Coaching Blog

 

Post by Julia Stewart, MCC

A really cool problem to have (in the sense that it's the kind of problem you WANT to have) is to not know how to set your life coaching fees (or business or executive coaching fees, as the case may be).

There are many approaches to setting your coaching fees, some psychological (what's the highest fee you can say out loud without gagging?) to financial (how much do you need to cover your business and living expenses, plus benefits, etc.?) to whimsical (how much do you WANT to charge?).

What most new coaches really want to know is, 'Am I worth it?', 'Am I credible?', 'Will they laugh at me?' These are great concerns to talk about with your own coach.

If you don't have clarity about your fees, you probably won't sign on paying clients. Either people will shy away, because you seem uncertain, or you'll hold back on offering your services, because you're confused. That's expensive, so get it cleared up.

One of my EMCHA clients asked me about this recently and I decided to design a class for him that covers it thoroughly, because coaching around a topic like this is important, but sometimes some plain, old-fashioned information helps, too.

This live one-time-only class is free to SCM members and it's also available for a small fee to others.

[UPDATE: This class is now over and is no longer available to non-SCM coaches. However, you can learn some of what we covered by downloading the FREE Life Coach Salary eBook, below]

Learn to set your coaching fees with confidence here:

 

 

 

Blog post by Coach Julia Stewart, MCC

There are two groups of coaches that School of Coaching Mastery hasn't focused on enough.

 

1. The first group includes:

• Coaches for whom our class schedules just don't work (Often they're located in Asia or the Pacific Rim)
• Coaches who learn best by reading and listening to audio recordings
• Coaches who want great coach training for less money

These coaches can benefit from the 24/7 availability of pre-recorded MP3 coach training audios and downloadable written coaching guides. SCM has all that for our coach training students, but we're about to make it available in a new program called Just In Time Coach Training.

2. The second group includes what I call, 'High Achievers who want meaningful success'.They are my ideal coaching clients:

• Coaches who are already succeeding at something and don't have time for endless hours of training
• Coaches who want to succeed at coaching quickly and need a personalized program to do so
• Coaches who want personal mentor coaching and personalized coach training to maximize their time, effort and money

I've been coaching clients like these on the side for years, but just made it formally available in a program called Elite Mentor Coaching for High Achievers (EMCHA). And it's going so well that I'm opening it up to three more coaches. EMCHA includes everything that I think you need to succeed, no more no less. Of course, you add your brilliance and you're the one taking action.

I started School of Coaching Mastery in part because many of my mentees really needed more training. But then some of my coach training students have struggled because they didn't have mentor coaches. With EMCHA, you have it all.

What do these two really different coach training programs have in common?

• They both include Just In Time (JIT) Coach Training
• They both include optional live training:
• EMCHA members get free SCM Curriculum coach training personally curated by me for them
• JIT members can join any SCM Curriculum coach training module at $40% off
• They both have special introductory pricing right now
• The special prices are available to a limited number of coaches between now and October 31st

Go here to learn more about Just In Time Coach Training and register:

 

 

 

Go here to learn about the special offer for the next three members of Elite Mentor Coaching for High Achievers.

Go here for more about Elite Mentor Coaching for High Achievers:

Image By Tony Crider

 

Guest Post by Coach Angela Goodeve, CCC. Angela is a member of School of Coaching Mastery's Ultimate Coach Training Program, a winner of Best Coaching Blogs 2012 and a board member of Women For Change.

September 11, 2001 was a day of great sorrow.  We will never forget the shock of learning of the great tragedy that day.  I will also never forget the moments of silence when people from all over the world came together to pray for those effected by this horrible tragedy.  I sat in the lunchroom at our office with tears in my eyes for all of the beautiful souls who lost their lives that day, as many others did.

The one thing that resonates today is that just as we all came together in sorrow that day, we can also come together in peace.  

There are and have been many ambassadors for peace in the world:  Mother Teresa; Oprah Winfrey; and Tony Robbins, to name a few.  Even though we as individuals may not have the notoriety of these other powerful people, each of us as individuals can be our own Ambassadors of peace.  

Life Coaches also help bring peace to the world, one person at a time, so let’s take the lessons of 9/11 to recognize and get to know some of the less well known, but equally important ambassadors of change.

