There can be great benefits to continuous personal development and using a coach can be part of your programme. If you are a coach then it doesn’t stop here and there are a number of very good reasons why coaches should also continue to develop themselves.

If you are an experienced coach you will probably naturally have a passion for learning and personal development. Sadly though there are many people out there who take a so-called ‘coaching qualification’ and having got the T-shirt fail subsequently to put any effort into developing themselves further. Usually it is these people who fail to make a career out of coaching but also who contribute to giving coaches and coaching a bad name.

Here are some very good reasons to continually develop yourself as a coach:

1.The more you develop your own competency as a coach the more you will be able to help people and the more satisfied you will become in your role as a coach. Equipped with more tools in your toolkit you will be able to more confidently help a wider range of people and help them through even the most challenging scenarios.

2.Your increased confidence will also help you to feel less threatened by other coaches and see other coaches as a fabulous resource rather than competition to be avoided, this increasing your likelihood of learning from other experienced coaches.

3.Coaching is all about personal development so how can you set an example to those you coach if you don’t spend time improving your own skills, knowledge and capabilities as a coach?

4.The market place is full of coaches so developing yourself as a coach is crucial to ensure at you are not only a first class coach but also ahead of your competition.

5.As you develop yourself as a coach you will start to raise your own awareness of what you excel at, what you are passionate about and what makes you different from other coaches …this provides the perfect foundation for creating your own unique identity as a coach.

6.Once you have developed your essential coaching skills you can start to develop yourself further in your specialised areas where you have a particular interest. By becoming a specialist coach in a niche area marketing yourself to specific target markets becomes easier and you can command much higher rates.

Apart from these obvious benefits of developing yourself as a coach there are also other knock-on benefits from being involved in personal development activities:

1.Whether it is by regular coaching circles, attending seminars or online business networking you can start to build up a network of other coaches who you can work with in the future. Finding coaches with complementary skills, knowledge and interests is a great way to learn but also an opportunity to form strategic partnerships with those who can add value to your own offering as a coach.

2.Attending seminars and courses can also give a huge opportunity to network with other like-minded people who might require your services. I know coaches who get most of their business as a result of attending courses and workshops…what a result, developing yourself and your business at the same time.

Author Bio: Louise Yates gives life coaching information to describe what is coaching and what you need to know when choosing a coach. Louise runs her own values based coaching business.

Category: Career
Keywords: personal development, developing yourself as a coach,