How will you take care of yourself?

My mom at age 88 walked two miles every day. If the weather prevented her from walking outside, she would walk at a shopping mall or the community center.  She wore a Fitbit and tracked her steps every day, her goal being 10,000 steps. At her funeral a cousin asked, “did she really walk two miles every day?” Yes, she did! And as a result she kept herself active and inspired others.

What’s holding you back?

When my mom was 65 she received her Master’s degree from Bethel University. Christian Education had been her life’s work and ministry, but getting a grad school education and degree in the area was something she wanted and she went for it. Her age did not hold her back.

Two years ago, I accompanied her to Boston as she joined eight of her classmates for the 65th reunion of her undergrad class at Gordon College. She joined eight of her wise and energetic classmates for a joyful celebration of connection and long life. Mom was looking forward to going back to Boston for her 70th reunion – although I’m sure the alternative of a reunion with many more of her classmates in heaven was much more wonderful.

How do you want to be remembered?

At my mom’s visitation and memorial service and in the cards and messages we received we clearly saw her legacy. Yes, she did some impressive work in her career and ministry that had high impact on people’s lives. But it was her endless supply of encouragement given in her day-to-day relationships that we heard the most about as people shared memories. The cards, smiles and greetings she gave. And the hugs. I hadn’t fully recognized how important this was to people until after her death we received so many references to her treasured hugs. She gave them freely to all who were open. What a sweet legacy!

With the New Year fast approaching, many are dutifully setting goals and planning the coming year, including me.  Sometimes in an effort to move forward we forget to resolve the past. 

Start with what’s “left over” from 2016.  There may be tasks or projects on a “to do” list that need to be completed before the ball drops on 2016.  Identify what you want to complete and decide to do, dump, delegate or discern before the year is out.  “Discern” refers to considering in prayer and choosing wisely based on direction from God.

As you discern, maybe there are items on your list that need to be intentionally carried into 2017.  If that is the wise choice, then bring those tasks and projects intentionally and confidently into the New Year.  Otherwise, deal with each by doing, dumping or delegating before the end of the year.

After dealing with your tasks and projects, resolve 2016 in light of forgiveness, gratefulness, grief and celebration.

Forgiveness.  Who do you need to forgive?  From whom do you need forgiveness?  What will that involve?  Is a direct conversation needed?  If so, how will you make that happen?  When will you make that happen?  Remember that you cannot control anyone else’s response;   you can only control your acts of or requests for forgiveness.  But you can choose to do your part to resolve issues of forgiveness, with the hope of freedom from unresolved pain for yourself or someone else as the New Year begins.

Gratefulness.  Who do you want to thank?  Surely 2016 has included folks that merit your thanks.  Who has blessed you over the past 12 months?  If the task of identifying people to thank seems too big (because let’s face it there are many people to be grateful for in a year), look at the biggest challenges and highlights of the year and chose three to five people who were instrumental in helping you at those times.  How will you thank them?  You may want to be elaborate in your expression of gratitude and if so, go for it!  But a simple “thank you” can work well, too.  You can go simple, especially if the alternative is none at all.

Grief.  What must you grieve?  Avoiding the full experience of mourning a loss is not helpful to moving forward.  If your loss is tragic and requires the support of a counselor, then by all means make 2017 a year of healing and don’t let 2016 end without identifying and scheduling with a counselor who can help you.  But even the common losses, disappointments and setbacks can unnecessarily continue to drag on into 2017 if you let them.  Identify losses you need to grieve and consider what it would take to go through the grief and put it behind you.  You may need to allow yourself to feel your emotions.  When you’re ready, you may benefit by doing something that symbolizes your intent to finish your grief and move on.  For me, grieving always involves me being honest with God about my thoughts and feelings and then listening for His response and ultimate peaceful resolution.  What do you need to grieve and let go of?  And how will you do that?