Just as the School of Coaching Mastery provides accessible, quality training for Life Coaches, Women For Change Coaching Community brings together a community of support to make coaching accessible for all women who are seeking positive change in their lives.  They offer one-on-one coaching, for a nominal fee, as well as monthly workshops for clients geared toward skill building, such as money management, job search, self-esteem or other topics in which clients express interest. They are also dedicated to providing coaches in their community with the support that they need to help people live happier more peaceful lives.  

And let’s not forget all of the wonderful Life Coaches who have a passion for helping others live a life in which their needs are met; their values are expressed in everything they do; and can easily step into their personal greatness!

Let’s make every day a day in which we come together in Peace, just as we have come together in sorrow.

What will you do today to contribute to humanity and come together in peace?

To learn more about Women For Change and other opportunities for life coaches to support positive change, join the IAC North American Virtual Chapter:

Image by xlordashx

Post by Julia Stewart, MCC.

Okay, life coaches, including me, don't usually call people, 'Losers.' I admit, I said it to be provocative. My apologies. I'm having a little fun. But if you use Facebook Events to market your coaching business, you're losing. It's that simple.

You're losing fans, friends, credibility and even interest in your events. And that's no fun.

Let me explain. As we all know, Facebook is approaching the Big B: one billion users. That means soon, one in every seven people will be on Facebook. So that makes it the perfect place to advertise your events, yes? Probably not.

Anyone with a Facebook account can create a Facebook Event and invite all their Facebook Friends to it via email. They can also send frequent email updates to everyone who has been invited, even if nobody has agreed to come to the event.

This is a nice little tool if you're planning a school fund raiser. The trouble is that SPAMMERS, those folks we've all hated since long before international laws were passed to make SPAM a criminal offense, think Facebook Events is a nifty tool, too. After all, it's not illegal, yet.

And unfortunately, less savvy marketers also use Facebook Events and when you do, the folks who used to be your Facebook Friends start thinking of you as one of those SPAMMERS.

Yes, there you are, sharing space in their minds right along side the guy from Russia who wants to sell them penis-enlargement pills, cheap Viagra and fake Rolex watches. Or the prince from Nigeria who constantly needs help cashing a check.

Do you really want your coaching business to be regarded that way?

No doubt, some well-meaning social-media 'guru', or 'coach', or virtual assistant told you about this slick little tool that lets you SPAM...er email, all your friends on Facebook for free whenever you have an event to announce ~ or even when you don't (Some really un-slick marketers use Facebook Events to SPAM their Friends any ol' time).

An important rule of thumb in marketing, especially with social-media: Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

So far, using Facebook Events is legal, so you can. And Facebook, not exactly a paragon of privacy, puts the onus of removing oneself from an Event list on the recipient, not the sender. So you're technically not doing anything wrong by inviting all your Friends, even if you know they won't be interested or they are too far away to attend.

However, in the rest of the Universe that is not already controlled by Facebook, people know they have a right to avoid SPAM and they usually have the ability to choose which messages  reach them via email. So it makes them incredibly mad when you violate that.

This is a complete reverse of the marketing world 20 years ago, when advertisers could shoot their messages at potential customers via TV, junk mail, etc. just as if we were sitting ducks. Nobody likes being a sitting duck. And we don't like being reminded what it's like.

By using Facebook Events, you're using 2012 social media to market like it's 1992.

So how are you losing? Let me count the ways:

1. People don't hire coaches they don't trust and nobody trusts a SPAMMER.
2. Your RSVP list on your Event Page will look something like: 'Yes: 2, Maybe: 5, Un-responded: 993', which makes your event look like the party nobody wants to attend.
3. Lucky for you, those 'Un-responded' numbers include all the 'No's', because Facebook doesn't publish those. What's not so lucky for you is that when your annoyed Friends go to the trouble of visiting your Event Page to decline your invitation and thus turn off the irritating messages they're getting from you, Facebook gives them the instant opportunity to check a box to ignore all future communications from you, or block you completely, un-friend you, or report you to Facebook for SPAM; all with a simple click and yes, some folks get mad enough to do all that.
4. Your constant email 'updates' about the Event may be so irksome that even the people who thought they might attend may very well change their minds.
5. You're now associated with the penis-enlargement guy.
6. Increasingly, nobody pays attention to Facebook Events, so you might as well announce your event via telegraph.
7. And you're still associated with that guy.

