Life Coach in Chicago
By: John D. Moore, PhD
If you are looking for a life coach in Chicago or the surrounding metropolitan area, there is a good chance that you are seeing lots of different services offered many different people. This makes sense when you consider Chicago has a current population hovering around 2.7 million people.
But what exactly is “Life Coaching” anyway?
At its core, Life Coaching is about helping people reach self-identified goals. Believe it or not, anyone can call themselves a life coach. You don’t need to be licensed and you are not required to have special certifications. That may change in the future as coaching gains popularity but we are not there yet in the state of Illinois.
Generally speaking, life coaching falls into four specific subcategories. These include: (1) executive coaching, (2) business coaching, (3) job coaching and (4) relationship coaching. There are a few others but the ones I just listed are the “biggies”.
This brief article will outline 5 things to look for in a life coach that you might want to consider as part of your quest to find the right helping professional to meet your needs. Some of the tips listed here might seem like common sense while others will cause you to think deeply. Read them all so that you are able to fully absorb their collective take-aways.
Are you ready? Let’s jump right in!
1. Know your coaching needs
Many folks who search for a life coach in Chicago and elsewhere recognize they need guidance and motivation around a given set of challenges. This insight doesn’t necessarily mean they have identified their specific needs. You may be wondering what exactly I mean?
Well – an example might be that you want to become more likeable at your workplace. While certainly an understandable “want”, your real need is to focus on relationship building. This empowers likeability. Make sense? So I encourage you to jot down a few themes you are thinking about for coaching and then do some journaling and ferret out specific needs.
Tip: When you start looking for your Life Coach, compare some of what you are needing help with against the life coach’s background. Are they similar?
2. Have a set of concrete, measurable goals
After you have identified some of the things you want to work on – it’s time to write down some goals. Life coaching is all about identifying goals and ultimately reaching them. In the vast majority of cases, these goals need to be concrete in nature and measurable.
Example: Let’ say you have a goal of getting a new job. That’s great! But what are the realistic steps that needs to take place in order to make your goal a reality? Do you want to tidy up your resume and then shoot it out to 100 people a week? Do you want to increase your professional network by 50 people over a one month period?
Tip: By having a set of goals, such as the ones previously mentioned, you can then play matchmaker – pairing what you want to achieve with the life coach’s experience.
3. Match your needs/goals with life coach background
Lots of people advertise life coaching services in Chicago but do they have the necessary background and skills that you are looking for? This particular point may seem like common sense but it’s absolutely worth mentioning here. The last thing you want to do is waste your time or money on a professional relationship that will yield few results.
Example: Assume you are looking for coaching on how to be a better workplace leader. OK, right off the bat you know you are looking for executive coaching. Now let’s say your goal as part of being a better leader at work is to increase employee morale by 10% over a period of 1-year. That’s pretty specific, isn’t it?
You probably can already guess you are going to need to find an executive coach who has strong experience with building relationships and also has considerable knowledge of employee satisfaction. This means working with someone who has a leadership background.
Tip: Take the list of needs and goals you created from the previous points and use these as guideposts in your search for a coach.
4. Don’t confuse coaching with psychotherapy
Many people who search for a life coach in Chicago and elsewhere mistake coaching for counseling (psychotherapy). In truth, these are two entirely different things. Sure – they may share some of the same techniques for getting you where you want to go but they are not the same. The key thing to keep in mind is that coaching does not “treat” a given mental health issue where psychotherapy does.
Example? Let’s say you have a goal of dating new people who have a similar background as you in terms of age, finances and life goals. Wonderful! But what have been the historical barriers up to this point in meeting new people? Has there been an issue with you not making enough time for dating or are have you struggled with depression – something that has been robbing you of emotional energy?
If you think depression is the culprit, you need to work with a therapist who is trained in treating this mental health issue. If it is a time management is the problem and it’s not related to something like ADHD, a coach might be ideal.
Tip: Think carefully about the barriers that have prevented you from reaching certain goals. Choose therapy for mental health issues that require treatment and coaching for things that don’t.
5. Budget accordingly for coaching
This final tip is perhaps most important. In the previous point, I mentioned that coaching is not the same as psychotherapy. I stated this because you need to know that coaching is not covered by insurance. You may be wondering why? Well, it goes back to what I was saying earlier regarding “treatment”. In coaching, nothing is being treated (at least not in the clinical sense). In psychotherapy however, something is – such as depression or anxiety. So if you are looking for life coaching services in Chicago or elsewhere, be prepared to pay out of pocket – just keeping it real!
Tip: Generally speaking, coaching is a “brief” relationship. Your budget should include enough money to pay for 6-10 sessions at a minimum. Our fee for Life Coaching here at 2SC is $125.00 per visit. You may find others who offer coaching services for less or more. It just depends on the person, their background and what their skills.
Final Thoughts
The decision to hire a life coach to help you reach your career or personal goals is a smart step in the right direction! I always encourage clients to think of life coaching as a personal investment in the here and now and the future.
If you are looking for more insight into coaching, I would like to recommend the book, Life Coaching for Dummies. This hands on book is straight forward, no-nonsense and practical in nature.
Hopefully, the 5 tips suggested here for finding a Chicago Life Coach were helpful! Thanks for visiting 2nd Story Counseling in Chicago.
