Have you ever wondered what makes for a successful coach? In today’s post we’re going to delve into 10 important characteristics of a great coach. Our aim is to help you get clear on the qualities you should be aspiring to, in order to stand out from the crowd in the coaching world. Of course, none of these are mandatory, but they will certainly give you the edge over your competition, as well as bringing high quality coaching to your clients.
Characteristic No. 1: Great Coaches Are Great Listeners
Successful coaches excel at the skill of listening. Their ability to understand their client goes beyond simply hearing what they say – it involves also paying attention to the subtle nuances.
Being able to listen helps a coach empathise with their client. When you listen, you make space for the client to speak and express themselves; your role is primarily to facilitate this self- expression.
Of course, great listening skills lie not in just attentively listening, but also in asking supportive, intelligent questions to help your client share and communicate easily.
Asking the right questions to encourage the conversation makes your client feel heard, supported, and understood, which is essential in building trust with your client. Indeed, without doubt, active listening is the number one characteristic of a great coach.
Characteristic No. 2: Great Coaches Are Passionate About What They Do
People don’t become a coach because it was an academic subject in school. Nor do they become a coach as a way to get rich quickly. They become a coach because they are passionate about what they do, and the change they can help another make.
Coaching can be quite a lonely profession, where the coach often has to take their own lead and find their own way. While there are organisations that seek to support a coach’s journey, often, it is the coach who has to find their own way forward, sometimes with little support at all along the way..
Without passion, this journey can appear daunting, and it can be easy to give up when the going gets tough.
It is passion that carries you forward.
It is passion that helps you stand up and be there for your clients when they need you the most.
It is passion that helps you keep going when you are starting out and have no clients.
It is passion that helps you turn away from that job that promises to pay far better than your existing income, because your heart is leading you on and you know the transformation you will enable others to make.
Passion and purpose are the two P’s on which great coaches thrive.
Characteristic No. 3: Great Coaches Look After Themselves
Successful coaches know the importance of self-care. And they prioritise it, so they can be more impactful and effective as a coach.
Whether it is diet, exercise, or life outside the profession, they like to keep things in order. What differentiates a great coach from an average coach is the holistic approach the former takes towards their profession.
They recognise that to perform at their best, they must care for themselves and also care for other areas of their life. Which is why great coaches don’t ignore their family or friends, just because they have a business.
They don’t skip a meal, just because they’re busy marketing their services.
Great coaches recognise the fact that coaching is a part of their life, and not their whole life. This recognition allows them to take a more practical approach that helps them be at ease with their clients.
And when you look after yourself, you include everyone else that you care about. And that’s what makes great coaches, great.
Characteristic No. 4: Great Coaches Recognise That Learning Doesn’t End at School
When you don’t know something, you can find it out. This is the superpower that rests in the hands of every human being. And successful coaches use it to their advantage.
When they don’t know how to do something, they go pick a book, a course, or a lecture and take notes. Or, and often this is even more powerful, they find their own coach who can guide them in their own growth journey.
Learning for coaches doesn’t end at school. Which is why, whether they’re 25 or 55, you will find them enrolling in a course, improving their skills, and getting better at their profession.
Great coaches have a wonderful quality of being teachable. And this is what puts them into the ranks of the top coaches. The best coaches in the world find it easy to ask for help, which helps them learn, which helps them grow, and which helps them thrive. Ultimately, of course, it’s what enables them to help you!
Characteristic No. 5: Great Coaches Communicate
The ability to communicate effectively is undoubtedly one of the topmost skills that great coaches possess. Communication is an articulate expression of your thoughts, emotions and intentions; it takes into account the other person’s needs, infusing empathy and compassion into the dialogue.
But, communication is about so much more than words. It combines the words you say with how you say them, and with your body language that underlies them. A great coach is able to put their client at ease before ever the physical conversation has begun, by their welcome, their manner, and the essence of who they are.
In other words, great coaches possess the skills to communicate in ways that make their clients feel at home with themselves. In this way, transformation becomes so much easier to achieve.
Characteristic No. 6: Great Coaches Seek to Inspire
The qualities that we have spoken about until now help great coaches do the one thing they seek to do most, and that is to inspire people, and to help them find the transformation they are seeking..
But inspiring people doesn’t mean you have to be as fiery as Tony Robbins, not at all. The great coach will be comfortable with who they are, rather than trying to be someone else. They will rather be a skilled individual who can catalyse change by being present to the needs of their client.
Great coaches recognise that the spark or the inspiration to get better outcomes in one’s life already lies within every human being. And that the only thing a coach has to do is to kindle that spark.
The more skilled a coach is at inspiring people, the more successful he or she will be in their profession.
Characteristic No. 7: Great Coaches Spend Time in Silence
Silence has a peculiar quality, a dimension of its own. There is magic in silence. And great coaches know the value of that. Which is why, each day, they take regular pauses to spend some time just being silent. Time to step away from the noise around them, and to allow them to reconnect with who they truly are, and not just the work they are called to do.
Characteristic No. 8: Great Coaches Have a Sense of Humour
Whether they’re building their business or serving their clients, they know how to have a good laugh, and especially, to laugh off their challenges. They know how to laugh at themselves, and how to laugh with themselves, releasing depths they might otherwise miss completely.
Characteristic No. 9: Great Coaches Make Money
They know the value of their service and are not shy in asking for the right price. It’s easy for successful coaches to see that money is, in simple terms, an exchange of value; they seek to give far more than they get, and the richness of their understanding in this area gives them the energy they need to thrive. In other words, the freedom they have to deliver their service confidently, asking the right price for them, is also what makes great coaches great.
Characteristic No. 10: Great Coaches Know the Value of a Community
They often associate with people on a journey similar to them, so they can collaborate effectively. They understand that even though they are building their business by themselves, they can always benefit by being part of the right community, one whose members can all share, learn, support, and grow together.
The essential characteristics of a great coach outlined in this article can serve as a helpful guide, when you’re starting out as a coach, and even when you’ve established yourself as one. And if someone asked me, which point I’d pick from the 10, the decision would be an easy one – it’s number 10, where I talk about the value of being part of the right community. By joining the right community, you will undoubtedly get a headstart. Because within thar community you will have the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive, and that is exactly what we offer to do here at Succeed From The Start.
30 mins is all it takes to find out how you too can be successful as a coach.
