You are allowed to evolve as a coach

by Jen Waller

One of the things I often see coaches having as a stumbling block is a belief around not being allowed to change direction or to evolve.

This can present in several different ways below are just some of the real life examples I’ve seen that’s stopped people from either growing their coaching practice or even start coaching.

For those just starting out it may show up as not inviting a potential client to experience your coaching because you’ve not got the wording on your website perfect. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve pointed out in this situation that it’s not written in stone, websites can be edited and changed as you adapt your offers and how you work.

Maybe it’s not knowing the niche that you want to work with that’s stopping you from working with anyone at all. There’s much that can be said about finding a coaching niche, for the purposes of this post, all I’ll say is it’s not being signed in blood – you’re allowed to change direction and niche later on if that’s what you want to do then.

Perhaps you’ve already got a coaching practice and you’re struggling, due to how your circumstances have changed, to schedule everything in the same sessions as you once did. You are allowed to change how you schedule your working day – need to give yourself breaks between sessions then structure that into your day. Just because you’ve always worked your appointments back to back does not mean you always have to do that.

May be you’re looking to take your coaching practice to the next level and there just isn’t enough hours in the day for you to do everything. Again you are allowed to involve others in the running of your business, do you now need to hire a personal assistant or another professional to free up more time for your coaching.

Perhaps you have an idea for a new coaching video, however the thing that’s stopping you from doing it is thinking that you may look back at it in the future and think that could be better. Presuming that you continue to develop your skills then that is very likely to happen – what if you accepted that part of evolving as a coach is finding new ways to phrase something or developing new skills along the way.

What if, you allowed yourself the flexibility to adapt and adjust what and how you offer your service as appropriate over time?

It may be that you stick with exactly the same way of working for your entire coaching career, however, I struggle to think of any long serving coach who has not altered their approach over the years they have been coaching. Some have changed niches totally, others have altered their working patterns, others changed the medium they coach via (phone, face to face etc), others developed new packages, approaches and group work. The list can go on and on, mainly because they allowed themselves and their coaching practice to evolve.

About Jen Waller

Jen Waller is on a mission to support, nurture and encourage coaching skills and talents from non-coach to coach and beyond.

As an experienced coach and trainer Jen is happy to utilise all skills at her disposal to assist clients from getting out of their own way and making a difference in the world with their coaching. One of the aspects of her role Jen loves the most is seeing individuals find their voice, grow their confidence and take the next steps. This allows them to make a massive positive impact and difference with their coaching. (For more info about Jen’s coaching click here, including the From non-coach to coach discovery session) Jen has owned and run Coaching Confidence, the coaching blog since 2010.

In her spare time Jen is a volunteer for the UK based charity The Cinnamon Trust. This charity supports elderly and terminally ill pet owners to provide care for their pets. As a volunteer, Jen regularly walks dogs for owners who physically often find that more challenging then they once did. As a pet owner herself, Jen finds it really rewarding to be able to assist an owner stay with an animal that has become part of the family. (Plus it’s a great additional motivator when working from home to get out and get some fresh air and exercise)

Jen also loves theatre and has been known to watch certain popular science fiction films and TV shows!