Need a purpose? Consider being a personal coach

Businesses are moving away from an over-reliance on computers and automation by seeking to personalize jobs to enable people to build on their strengths, according to Brendan Murphy, a tutor with the University College Dublin who trains other coaches.

It’s about time. Too many companies have been co-opted by bean counters who look only to maximize efficiency. When humans are treated like robots, is it any wonder why they bolt corporate life to pursue self-employment?

“It’s all about personalization now. People are looking for purpose and meaning in their work and coaching is key to that,” Brendan told Business Plus.

Coaching opens a lot of doors for people over 50. For a long time, companies have ignored personal development in favor of automation. They are finally realizing that it’s humans who come up with new ideas and either develop growth strategies or respond to setbacks and increased competition. However, by neglecting personal development, many executives never achieved their full potential.

An executive coach, coach tutor or professional trainer works with individuals one-on-one to create positive change, the article explained.

Coaching is not about training people or telling them what to do. It’s all about getting people to ask themselves the right questions, Brendan explained.

“What do I want to achieve? What’s getting in the way? Who might help? It’s about bringing the best out in people,” said Brendan. “If you are the type of leader who coaches people, you will have an empowered team of self-starters.”

Because companies have neglected personal development for so long, executives are hungry for it. The best coaches are those who can listen and offer suggestions based on their own research and, more importantly, their personal experience.

People over 50 who are looking for purpose for their lives may consider coaching as a way to keep active and, perhaps, bring in extra income. Coaching is an excellent way to put your strengths, talents and personal experiences to work by helping others.

Coaches can provide insight and direction to help people with difficult situations in the workplace, at home and in their personal lives. The most successful people I know have received coaching along the way.

“It’s amazing what can happen in a 20-minute session when people get honest feedback on what they are doing well and what they might need to pay attention to,” said Brendan. “People come out with a sense of where they are going, where they want to go, how they are going to get there, and when.”

One of the best books I have read about how to be an effective coach is “The Prosperous Coach” by Steve Chandler and Rich Litvin. Not only does the book offer good advice about setting up a coaching business, but the authors provide practical examples of how to be a better coach, too.

The book description on Amazon explains, “Show your clients what they cannot see. Say to your clients what no one else would dare to say. And you will have all the clients you ever desire.”

Personally, I think it is far more effective for someone to go through several weeks of effective coaching with the right mentor than it is to go back to a university to get more meaningless cultural indoctrination while learning obsolete skills taught by people who understand theory, but have little clue about how the real world works.

The full article about Brendan can be found at www.businessplus.ie.