How can you develop a daily Life Coaching mindset?

A coach must understand their place in this world and have a growth oriented mindset grounded in empathy. Only such a person can prioritise the development and growth of another and make a difference. I think this is the essential mindset for anyone taking up this as a profession. We are facilitators and do not create changes. It is important to remember this too.

I’m so grateful to find my career in coaching, though I came to it later in life. I try to give back to the world by sharing my coaching skills. I use my abilities by engaging with others as I would a client. I learned a technique during my coach training called The Cocktail Party. It is a fun exercise I use to stay sharp as a coach. I pretend I’m at a cocktail party and trying to get to know the person I’m with. I share who I am by explaining how coaching helps people, but more importantly, I keep the focus on them. I ask many of the lighter questions of coaching. This always leads to learning something interesting about them! They feel good that someone was so attentive, and I feel blessed in having had this deeper interaction.

Becoming a coach because it's the new thing in the market will not help to really excel. A deep sense of passion, willingness to serve, make an impact, desire to grow and develop the ability of influence are some of the critical factors for it.

Curiosity helps you be a better listener as well. Once you have cultivated curiosity, you actually seek people’s insights, stories, and revelations about themselves and actively listen to them. Your questions become powerful because you are curious about what’s next in the chain of events of the person who is talking. It’s certainly an aspect of being a lifelong learner.

Before you become a coach to anyone else (especially Clients); you got to be a Coach to yourself. You got to take yourself through the coaching journey that you want to take your clients through. You got to become your own first client and attain a very high level of self-awareness. Without doing it first, a coach will simply be shooting in the dark

Feedback has always been the breakfast of the champions. In case of a coach, the feedback can come from clients (this is more subtle and indirect, got to be very sensitive to gauge and capture it) and it can also come from peers and fellow coaches with whom you feel comfortable, helping each other grow.

Coaching can make a deep impact on the person receiving it (and also the person imparting). Don't become a coach if you cannot commit to the growth and development of another person.