This is a guest post written by Amber Wilson. Want to contribute?

Are you seeking for a way to grow your coaching business, but you don’t know where to start? It's no surprise, considering that being a coach/entrepreneur means you are forced to wear many different hats in order to run your business. 

Coaching is one of the most demanding professions you can choose but it is also highly rewarding. To succeed, you need to craft a coaching philosophy. 

A philosophy is the foundation of your coaching program and determines how successful your coaching program will be. It is an attitude which you hold and which acts as your guiding principle for the training and development program. 

A successful coaching philosophy is built on clear-cut standards which guide your program. These standards not only define who you are but what you believe in. An effective coaching philosophy translates to more effective results in your program, as all efforts are driven by a steady and uniform principle. In a nutshell, your coaching philosophy encompasses your view of the world and how you apply such views and experiences to shape your coaching program. According to Ohio University, your coaching philosophy is central to your coaching career and determines what type of a trainer you will become. 

Developing a winning coaching philosophy 

To ensure the success of your coaching career, it is imperative to learn how to develop a winning philosophy. Below are some of the most important considerations when going about this task:

1. Set your values 

When you start out in coaching, you are under a lot of pressure to succeed. In the process, you might end up playing a role that works successfully but one that doesn’t resonate with your beliefs. Many coaches are comfortable saying and doing what their clients want however, in the process, they lose vision of the reason they are in this profession. You have to first understand yourself, set your values and standards and then work with these. A coaching philosophy reflects who you are and you should live it. While at it, make sure you have a personal belief system to guide you in your work. 

2. Define the objectives/purpose of your work 

What do you want to achieve as a coach? According to Coaching Association of Canada (CAC), developing a winning coaching philosophy entails identifying the purpose of your coaching and then working on the objective(s). What does it mean to be a coach to you? Who comes first; your clients or your bank account? It takes deliberate effort to grow your program and to do this, you must know what is driving you. 

3. Develop a mission statement 

This is a statement that combines your values and beliefs to guide you into achieving what you have set as the objectives. In all this, your clients are key and the focus should be mostly on them. Your personal beliefs together with your values will provide participants in your coaching program with a clear direction of where you want to go. At this point, ask yourself; why does coaching matter to me? 

4. Establish standards

Now that you understand what needs to be achieved, how do you set standards to indicate the expected performance level? As a coach, you must set standards that you want to achieve. These standards must apply to you as well as your clients. You have to lead as an example and establish standards which you need all participants in your program to achieve. There must be a way to evaluate success in the program. For instance, if you are working with entrepreneurs, you may require your clients to actualize their ideas by the end of the coaching program into a viable business model. 

5. Choose your leadership style  

This is a crucial part of the coaching philosophy. It is important to set out a leadership style early in your career and make sure you develop it as your exposure grows. In the world of business, you need a participatory kind of leadership where participants in your programs have an opportunity to get involved actively. This creates more room for growth and makes things easier for you.

With these essentials, you are now ready to build a coaching philosophy. Remember, it's not set in stone and should be reviewed over time to strengthen it. Whatever you do, never start out without a concrete coaching philosophy as it determines the success of your program. 

About Amber Wilson

Amber Wilson is an educator and a content writer at ThesisHelpers. She is also employed as a career coach providing assistance to professional writers for hire based in Everett, Washington.

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