For anyone who would like to know how to stop getting invitations to Facebook Events, here are a couple or routes. Sign in to Facebook and click the little downward arrow in the upper right corner (I know, it's really tiny.) Then choose Privacy Settings, then Manage Blocking. You can write in the names of people you want to block from Event Invites. See below:

 

 

But an easier way to block all events before they reach your inbox is to go to Account Settings, choose Notifications, then Events and un-click everything:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you tempted to keep receiving invites in case that really cool life coach that you love wants to invite you to something? Don't be. If they are that cool, they already don't use Facebook Events. And if you really love them, you probably are already on their mailing list, which means they will be emailing you directly.

And if you're a life coach who is tempted to market with Facebook Events, just don't. There are so many better ways to connect online in ways that people welcome, that you never need to annoy them or  look like a loser, by using Facebook Events.

If you're new to social media marketing or just want to brush up:

 

 

Not long ago, one of my life coach students, who was transitioning from a regular job to owning her own life coach business, commented in class that she was going to miss getting a steady paycheck. I’ll bet! What life coach wouldn’t miss a guaranteed salary?

Well here’s a secret about life coach salary (or executive or business coach salary): Even if you work for yourself, you need a steady paycheck.

No, I didn’t say you need to get a steady job. Your coaching business needs to pay you a steady salary. You really can have the best of both worlds!

This is the first lesson in business finance. But unfortunately for me, I missed this lesson for several years. The result? a constant feast or famine condition that wreaked havoc in my checking account and my life.

This chaos created inordinate stress about money and made it nearly impossible for me to invest, save or even have fun with my money, because I was constantly uncertain how much would be coming in.

The answer? I started paying myself a salary. Stress canceled. Uncertainty eliminated. Balancing my checkbook? No problem!

Actually, the benefits of paying yourself a life coach salary are so numerous that I’m not going to even try to cover them all in this blog post. But before you take action, check with your accountant or attorney.

In my case, getting started with a life coach salary was as simple as transferring a set amount of money every Friday from my business account to my personal checking account. But even if you choose a formal payroll, which has some benefits, it can be simple and easy.

How can you start paying yourself a paycheck right away? Take a look at how much money your business brought in the last 3 to 6 months. Average it and subtract your business expenses. That’s your potential salary.

Then take a look at how much you think you need to live on (don’t forget to include estimated tax payments and savings of at least 10%). If what you ‘need’ is more than what your business can afford to pay you, start simplifying your life or get more creative. (For me, it’s a fun game to ask, ‘How could I get this for free or nearly free?’ For instance, I discovered that it’s much more fun and rewarding to check out movies from my library than it is to pay a bloated cable fee.) But if you really can't pay yourself enough, there's no shame in getting a part-time job, until you can.

The funny thing is, although what I initially paid myself seemed like too little, I nearly always had extra money left over at the end of the month - in addition to the money I intentionally saved.

Does this seem too limiting, or at least, not exciting enough? Well if you love excitement, go for the chaos. And if you’re really crazy (been there), try enforcing ‘wealth consciousness’ on yourself while you’re struggling to pay your bills.

Me? I find it much more exciting (in a good way) now that I’m free to plan my financial life based on some solid projections.

As for wealth consciousness, it’s fun watching my savings accounts grow.

And that small salary that I started out with?

One year after I started paying myself a life coach salary, I was able to double my pay.

 

Want to learn more about how life coaches really make money?

Guest post by Joy Maiywa.

If you are thinking of becoming a business coach, it is most probably because you enjoy helping people establish and grow their businesses. You most likely have a natural ability to recognize things that need improvement and are quick to ask questions or suggest changes that can bring about great results.

Like any career, becoming an effective business coach will first require you to acquire the necessary training apart from having some of the natural traits that go with the job. Business coaching involves a great deal of communicating with others. As such, it helps if you are a good and clear public speaker to succeed in the job. You also need to be friendly, analytical, result-focused, thick-skinned and easy to talk to.

