spend too much time in this personal life and 'blow off' their work responsibilities. Others are just the opposite in that they spend too much time at work and forget to pay attention to their personal lives outside of the office. Life coaches know this is generally defined as a life balance - a balance between major aspects in our lives. When client feel their life balance is outweighed by one area or another, they seek help from a life coach for ways to make things more even. A life coach can use a variety of tools to help the client create organization in their life and ultimately create a plan of action to help them sort out their own life balance and what works best for them..

[Audio] Jenny was struggling with problems in different areas of her life. She knows that she spends too much time at work and doesn't pay enough attention to her personal life and is having trouble prioritizing the different projects she has to handle. She is beginning to feel overwhelmed, so she talks with her friend, Kayla, and tells her how she is feeling. Kayla suggests that Jenny should see a life coach in the area and let them help her. Kayla explained that they would be able to help Jenny prioritize the different areas of her life, help her create a better life balance and can make her feel better about herself. Jenny liked the idea and said she would sign up with a life coach right away..

Module Two: Review Questions. 1. Life coaching is designed to make clients feel what? Empowered. Stupid. Selfish. Lazy. 2. What is one reason a person may need a life coach? They have trouble making decisions. They have recently changed jobs. They have anxieties. All of the above..

Module Two: Review Questions. 3. What can happen if a client does not prioritize their projects or duties? They find they have more free time. They can miss deadlines. They get more work done. They have more energy. 4. One benefit of prioritizing a client’s projects and timelines is what? They become bored easily. They can have their coworkers finish their duties. They are able to take on more work. They feel less overwhelmed..

Module Two: Review Questions. 5. Urgent situations are also classified as what? Panic attacks. Stress episodes. High risk situations. Meltdowns. 6. Urgent situations have a risk of causing what in clients? Calm. Anxiety. Boredom. Confidence..

Module Two: Review Questions. 7. A balance between major aspects of life is known as what? Life cooking pot. Life timeline. Life puzzle. Life balance. 8. One way to correct a lack of balance is to do what? Become more organized. Stop trying to finish projects. Work less hours. Change jobs..

Module Two: Review Questions. 9. What is one problem Jenny was struggling with? She was fighting with her husband. A lack of work ethic. A lack of life balance. She wanted to retire. 10. What is one method Kayla suggested Jenny use to solve her problem? Change jobs. Hire a life coach. Talk to their manager. Get divorced..

Module Two: Review Questions. 1. Life coaching is designed to make clients feel what? Empowered. Stupid. Selfish. Lazy. Life coaching is a field of therapy designed to empower, encourage and support their clients into becoming more confident and assured in their life. 2. What is one reason a person may need a life coach? They have trouble making decisions. They have recently changed jobs. They have anxieties. All of the above. A client may need a life coach for a variety of reasons in either their professional or personal lives. A life coach can help a client solve dilemmas or problems, offer advice or support on decisions and can help the client become more confident and empowered about what they want..

Module Two: Review Questions. 3. What can happen if a client does not prioritize their projects or duties? They find they have more free time. They can miss deadlines. They get more work done. They have more energy. If a client is unable to prioritize their projects and responsibilities, they are often overwhelmed with everything on their to-do list. This can lead to client becoming unaware that something is due or needs to be completed, causing them to miss the deadline altogether. 4. One benefit of prioritizing a client’s projects and timelines is what? They become bored easily. They can have their coworkers finish their duties. They are able to take on more work. They feel less overwhelmed. When a client is able to take time to prioritize and time the number of duties and projects that they have, they will feel less overwhelmed by it all because they have outlined what needs to be done and when..

Module Two: Review Questions. 5. Urgent situations are also classified as what? Panic attacks. Stress episodes. High risk situations. Meltdowns. Urgent situations in a client’s life are times of stress and anxiety that have to be dealt with right away. They are also known as high risk situations because the high stress can cause the client to make risky, hasty decisions. 6. Urgent situations have a risk of causing what in clients? Calm. Anxiety. Boredom. Confidence. High risk situations will almost always cause high levels of stress, tension and anxiety in clients. Clients often have trouble making decisions in these types of conditions. ..

