Tomorrow’s Life Coach
Volume 3 Issue 6 - June

In This Issue: Coaching Families & Young Adults

Upcoming Classes at ILCT
Pat’s Ponderings ~ Patrick Williams
Editor’s Pen ~ Annette Miller
Coaching High School and College Students ~ Jan and Tim Tillotson
Navigating Adolescence: Coaching Teens and Their Parents ~ Mia Tennenbaum
Announcement: Christian Coaches Conference - Seattle, Washington, June 17-19
Help your Clients Discover their Life Purpose and Create a Career they Love ~ Fern Gorin
Dynamic Parenting, Coaching Families to Success ~ Aricia LaFrance
10 Step Solution for Organizing Your Coaching Office ~ Pam Woods

Tomorrow's Life Coach is a professional monthly online journal of the Institute for Life Coach Training that nourishes the intellect, intuition and inspiration of the personal/business coaching community. TLC continues to gain in popularity among diverse coaches and is highly recommended by Peer Resources:

"One of the best free newsletters, Tomorrow's Life Coach consists of well-researched, informative articles on a variety of key topics for coaches. While a publication of the Institute for Life Coach Training, many of the articles are written by other well-known coaches."

Upcoming Classes at ILCT

Foundational Courses

• Foundational Coach Training for Therapists - starts June 21, July 20        
• Foundational Coach Training for Christian Counselors  - in session; next class starts October 4

Coaching Tools and Skills

• The Foundational Competency Practicum and Assessment - starts July 5
• Coaching Skills Practicum - starts July 8

Practice Building Courses

• Practice Made Perfect: Marketing Your Coaching Business For Maximum Success - starts July 7

Coaching Applications/Specialties

• *Life Purpose and Career Coach Training - starts June 22
• The Theory and Practice of Coaching Women: Part 2 - starts July 20

*See article "Help your Clients Discover their Life Purpose and Create a Career they Love"

Additional classes, details and online registration at our course section. Some schedules may change; check listing or contact Edwina Adams, Administration/Registration, at edwina@lifecoachtraining.com or Diane Menendez, Director of Faculty and Curriculum, at diane@lifecoachtraining.com

Pat's Ponderings

Dear Fellow Coaches:

My passion for life coaching has, from the beginning, that it reach far beyond corporate, executive, or business coaching, My vision is that coaching permeate society and be ubiquitous in its availability to different types of clients and their special context. Coaching families and young adults is one of the areas of specialty that I believe will grow in the next few years. Coaching is a service people can access BEFORE challenges get to the point of needing family therapy. And families and adolescents and young adults are more likely to be willing to have a coach than to have a therapist. Look at some of the possibilities this month in TLC and see if you want to add family and youth coaching to your areas of interest.

Happy Coaching!

Pat
Patrick Williams Ed.D., MCC
Chief Energizing Officer, ILCT
Department Chair, Professional Coaching 
International University of Professional Studies: "Get a PhD in professional coaching from a reputable university without walls. Go to www.iups.edu...the quickest and least expensive way to achieve a PhD in professional coaching."

Editor's Pen

Dear Coaches:

Some of you have already selected the niche of coaching families/youth for your service as a coach. But perhaps some of you will discover a new passion as you read these inspiring articles by our contributors--Jan and Tim Tillotson, Mia Tennenbaum and Aricia LaFrance. Thanks go to these authors and also to Pam Woods who writes on organizing your coaching office and Fern Gorin who shares about the hot topic of career coaching.

However you impact your clients, you are a positive agent for shaping the future of our neighborhoods, nation and world. Thank you for your gracious service as a coach!

All the best,

Annette

P.S. Our editorial calendar and guidelines for submissions are at http://www.lifecoachtraining.com/resources/newsletter/guidelines.shtml.

Annette A. Miller, MBA, Executive Coach
Editor, Tomorrow's Life Coach
Graduate, ILCT
Member, ICF, CCN, IAC
Founder, LifeSync Coaching®
annette@lifesync.com
http://www.lifesync.com
Authorized Affiliate for Extended DISC assessments - providing assessment services and certification training to coaches and HR trainers.  Discover the benefits of Extended DISC - the world's fastest growing assessment system!

“The TLC journal is a great resource!  Within the first three months of my subscription, I’ve learned about and enrolled in a new training program (LearnDrPhil) and found a new source in which to publish an article that I authored.  Thank you for this transformative communication tool.” 

Pam Woods

Coaching High School and College Students

A niche that has become a significant portion of our practice is using the DISC Behavioral Assessment in combination with coaching to help high school and college students make more informed, intentional choices for their future – both short term and long term.

We decided to use the Managing For Success, Employee/Manager Version of the DISC in our work with students. We experienced that students found their DISC reports to be not only enlightening, but also encouraging. They began to understand their interaction with family members, teachers, and classmates in much more depth. They also were excited to be able to think about curriculum and career decisions based on an understanding of their strengths and attributes. Many had been considering a career because it was what a parent had done or because they thought it was a way to make a lot of money.

The combination of the DISC Behavior Assessment and coaching is very powerful with students. Almost instantly learning a great deal about themselves and then having a coach help them apply that self-awareness to issues they are facing has an immense appeal.

There are several unique aspects to the college student population that make coaching them both satisfying and productive. On the one hand, their anxiety level is often high, so they are motivated. They are in a period of transition, often having left their parents, their community, and their support group. On the other hand they typically have not had the time or opportunity to mess up their lives, refreshingly different from many of the adults we had worked with.