To become a business coach, you will need to familiarize yourself with all that is involved in the opening, running and establishing of a business. You will need to know about business planning, finance, employee management, accounting and even legal issues affecting businesses. The type of knowledge and training you specialize in will determine the kind of businesses you will be handling. You can either choose to coach on general business practice or specialize in a particular business industry.

You can also offer business coaching in segments. For instance, if you would like to become a finance business coach, then your work will involve hosting workshops and seminars to train entrepreneurs on different financial aspects related to their businesses. Some issues you will be handling include how to put together tax forms, correct budgeting, how to avoid losses and bankruptcy, and many more. You can also choose to specialize in business problems, where you can coach people about the different business problems they face and provide the solutions to their problems. The type of field you choose should match your passion and skills. This way, you will be able to effectively mentor others who are lacking in you area of specialization.

You do not have to own a business to start a career in business coaching. You simply need to have the passion for the job and the knowledge and skills that go with business coaching. Say you are an expert in accounting. You can choose general business coach training but coach on this field only. If you are good at marketing, you can also choose to impart your skills on people needing marketing skills.

To become a professional business coach, you need to acquire some level of training for the job. This way, you will be able to effectively help others by improving their lives and the businesses they are in. You will have the skills to successfully motivate others to adopt certain business strategies and techniques that will result in their success and the companies they work in. As you grow in your career, you will also be able to hold workshops and seminars to help others become successful businesspersons. If you are looking for a career change from the corporate life, consider becoming a business coach in your area of specialization.

Joy Maiywa is a professional freelance writer and blogger. She has worked with clients from different fields including technology, education, health, and business and entrepreneurship. She writes for Degree Jungle online rankings, a resource for college students.

The number one question that business and life coaches ask me over and over and over is, 'How do I get coaching clients?', which is code for, 'How do I make money as a coach?'

At any given time, there seems to be a large percentage of coaches who are hungry for more paying clients. Some of them even have a limiting belief that you can't really make a living as a coach.

This flies in the face of the facts:

• Business and life coaching have been cited again and again as one of the fastest-growing professions by media outlets like CNNMoney, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, etc., etc.
• According to organizations that survey professional coaches and the people who hire them, most coaches make between $160 and $325 per hour.
• According to experts who've worked with millions of people (such as Oprah) everybody wants a better life, which helps explain the insatiable demand for life coaches.

So how is it possible that any coach doesn't have all the clients and money s/he could ever want?

• Marketing mavens will tell you that you need better marketing.
• Sales trainers will tell you that you need to close more sales (Well duh.)
• Coach trainers (like me) will tell you that good coaching skills practically sell themselves (I'm biased, but it's true).
• Law of Attraction gurus will tell you that you just need the right mindset (If it were really that simple, everyone would be a millionaire).

None of these solutions gets to the heart of what stops the majority of coaches from succeeding wildly - even the ones who are good coaches and do their best to learn everything that should help them succeed.

In fact, if you're honest with yourself, you already know why some business and life coaches aren't more successful, because this holds you back, too.

It holds everybody back at some point, including me. What I'm talking about is fear of rejection, shame, humiliation, failure, and being laughed at. It's the single strongest fear that humans feel, one so strong that it can make soldiers march into certain death, rather than live with the shame of running away. Sit with that for a moment...

Does it make sense that not one of the solutions I listed above really helps with this?

Well let me back up. They can help. They do help. Sometimes. But if fear of screwing up stops you from spreading the word about your new business and asking people to help you -- heck! -- if it stops you from asking people for their business; then learning a new program won't help you make more money as a coach.

So what will help?