Module Two: Review Questions. 7. A balance between major aspects of life is known as what? Life cooking pot. Life timeline. Life puzzle. Life balance. Life balance is known as the balance between the major aspects of life, which normally include one’s personal life and work or career . 8. One way to correct a lack of balance is to do what? Become more organized. Stop trying to finish projects. Work less hours. Change jobs. One way a client can correct a lack of balance in their life is to become better organized. Better organization allows the client to better handle the various parts of their personal life as well as their professional life..

Module Two: Review Questions. 9. What is one problem Jenny was struggling with? She was fighting with her husband. A lack of work ethic. A lack of life balance. She wanted to retire. Jenny admits that she spends too much time at work and not enough time on her personal life, which is causing her to have a lack of life balance. 10. What is one method Kayla suggested Jenny use to solve her problem? Change jobs. Hire a life coach. Talk to their manager. Get divorced. After listening to Jenny’s problems, Kayla suggested that she hire a life coach. Kayla said the life coach would be able to help Jenny create a better life-work balance and prioritize the different areas of her life..

[Audio] Since many individuals are not aware of what a life coach is or does, they are also not aware of the benefits a life coach has to offer. Life coaches help clients achieve their goals in both their professional and personal life, so the client can benefit from better organization, improved decision skills and even boosted confidence..

[Audio] To some people, a performance target can seem intimidating to set and aim for. But setting a performance target to aim for is similar to establishing a long term goal to work on. Once a person has determined they will set a 'goal' for themselves to complete, they begin to feel more confident and ready to begin the work. One of the first steps a life coach can help with is to establish what performance target, or goal, the client wants to establish. Maybe they want to save more money over a course of several months or maybe they want to change careers by the end of the year. Once the client establishes their target, the life coach can help them work out some sort of guideline or plan to follow to help them reach it..

[Audio] Stress happens to everyone. Unfortunately, not everyone can handle stress and pressure effectively. It's no surprise that many people need help from someone, such as a life coach, to find tools and techniques to handle their stress and pressures. A life coach can help the client examine their life and help understand why they could be feeling this way and what is in their control to change the situation. Then, the life coach can help the client explore their current stress levels and even work to determine the client's stress threshold and identify specific stress triggers. The four A 's of coping with stress: Avoid Alter Adapt Accept.

[Audio] Some of the first steps a client takes with their life coach is to decide what they want in life and establish some form of goal or target. Once they decide what they want and what they want to work toward, the life coach can help the client begin to develop and maintain a vision to carry with them. This vision can make the client's wants and goals become more definite and more long-term. While a life coach cannot make the client work toward their goal or tell them what to do to get there, they can offer the client morale and emotional support, assistance when they are stuck or even a simple confidence booster when the client begins to fall behind. Again, the point of the life coach is not to do the work for the client, but to give the client what they need to succeed on their own and enjoy their own glory..

[Audio] For any person, their own worst enemy is a lack of motivation. Everyone has dreams and goals they want to achieve, but without enough motivation, these dreams and goals will never be reached. Many of us lack our own self-motivation and can find it difficult to remain on track toward our targets. With the help of a life coach, a client can learn tools for self-motivation and stay focused on what they want. When the client begins to lose this motivation and feel as though they are off track, they can consult with their life coach for support and help finding their way again. Tips for staying motivated: Take small steps Make reasonable, obtainable goals Reward yourself Don't be afraid to ask for help.

[Audio] Zack has recently decided to enlist the help of a life coach. He meets with Carrie and they begin to discuss what Zack is seeking to accomplish. Zack has determined he wants to learn better communication skills so that he can progress at work, but he suffers from anxiety when speaking in front of others. Carrie decides to set up a game plan with Zack to help him take one step at a time to learn better communication. She starts by having him attend seminars and events, and then offers various public speaking classes, all while asking Zack to document his progress in a journal or log book. She helps him stay motivated by telling him to take the plan one step at a time and by praising him after each step is completed. Several weeks later, Zack had finished his courses and seminars and was ready to give large presentations at his company. He thanked Carrie for helping him reach his goal and allowing him to gain his much needed skills..

