The Facts About Coaching
Author: Ray & Jean Kadkhodaian

It seems that everywhere you turn, someone is calling themselves a coach. Every field seems to have a coach specializing in the same area of expertise: business, IT, finance, relationships, spirituality, life, etc.

Because of this diversity and coaching being a relatively new field, it is easy for a person to become overwhelmed. One only has to know the field’s origin and philosophy to begin to understand the individual differences between the specialties and more importantly, how a coach can personally help.

What is Coaching?
Coaching is a brand new field started in the mid ‘80s by a financial planner by the name of Thomas Leonard. CEO’s and executives in the business arena started to utilize coaches and consultants to assist in performance improvement and setting individualistic business goals.

The ultimate goal was to influence the bottom line – profit and performance. Business professionals discovered that if they improved their performance or better yet, the quality of their work, the end result translated into dollars and corporate advancement. Hence the premise of coaching is - the movement from where you are currently, to where you want to go.

The Evolution of Personal Coaching:
Just as the medical field has very different and unique specialties, from surgical medicine to oncology, so does the field of coaching. As coaching within the business realm started to become more and more prevalent, coaches started to find that their sessions with business professionals focused on different aspects of the individual’s life as well as their work or career aspirations.

This shift in topic focus was the beginning of an offshoot specialty called personal or life coaching. Personal coaches, or life coaches, can address a myriad of life facets such as personal development, life-work balance, relationships, interpersonal communication, life purpose, personal passion and even spiritual growth.

A Growing Profession:
According to the International Coach Federation, the governing body for coaches worldwide, there are some 20,000 full time coaches in business, with 75% of them from the United States. More than 6,000 coaches are members of the Federation, which is a number that is increasing exponentially every year.

This up and coming field has attracted the attention of educational institutions and psychotherapists as schools such as Georgetown and organizations such as the American Psychological Association have incorporated coaching classes into their training programs.

There are presently 71 coach training programs listed by the ICF with many more schools offering training in this field and growing numbers of students enrolling each year.

The Benefits of Coaching:
The benefits of coaching are vast and can be described in many ways. For example, the International Coach Federation describes the benefits of coaching as, “providing an ongoing partnership designed to help clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Coaches help people improve their performances and enhance the quality of their lives.”

Likewise, in our coaching business, we have found a variety of benefits that our clients gain such as:

• Increased Integrity
• Success and Empowerment
• Organization and Balance
• Sense of Purpose
• Possibilities and Options
• Increased Self-Confidence
• Overall Personal Development
• Independence
• Increased Self-Responsibility and Self-Awareness
• Accountability
• Personal Development of Strengths and Skills
• Clarity of Direction and Focus

How Coaching is Done:
The majority of coaches meet with their clients on a weekly basis by phone or email and do not have a business limited by geographical location. Due to the advancements of communication equipment, the various tools available to coaches are endless. Coaches have been known to assist clients by cell phone, email, instant messaging, teleclasses, groups, seminars and face-to-face appointments.

Shopping for a Coach:
Just as you would get a second opinion if you visited a doctor, it is advisable to shop around for a coach that you would work well with. Make sure that they are a member of a reputed organization such as the International Coach Federation and that they abide by a professional code of ethics. Ask about their background, coach training and professional philosophy to make sure that the coach’s particular specialty fits the challenges you are looking to work on.







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The Lighthouse Consulting Services of IL., Inc., is a full service coaching and personal development company, located in downtown Arlington Heights, Illinois. Founded by Ray & Jean Kadkhodaian, The Lighthouse is the only husband and wife owned company of its kind in the Chicago Northwest Suburbs providing personal and career coaching services, hypnosis and life improvement workshops for individuals, couples and companies. Their own self-development model called the S3-Method (Seven Steps to Synergy) has resulted in client reports of experiencing more challenge, more action and more results in 90 days than most people achieve in a lifetime.

For more information or for a free coaching session call 847-253-9769, or visit: www.lighthouseofillinois.com

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