Here are some things that have helped my coaching clients:

• Admit you have the fear and don't try to avoid how yucky it feels (people born to my generation -- Boomers -- or later, tend to avoid uncomfortable feelings, to their detriment)
• Ask the fear how it's trying to help and then let it help you (imagine it's a person who can talk and imagine what it would say. I know that sounds crazy, but it's an awesome tool for listening to your unconscious thoughts and for getting the best advice, ever.)
• Feel the fear and do it anyway (reach out to people, tell them how you can help them, etc.)
• Stay in action until the fear subsides (we stop fearing the things we do everyday)
• Model yourself after someone who's already succeeded ('fake it 'til you make it' is far wiser than it sounds)
• Hang out with people who've succeeded (You become who you hang out with)
• Don't hang out with people who are struggling (Research shows that folks who have the same problems, tend to reinforce those problems in each other and do worse, as a result)
• Become someone that other people want to hang out with (do what it takes to succeed and other successful people will hang out with you. That becomes a virtuous circle that creates more success for all.)
• Work with someone who understands and can help you (Like a really good mentor coach)
• Ask yourself if you really, really want it, because if you do, and you don't do as much of all of the above as you need to, you're out of integrity (that alone, will stop you from attracting clients)
• Stop making excuses for not taking calculated risks like, 'I'll launch my business when I have more money, more confidence, more blah, blah, blah...' (People who think that way tend to wind up losers.)
• Don't take a 'No' answer from the Universe (old-fashioned determination still works).

Once you've fully dealt with your fear of rejection and failure, then the right training or marketing program will start to work 'like magic'.

What about you? What form of fear stops you from attracting plenty of coaching clients? Share below in the comments section.

Learn how the Coach 100 process obliterates new-coach fears:

 

The votes are in and the 1st Place winner of Best Coaching Blogs 2012 is Life Coach Vatsala Shukla of India, who did a brilliant job of mobilizing her voters, despite India's massive 2-day power outage, which plunged one tenth of the world's population into darkness, making it the biggest loss of electrical power in world history.

Since its first year in 2008, Best Coaching Blogs finalists have been  decided by a combination of popular votes and comments left by fans. But in the end, the contest finalists themselves, choose 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place winners via a closed ballot.

There were key changes in this year's contest, which for the first time, was formatted like a blog. Each blog entry appeared as a separate blog 'post', with a link to the blog itself, plus a comments section and social sharing buttons, like those at the top of this post. Social shares counted as votes and comments were used as tie-breakers. The  'down vote' option that coaches disliked in previous years, was removed and voters were allowed to vote as many times as they liked. This produced a competition that was both more cordial and more social.

Vatsala's Tips for a Stress Free Life Blog quickly took the lead in both popular votes (social shares) and comments and it prevailed in the finalist's closed vote. 2nd Place went to Evelyn Kalinowsky's Inner Affluence blog and 3rd to Gerard Corbett's PR Job Coach blog. Rachel Grant Coaching blog and Andrea Feinberg's More Free Time blog rounded out the Top Five Winners. Angela Goodeve's* new blog, Life Advice the Coaching Way, received an Honorable Mention.

Congratulations again to all the new winners! Below are statements from three:

1st Place: Vatsala Shukla: "My blog Vatsala’s Tips for a Stress Free Life had just completed its first year of existence. Entering the competition was my challenge to improve myself.  Friends and associates told me my posts were good. That was expected as they know Vatsala the person in all her multi-roles of finance professional, life coach, daughter, pet parent and friend. They understood the context in my writing. What about the world? Was my blog up to the mark? So I entered the competition and was accepted. I was elated. It was only after I started reading the blogs of my fellow competitors that I realised that I was competing with the best of the best. My challenge to step out of my comfort zone went a step further to hold my ground against great veteran bloggers whom I have over the last 4 weeks added to my must read list! Receiving the largest public votes and comments was confirmation that readers liked what they read. Winning from the finalist voting round validated it. I am overwhelmed, humbled and grateful for my win which means a lot more to me than I can articulate. My next challenge is to honour the voters and finalists by being my best."

Top Five: Andrea Feinberg: "Thanks for the opportunity to participate in this contest and end up a winner among the Top 5, my first time! We each have such different targets and I see that as a testament to the swift and broad expansion of professional coaching throughout personal and business sectors. Congratulations to my fellow finalists; we enjoyed the validation of our work through the strength of our supporters who both voted and commented on our behalf."

Honorable Mention: Angela Goodeve: "Yay!!!  Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!  It was a great experience participating in the contest, and I am so flattered and proud to be given the Honorable Mention!  I love writing the blog posts in the hope that they will provide inspiration, "food for thought", tips, and guidance to improve people's life for the better...and give them an idea of what the wonderful world of Life Coaching can do for them!  I am grateful to you Julia for being a great Mentor and Teacher, and for challenging me to join the contest, and open up more possibilities for me and my business!"