Module Three: Review Questions. 1. A performance target is also known as what? A pain. A goal. A dilemma. A chore. 2. One of the first steps to establish a performance target is to what? Determine the steps to reach it. Outline an action plan. Determine what the client wants. Create milestones..

Module Three: Review Questions. 3. Which of the following is not considered one of the four “As” of coping with stress? Affect. Avoid. Adapt. Accept. 4. One factor of coping with pressure is to determine what? The client’s work schedule. The client’s likes and dislikes. The client’s range of emotions. The client’s pressure threshold..

Module Three: Review Questions. 5. Developing a vision helps a client’s desires __________. Become more laboring. Become more definite. Become more boring. Become more confusing. 6. What can a life coach do to help a client’s vision? Offer support. Create the vision itself. Tell the client how to complete their vision. Do the process for the client..

Module Three: Review Questions. 7. Which of the following is a tool for staying motivated? Try to finish the job quickly. Create fewer, larger steps. Make a lengthy process to follow. Take small steps. 8. Maintaining motivation can help a client do what? Become bored faster. Give in if they want. Stay focused. Become distracted..

Module Three: Review Questions. 9. What was something Zack needed help to accomplish? Becoming more focused at work. Gaining better communication skills. Learning to make better decisions. Changing careers. 10. What did Carrie suggest Zack do to help his goal? Talk to his manager. Volunteer more. Write essays as homework. Attend seminars..

Module Three: Review Questions. 1. A performance target is also known as what? A pain. A goal. A dilemma. A chore. A performance target is another term for a goal, ambition or desire. Life coaches use these terms to help clients define and determine what they want to achieve. 2. One of the first steps to establish a performance target is to what? Determine the steps to reach it. Outline an action plan. Determine what the client wants. Create milestones. When establishing a performance target, the client is essentially establishing the end result of what they are aiming for. So, the client must first determine what they want or want to achieve..

Module Three: Review Questions. 3. Which of the following is not considered one of the four “As” of coping with stress? Affect. Avoid. Adapt. Accept. The four A’s of coping with stress and pressure include Avoid, Accept, Adapt and Alter. Affect is not one of them. 4. One factor of coping with pressure is to determine what? The client’s work schedule. The client’s likes and dislikes. The client’s range of emotions. The client’s pressure threshold. When learning to cope with stress and pressure, the client and life coach must determine the client’s pressure or stress threshold. From this point, the team can determine what the client is capable of handling with help, and at what point they are in over their heads..

Module Three: Review Questions. 5. Developing a vision helps a client’s desires __________. Become more laboring. Become more definite. Become more boring. Become more confusing. When a client creates a vision to maintain all the way through, it makes their goals and desires more concrete and definite, which can keep them motivated to finish. 6. What can a life coach do to help a client’s vision? Offer support. Create the vision itself. Tell the client how to complete their vision. Do the process for the client. Once a client has established some sort of vision, the life coach’s main purpose is to offer advice and support when needed for guidance. They do not create the vision for the client or tell them what to do in the process..

Module Three: Review Questions. 7. Which of the following is a tool for staying motivated? Try to finish the job quickly. Create fewer, larger steps. Make a lengthy process to follow. Take small steps. When helping a client stay motivated in their goals, one tip is to create small steps, also known as milestones, for the client to reach a little at a time. This can make the goal feel less overwhelming and will help the client stay motivated to finish. 8. Maintaining motivation can help a client do what? Become bored faster. Give in if they want. Stay focused. Become distracted. When the client is able to stay motivated throughout a task, their attention and focus remains on that task. They do not let distractions take them away from their goal, so they are able to better maintain motivation until the end..