Celebration.  What can you celebrate?  What from 2016 is worthy of celebration?  You achieved.  You grew.  You were blessed.  As the clock gets close to midnight on December 31 there will be great anticipation of celebrating the New Year and all that the future holds.  But don’t forget to identify what you can celebrate from this year past.  How will you celebrate?

I pray for you a blessed resolution to this year – one that fuels your steps into the new year with renewed strength and peace!

This article is revised and edited from a previous December 2013 Christian Coaching Resources post.

In both cases, the coaches I spoke with last week felt their training program promoted the training as leading to ICF credentials. They put money, time and heart into this training. For these coaches, this isn’t a question of do they “need” credentials. They want ICF professional credentials.

If you want ICF professional credentials:

• Look to the ICF website to verify the status of the training you are considering. Programs that have been ICF approved or accredited will be listed at the site.  Don’t just take the word of the school; confirm with ICF.
• If your training has not been approved or accredited, you may still be able to get your credential through the ICF portfolio application process. You will have to provide robust documentation that demonstrates your training meets specific qualifications and the results are not guaranteed, but a portfolio application is definitely an option to consider.
• Begin keeping records and documentation of your coach training as soon as you start.
• Establish and maintain your client log as soon as you start coaching.
• Work with a mentor coach who holds an ICF credential at or above the level for which you are applying.

Use the ICF website:

• To verify that coach training programs are approved or accredited
• To learn what is required and how to apply for a credential (the ACC for example, here)
• To understand how coaching skills are evaluated at each credential level
• To see a sample client log (template at bottom of this page)
• And of course much more – it is a very informative and reasonably easy-to-navigate site.

Finally, to find Christian coach training that is ICF approved or accredited, get The Complete Guide to Christian Coach Training. The eBook version is only $19 and for a limited time includes a bonus – the new book, Becoming a Coach: Wisdom From Leaders in Christian Coach Training.

Want ICF credentials? You can do this! Go for it!

I have great memories from that first conference in 2003. I remember the excellent breakout sessions (and got cassette tapes to review after!). I remember the joy we shared over connecting with like-minded coaches from around the country and globally (I met Christian coaches there from the UK and Germany). I remember putting faces the names of my fellow coach training students and instructors. I remember meeting Gary R. Collins and other leaders in the Christian coaching industry. I remember singing together, united in worship. What a wonderful event that shaped me both professionally and personally!

And look how far things have come!

Some things have changed – the organization is now Christian Coaches Network International.

But the potential for impact remains the same – both personally for individual coaches and collectively for the field of professional Christian coaching.

Register now for the next CCNI Conference

which is next week!

I’m anticipating all the sessions to be valuable, but here is a sample of the 20+ speakers you will hear next week:

• Jane Creswell
• Christopher McCluskey
• Kim Avery
• Tony Stoltzfus
• Keith Webb
• Jonathan Reitz
• Tanya Smith

And here is a sample of almost 30 topics to be addressed next week:

• Coaching Christian Business Leaders
• The Fine Line Between Leadership Coaching and Consulting
• Coaching with Questions for Jesus
• Public Speaking for Influence and Impact
• Four Reasons Your Coaching Business is Failing (and how to fix it!)
• Creating  Opportunities to Coach Clergy
• Systemitizing your Coaching Business
• The Must-Haves: Ethics and Morality in Your Coaching Business
• Team and Group Coaching: Tips, Tricks and Accelerators

You don’t want to miss this! Go register now!

As a coach you may not feel motivated by standard marketing principles that tell you that a well-defined niche will contribute to your overall business success. But you recognize that if you want business success you’ll likely have to get more specific about who you’ll be working with.

You hear the question “who is your ideal client?” and you begin working through a description. For some, this is when their niche becomes clear. For others, this is a process that evolves over time.

Recently I was working with a new coach and we were discussing her target market. I asked her to think about what her ideal client would Google if they were looking for solutions that her coaching would bring. Additionally, where do they hang out? What do they read? What are their hobbies? What recreation and entertainment do they enjoy?