As always, the Best Coaching Blogs Contest is a fun way to expand the conversation about the benefits of  business and life coaching. Plus it highlights the many varied approaches that coaches take to empower their clients and it builds awareness of the incredible growth of professional coaching, which continues to be the second fastest growing profession is the world.

Thanks to the coaching bloggers who participated. I hope you all attracted new readers and clients by taking the courageous step to enter your blog. I look forward to next year's contest and the connections that are built between coaching bloggers themsleves, as well as  with their new fans.

Congratulate the coaching winners below and visit the Best Coaching Blogs 2012 .

Become a coaching blogger yourself! Download the free "How to Blog Effectively for Your Coaching Business" eBook:

 

Download Now.

 

 

*Full disclosure: Angela Goodeve is a life coach student at School of Coaching Mastery.

Guest post by Coach, Angela Goodeve, CCC. Angela is a member of School of Coaching Mastery's Ultimate Coach Training Program. Visit Angela's blog here. Angela is a contestant in the Best Coaching Blogs 2012 Contest.

Ok, Spiral Dynamics Coaching is a little complex, so if you are in a light mood, or it starts giving you a headache, you may want to bookmark this post until later!!!

When I first started leaning about Spiral Dynamics at School of Coaching Mastery, my first reaction, like many others, was “huh??”; My second reaction was “hmm, this is interesting…”; my next was “wow, this is REALLY interesting”; and my next was “Why haven’t we heard of this before???”.

I have a four-year degree in Psychology, have attended many educational conferences, and have been into personal development for a very long time, but not once have I heard of Spiral Dynamics until studying it at School of Coaching Mastery, at least not in a meaningful and detailed way!

 

This is what I have learned so far about Spiral Dynamics:

• Spiral Dynamics has been used with individuals; governments; and in marketing, and has been beneficial in all of these settings;
• This psycho-social-spiritual theory was first proposed by psychology professor, Clare Graves, PhD, in the 1950’s, and has been referred to as the “The Theory that Explains Everything” by MacLean’s magazine.  It was later clarified by Dr. Don E. Beck and Dr. Christopher Cowan in their seminal book, Spiral Dynamics, Mastering Values Leadership and Change; and
• The theory combines biology, psychology, and sociology in trying to describe differences in human thinking and behavior.

So, what IS Spiral Dynamics???

Spiral Dynamics describes human thinking in terms of an evolution of individual and societal value systems.  According to the theory, each individual, culture, and society follows a succession in levels of thinking, that are characterized at each stage as a different value system that guides not only the person’s thinking, but their behavior, and their interaction with others, and the world around them.

Each stage, for simplicity, has been organized into a color system that describes different value systems and ways of thinking. 

 

The key things to remember when learning about these value systems and stages are:

• There is no “right” or “wrong” way of thinking;
• That the world needs people who think at different levels along the “spiral” to survive;
• When we move on to the next “stage” we integrate the values of the previous “stages” so that we can utilize them if needed;
• A person, culture, or society can “spiral” back to a previous stage in certain circumstances, and may become “stuck” at an earlier way of thinking;
• Lower levels are not aware of the existence of the higher levels;
• Individuals and Societies are best served by leaders, including coaches, who are thinking at the higher levels, who can recognize others at different stages along the “continuum”, and use this knowledge to help solve issues according to the applicable ways of thinking, or value systems.

The “stages” are as follows (they will be described in terms of the individual for simplicity):  

• Beige – At this stage, the individual’s mainly thinking of survival, much like an infant ‘s physical concerns and biological needs;
• Purple - The individual sees the benefits of a Family/Tribe, and safety and security in numbers.  Much like a toddler they are influenced by ritual, and believe in the “guidance” of their “Chief”, or Parents.
• Red - This stage is very egocentric, and adheres to the principles of:  dominance, power, and control, much like teenagers typically assert themselves;
• Blue - Sees the world, and interacts with it, according to rules and authority that they believe brings stability, order, and meaning;
• Orange - Evolves in their values and thinking towards achievement, competition, and success.  They thrive on opportunities, and are driven to a “better way of living”.
• Green - Is concerned with humanity, love, harmony, and purpose (think 60’s hippy!!)
• Yellow - Places high value on flexibility, independence, and a certain knowing about themselves.  They care less about what others think, and more about doing what one chooses, an existential way of being.
• Turquoise - Is a more holistic way of thinking, in terms of consciousness, life force, and the “global community”.