Module Three: Review Questions. 9. What was something Zack needed help to accomplish? Becoming more focused at work. Gaining better communication skills. Learning to make better decisions. Changing careers. Zack knows he wants to learn better communication skills because he wants to progress at work. However, he has a fear of public speaking. 10. What did Carrie suggest Zack do to help his goal? Talk to his manager. Volunteer more. Write essays as homework. Attend seminars. As Zack’s life coach, Carries suggests that Zack accomplish several things to improve his communication, such as attending seminars and speeches, as well as take communication classes..

[Audio] Like any other venture we take on, life coaching can present with many different challenges. Clients may not be able to commit to someone else's plans or rules, while some people are unwilling or unable to participate. Others may see life coaching as a cure all, and become disappointed when it does not work out. Whatever the challenges, it is up to the client and the life coach to work together to get past them and move forward..

[Audio] One of the biggest challenges any person can face when seeking help or change is the ability to fully commit. Whether it is for work or for their personal life, many people want to change and can even make a plan of action, but will have the most trouble sticking to it until the end. But a life coach is someone who can help the client stay on track and help remain committed to the changes or goals they want. The life coach can offer support and strategies to encourage commitment with the client, which can also encourage motivation and build a sense of drive. It is important that the life coach ensure that the client find their meaning and purpose in their plan to change or take action because this can help them feel confident and motivated to see it all the way through. When they feel personally connected to their actions, they are more willing to stay focused and put in the needed hard work..

[Audio] If a client does not show a lack of commitment, the other major challenge they can face is procrastination. After all, many clients do see their goals or targets as long-term and can feel as though they do not have to do anything at the moment. But this can lead to less and less actions and even a complete stop at some point in the plan. The client must be aware that discipline is a necessary 'evil' in order to get something they want. One of the most common ways to help avoid procrastination is for the client and the life coach set particular steps or small goals to achieve in a set amount of time. These mini-processes can help the client stay focused on the big picture and hopefully avoid any form procrastination or hesitation. By knowing they should follow some sort of timeline with structured events and deadlines, the client is more likely to keep moving forward with self-discipline and self-control – and staying away from any procrastination pitfalls..

[Audio] Poor communication skills are a problem that can affect any relationship and any growing process. Poor communication between the life coach and the client can cause stress and tension for both parties. After all, the life coach cannot help the client if they cannot communicate what they are wanting; and the client cannot work with the life coach if they cannot understand what they are being told. For both parties, it is important that they are actively working towards better communication during every step of the process, such as by providing feedback and offering opinions and advice. When the team practices good communication skills regularly, they will be able to tell when poor communication skills are getting in the way and stop them early on. Tips for good communication: Speak clearly when talking Repeat back what you've heard Encourage feedback Ask questions when needed.

[Audio] One of the most difficult challenges of life coaching- more difficult than procrastination and a lack of commitment - is the client's lack of direction. When a client presents a life coach with a lack of direction, it can leave the life coach stumped as to where to aim them from here. A life coach is supposed to help the client work toward a major goal and create timelines on how to achieve what they want, but if the client does not have a sense of direction as to where they want to go, it can stop the whole process in its tracks. In the beginning, the life coach should assess the client and better identify their personal values, beliefs and needs, as well as any professional or vocational skills. From this, the life coach can form a tentative perspective as to what the client wants to achieve and what they can begin to work toward. Of course the life coach will need a large amount of input from the client in order to build this sense of direction, so it is important to allow the client to speak about themselves and encourage them to share their thoughts and opinions openly..

[Audio] Tai is working with her newest client, Jamie, who set up a game plan to become more organized in his professional life. However, lately Tai has noticed that Jamie has not been meeting the milestones on his timelines and has not been communicating with her about how he is doing. At their next session, Tai confronted Jamie and told him she is concerned that he will not meet his goals if he does not correct the problems he is showing. Jamie admitted that he had been procrastinating and was not adamant about getting his projects completed. Tai worked with Jamie to redefine his goals and re-establish a form of direction to remind him what he wants to achieve. She told him if he does not turn his attitude around now, he would not ever reach his goals..