“How do I know that?” she asked.

“Where do you want them to hang out?” I asked. “What do you want them to read? Do you want to work with people who are interested in art or in science or in sports?

A brief pause and an ah ha moment: “Well those are two completely different questions! Who is my ideal client and who do I want my ideal client to be are two different questions.”

She had been guided by the belief that there was a “right” ideal client that she needed to look for “out there.” She perceived the need for identifying and getting to know them via external research. With a different perspective, she shifted to thinking about discovering her ideal client by looking internally to describe the clients that she wanted to work with. This shift brought her new energy and insight.

At the risk of offering one person’s story (by permission) that may be understood only by a few, I’m sharing it, certain it will click with readers who need to hear it. For others, if you’re in the process of defining your niche or target market, here are some additional thoughts.

• Invite God into the process through prayer.
• Allow God’s timing.
• Do what you can with the clarity you have.
• Learn more about who you want to coach by coaching.
• Who do you want to coach? Who would you love to work with?

Defining your niche or target market is important because it helps you most effectively focus and leverage your marketing efforts. But focusing on a niche market doesn’t limit you to coaching only in that market. If your heart is stirred to coach someone who does not fit your “ideal client” description you can of course always choose to do that! Use the 80/20 principle. Who has God called you to work with 80% of the time? That is likely your target market.

Do not neglect real Person-To-Person contact!

Setting up your coaching business requires an immense amount of focused energy. If you are in the process of creating a coaching business or ministry, you know exactly what I mean. You can get focused on choosing a logo or creating your intake forms or developing your website or learning new technology.  Etc. You can get stuck in these places. You know what I mean, right?

All of these things need to be done to create your business. But, ironically, they can also get in the way of developing relationships with potential clients. It’s important to have a website with a freebie and a blog and a newsletter, but if you develop a list from those activities that doesn’t result in real live conversation you likely won’t be selling your coaching services to this list.

Much of a coaching business can be developed virtually. Using social media and sending out newsletters can be important to relationship-building, but we can’t hide behind these efforts. Ultimately to enroll clients in our coaching groups or one-on-one coaching programs, we need to reach out in real life.

By “real life” I mean it’s important to reach out over the phone or in person and have a voice-to-voice conversation. So concurrently with your business set-up, do not neglect real, live, relationship-building.

I want to challenge you to think of someone you know right now who is a potential client. Especially if they have indicated an interest in coaching with you! Call this person! Or email this person, suggest scheduling a call and include possible meeting times! If this person is a local contact, schedule coffee and meet in person!

CHALLENGE

Who will you reach out to today? This week? This month?

Schedule your answers on your calendar and make those personal contacts!

As the author of The Complete Guide to Christian Coach Training the most asked question I hear

TAKE ACTION

I encourage all coaches to research and become aware of credentials available through the International Coach Federation. Pray through decisions about credentials. Look at your credentialing opportunities in light of the unique vision to which God has called you.

• Research the International Coach Federation (ICF) credentials at www.coachfederation.org.
• Check out the professional development opportunities at Christian Coaches Network International (CCNI) at www.christiancoaches.com.
• Read my book – The Complete Guide to Christian Coach Training – 2016 edition – which simplifies your efforts, shortens your research, and profiles 13 top Christian coach training programs – many of which offer training that leads to ICF credentials. Get help right now, right here.
• Hear me speak on Empowering Impact with Coach Training, Credentials and Professional Development at the Clarity Telesummit next week, February 24 and 26. Dr. Betsy Lavin has invited me to join seven other speakers to offer Christian coaches resources for gaining focus and clarity as you develop your coaching business. It’s free – sign up here.