So, what does this all mean to coaches, and how is learning about this going to benefit us in terms of our interactions with, and understanding of others?

For one, it reminds us that we are all individuals, with different value systems, ways of thinking, and different ways of interacting with the world.  It therefore follows that we cannot assume that any individual does, or should think the same way we do.

Knowledge of this theory can also help us in coaching and communicating with others, whether it is on an individual level; through professional coaching, via marketing; or in a more global sense.  If we can understand where another person is coming from in term of their values and thinking, then we can tailor our communications to that person, audience, or community to foster a stronger connection.

As Coaches, if we can understand where our Clients are coming from in terms of their values and thinking, we can help them find solutions that are appropriate for them, and that will resonate with them much better!

Since this is a pre-pre-101 to Spiral Dynamics blog article, you may want to visit some other sites to read more about it:  I found this one helpful in deepening my understanding.

You can also take the Introduction to Spiral Dynamics for Coaches at School of Coaching Mastery.

If you have heard about Spiral Dynamics, I would love to hear your comments!  Let’s get the discussion going!

Peace and Love,

Ang :)

School of Coaching Mastery teaches a Spiral Dynamics course tailored to the needs of business and life coaches. It's part of the Ultimate Coach Training Program:

Saturday, I attended an all-day seminar with Marianne Williamson, the best-selling author, speaker and spiritual teacher who popularized the profoundly mysterious Course in Miracles that thousands of spiritual seekers have studied.

The Midwestern New Age community was out in force for the event (Conversations overheard in the ladies room could have come straight out of Shit Life Coaches Say.)

Life coaches can be pretty New Age-y, especially when they are new. But what I like about Marianne is that she's the real deal. Instead of dressing in flowing tie-dye and spouting the latest spiritual-sounding gobbledygook (I'm totally downloading!) She's dressed in a simple pantsuit and not afraid to use some hard language.

Those who are truly evolved tend to be more  bracing than comforting. They aren't particularly warm and fuzzy. Marianne's a great example. She ended her 8-hour seminar with, 'God bless you. Now go kick some ass!'

High points of the event:

• Marianne told us all of our problems are directly related to what we're not giving. An African American woman raised her hand and said her problem was having to live with racism and she didn't see how that was about what she hasn't given. Marianne could have told the woman that her problem was that she hadn't forgiven. Instead she commented that racism continues in America because there's never been a national atonement. So she asked all black Americans to stand up and a white American stood with each. Each white American asked for forgiveness and each African American gave it. That's a healing conversation if ever there was one. There were many tears. Some were mine.
• She said it's easy to make fun of the consciousness movement, because since it avoids the negative, it lacks gravitas. We need to focus more on what's not working and take responsibility for it (again, every problem is about what you're not giving). Reminds me of what another bracing spiritual teacher, Andrew Cohen, says in his book, Evolutionary Enlightenment, that we need to notice everything and avoid nothing. Otherwise, we're choosing not to evolve. (So all you coaches who avoid the news, if you want to evolve, or not be made fun of, you need to stop avoiding what's going on.)
• You know that famous quote from the Dalai Lama about how, 'The world will be saved by the Western woman.'? Marianne's reply, 'Do we really need a man to endorse that?'
• She said if Western women cared as much about the world as they do their careers, 17,000 children wouldn't die of starvation everyday.
• She told us that it's easier to teach political skills to conscious people than it is to teach consciousness to politicians. Therefore, it's our responsibility to get more politically involved (She'll be teaching a course on how to do that in November).
• When someone stood up and asked her to run for President, she said she can better serve by helping other conscious people run and that's what she's working on.
• Kick ass, indeed!

By the way, I lunched with veteran coaches, Joanne Waldman, Kristi Arndt, and  Lynne Klippel. None spoke a single New Age syllable.

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