Module Four: Review Questions. 1. One of the biggest challenges people face when starting life coaching? A sense of boredom. Too much excitement. Changing their schedule. A lack of commitment. 2. It is important that a client do what in order to stay committed? Find a work buddy to help. Find meaning in their vision. Ask their life coach for constant assistance. Do everything by themselves..

Module Four: Review Questions. 3. Which of the following can cause procrastination? A lack of self-discipline. Excess energy. Goal rewards. Positive feedback. 4. One way to avoid procrastination is to do what? Punish themselves when they procrastinate. Do everything at once. Create a realistic timeline. Quit if the client gets behind..

Module Four: Review Questions. 5. What is one tip for improving communication skills? Talk louder. Encourage feedback. Dominate a conversation. Speak less. 6. Poor communication skills can cause what? Tension. Stress. Anxiety. All of the above..

Module Four: Review Questions. 7. A life coach cannot help a client succeed if the client does not have what? A developed game plan. A sense of direction. Large amounts of free time. Money. 8. A client can establish his direction by doing what? Determining what he wants to achieve. Asking his coworkers for advice. Flipping a coin. Asking the life coach what his direction should be..

Module Four: Review Questions. 9. Tai notices that Jamie has not been doing what? Sticking to a study major. Coming to their scheduled sessions. Meeting his milestones. Showing up for work. 10. Jamie admits that he has done what that causes him to not meet his goals? Changed his mind. Moved to a new town. Working more. Procrastinate..

Module Four: Review Questions. 1. One of the biggest challenges people face when starting life coaching? A sense of boredom. Too much excitement. Changing their schedule. A lack of commitment. One of the biggest challenges a person faces when starting life coaching is the lack of commitment. Many clients seek a life coach for help and commit to some sort of plan, but then lack the commitment to complete the work and follow through with the care plan. 2. It is important that a client do what in order to stay committed? Find a work buddy to help. Find meaning in their vision. Ask their life coach for constant assistance. Do everything by themselves. In order for a client to stay committed to their plan and vision, they must first find meaning in it. If the client is unable to do this, and view the plan as meaningless, they will not stay committed long enough to see it through..

Module Four: Review Questions. 3. Which of the following can cause procrastination? A lack of self-discipline. Excess energy. Goal rewards. Positive feedback. Procrastination can be a problem for anyone, and one of the biggest causes of procrastination is a lack of self-discipline. A lack of self-discipline can prevent a client from completing the tasks they need to in order to reach their goal, which allows them to procrastinate getting it done. 4. One way to avoid procrastination is to do what? Punish themselves when they procrastinate. Do everything at once. Create a realistic timeline. Quit if the client gets behind. Procrastination can be had to avoid, but one tip to help is to create a realistic timeline that the client is able to easily commit to and follow. When the timeline and processes are realistic, the client can feel more empowered to complete them, instead of putting them off for later..

Module Four: Review Questions. 5. What is one tip for improving communication skills? Talk louder. Encourage feedback. Dominate a conversation. Speak less. There are many ways to improve communication skills. Some tips include active listening, repeating what you hear (mirroring) and even offering and encouraging feedback. 6. Poor communication skills can cause what? Tension. Stress. Anxiety. All of the above. Poor communication skills can cause a lot of problems between two people. Some problems can include increased tension, stress or anxiety as well as misconception and misunderstandings..

Module Four: Review Questions. 7. A life coach cannot help a client succeed if the client does not have what? A developed game plan. A sense of direction. Large amounts of free time. Money. A life coach is meant to help and support the client on their journey. However, if the client does not have a sense of the direction they want to go, the life coach does not know how to help them move forward and cannot help them succeed. 8. A client can establish his direction by doing what? Determining what he wants to achieve. Asking his coworkers for advice. Flipping a coin. Asking the life coach what his direction should be. A client needs to establish his direction before beginning work with a life coach. One want to find this direction is to determine and identify what he wants to achieve or gain..