I was raised in a Christian church tradition that didn’t focus on the liturgical calendar, so Advent wasn’t emphasized. We didn’t light Sunday candles or have an Advent wreath in our home. The meaning behind the traditional celebration of Advent is not woven into my childhood Christmas memories. Of course, we enjoyed preparation for Christmas Day and celebrating the birth of Christ. But now as an adult I enjoy a more traditional observation of Advent — and contemplating waiting.

“To the God who stands outside of space and time and who orders the whole of creation, our hours, days, years, eons have a radically different meaning. What is a long time to us is an instant for God, and hence what seems like delay to us is no delay at all to God. What seems like dumb and pointless waiting to us can be the way that God, in a unique and finally mysterious manner, is working God’s purposes out.” (Robert Barron)

What waiting do you need to do now, in this season, to ultimately allow for moving forward into your next season according to God’s greater purposes?

The starting place is professional coach training from an excellent program. During that training you will be required to coach and you will be challenged to create coaching relationships. From there you will need to set a foundation for success which involves a lot of wisdom and work. But when focusing on setting that business foundation, sometimes new coaches get entirely focused on startup business activities and coaching gets set aside. And all too commonly a new coach can get stuck at these startup points, taking on heavy, unproductive thinking such as…

I can’t coach until I have a website. And a blog.

I can’t coach without a freebie and a funnel.

I can’t coach until I’ve nailed my branding and I’m completely confident in my niche.

I can’t coach until I take more classes. And get credentialed.

These efforts are important and can be foundational to long-term success. Yes, please begin with excellent professional coach training. Develop a basic website and consider it a work in progress. Create blog posts and freebies. Set goals and identify next steps for classes and credentials. But don’t get stuck in any of these areas. Don’t stop actually coaching!

I’m totally into building a strong foundation for success. I’m a proponent of creating business vision and using it to inform a strategic plan. “Ready-set-now-go” is pretty much how I operate. But you’ll hear this approach challenged. Something about building the plane in the air while flying. Which points out that you really can get stuck building the plane on the ground and never get anywhere. Or you can run in circles attempting to create a perfect and complete shiny new coaching business and not actually be coaching.

With a coaching business, it’s important to build a strong foundation while concurrently, actively coaching. Whatever time you can dedicate to creating your business, in the beginning you’ll spend a significant portion of it in startup activities. But it’s also important to take a portion of that time to actively coach, as you hone your skills and grow your community of promoters and endorsers.

Ask yourself the following questions. Incorporate your answers as part of your startup strategy.

• How many times per week or per month will you coach while you’re setting a solid foundation for your business? This doesn’t have to be a big number – whatever is right for you. But what will keep you engaged and moving forward? If you are in a position to sell your services at a great full rate, by all means do that. Or, perhaps combine buddy coaching, pro bono coaching and selling your newly minted services at a “friends and family” or “practicum” rate. The point is to keep actively coaching on a regular basis during your startup phase.
• How many potential coaching clients will you need to talk with per day or per week in order to meet this goal? You’ll need to communicate directly with people, let them know what you do, offer your services and enroll them as clients. Your direct communication can be by personal email, phone conversations and in person meetings.
• Where can you identify leads? What can you do to increase leads? When you start out, if you don’t have a big list of prospects, building your coaching experience can involve reaching out to friends, co-workers, church mates and their referrals. It starts with brainstorming a list of who you know and then engaging those on your list in authentic, service-oriented conversations. Ask for referrals.

Actively coaching as you are concurrently checking off business startup tasks can keep you energized and moving forward. Additional benefits include:

• Getting to know more about yourself as a coach, which informs your brand
• Getting to know more about your target market, which informs all of your marketing efforts, including website, freebies and funnels
• Gaining greater coaching skills and coaching hours for your credentials
• Growing your community of support and establishing your expertise
• Generating more leads and more marketing opportunities

What is your next step toward scheduling your next coaching conversation? Who do you need to call or email right now?

For help with establishing a successful foundation for your business, my new eCourse The Business of Coaching: Starting the Journey is available for an introductory price of  only $47. Check it out here.