Since students and/or their parents are investing $50,000 to $100,000 in a college education, it makes good economic sense to spend a few thousand dollars to greatly increase the likelihood of a substantial return on that investment. These are some comments from a parent of two college students who Jan coached.

Although I do not have the specifics of what they discussed and worked on with Jan, I do know that their confidence was restored and they emerged as stronger young women, ready to face new challenges head on.

Those of you who are already familiar with coaching know that coaching is usually done over the phone, which is very acceptable for adolescents and young adults. Of course, the Internet Delivery System for the assessments also removes geographic boundaries. 

Coaching is an excellent fit with the DISC Behavior Assessment because neither is based on pathology or dysfunction. A student does not need to feel inadequate or broken in order to makes use of this service. It is truly a process of identifying and building on strengths, minimizing the affects of weaknesses, and moving forward in an intentional way. 

The following is a quote from the mother of a high school student who had been diagnosed as “having” Attention Deficit Disorder. We think her comments are a fitting summation of the value of assessments combined with coaching for young people.

I would have paid millions of dollars for the time that Josh spent with Jan debriefing his results. Our family saw instantaneous results. Josh became confident in all aspects of his life and his self-esteem has gone up by leaps and  bounds. Because of what DISC has done for him, Josh is not afraid of failure.


Jan and Tim Tillotson, ILCT graduates, are licensed mental health counselors who have over 60 years experience as counselors, coaches, consultants, and educators. They have been in private practice for the past 28 years. Six years ago they added coaching and consulting to their practice. In addition they are Certified Professional Behavior Analysts, Certified Professional Values Analysts and Certified Attribute Index Analysts. They can be contacted at (904) 471-5623 or tillotson@worldnet.att.net.

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
 ~e.e. cummings

Navigating Adolescence: Coaching Teens and Their Parents

Coaching parents and families through life’s ups and downs is an inspiring experience. As a therapist turned coach, I find that many families are seeking the immediate relief that a coaching approach provides. This is particularly true with the parent/teen dynamic. The initial phone call that I receive is usually the same: “My teen has been through three therapists already and nothing has helped. My child needs someone to help him/her get a clue about how to make decent choices and get it together. We are not interested in rehashing the past—we need to move forward and make progress. For that matter, I need help figuring out how to manage all of this. Can you help?” My answer is usually a resounding, “YES!” 

Parents of teens, and teens themselves, are drawn to the coaching model because it provides them with the opportunity to set concrete goals with someone who will support them through the process in an unthreatening way. Please don’t misunderstand; I know there are plenty of therapists who might take this same approach. However, as coaches, we truly walk alongside our clients and support them in their process. The coaching relationship is simply different, and both teens and their parents love it.

If you are considering venturing into the wonderful world of coaching teens and their parents, here are a few tips to keep in mind. First, always keep the parent informed of when you will be dialoguing with the teen and what the goals for that coaching session will be. A quick e-mail can take care of that. 

Second, it is important to strike a good balance between maintaining a confidential relationship with the teen while respecting the parent’s desire to be kept in the loop. Openly discuss with the teen what he or she is comfortable with in terms of relaying information to the parents. Then, explain your personal policies on this issue to both the parent and the teen. 

Third, it will be important to establish accountability. Developmentally, most teens have not reached a maturity level that allows for them to fully understand how their decisions today impact results days or weeks from now. Given this, it takes patience on the part of the coach and an ability to effectively relay this concept to the parents so that the teen feels supported and not unnecessarily pressured.

Finally, parents of teens often feel confused and frustrated as their otherwise loving and cuddly kids turn into independent, opinionated people. Having a coach in the picture provides them with a sense of reassurance as they work to develop and strengthen their skills of raising an adolescent.

It is a great feeling to assist parents and teens as they make their way through the often tenuous years of adolescence. Being invited to join parents on their journey and to play a part in the wellness of families as a coach is quite an honor. 

Mia Tennenbaum, MA, NCC, LPC is a Parent/Family Coach specializing in coaching adolescents, parents of adolescents and parents of special needs children. She is the author of Essential Proteen™: Nourishing Skills for the Teen Spirit!, a unique program for teens and an excellent tool for coaches that can be used in both individual and group format. For more information Mia can be reached via e-mail at Mia@MiaSharon.com or through her website at www.MiaSharon.com.

Help your Clients Discover their Life Purpose and Create a Career they Love

Are you working with clients that are unhappy in their work? Confused about their next steps? Unemployed, facing layoffs, or in transition? Seeking a new purpose or direction in their lives? If so, Life Purpose and Career Coaching may be a very valuable and important skill for you to add to your practice. 

The Life Purpose Institute has created a 7 Step Model to help your clients discover their Life Purpose and create work they love. The steps are:

1. Self-exploration
The first and most important step is to guide your client through a complete self-exploration. Through self-exploration, you help your client identify what they love to do, and their unique gifts, talents, passions, and purpose. There are many specific exercises that can assist them in this discovery process. The key is to know the right questions to ask.

You can begin this process by asking your clients what elements they want in their ideal career and life. For example: flexible schedule, creativity, work with people, type of environment, skills utilized, interests. It is important to get very specific about exactly what they want. 

In this process, the client is discovering their true “Life Purpose”. Their Life Purpose is what they feel called to do, what they want to do, and what their unique contribution is. As a coach, your role is to assist them in sorting all this out in order to find their truest and most fulfilling path.

2. Help them create their ideal career 
The next step in career coaching is to assist your client in customizing a career. It is like putting together a puzzle. First you need the pieces--the elements of their ideal career. At a certain point, the pieces come together--integrate--and become the whole picture. This is when you have arrived at your client’s life work. 

You can assist your client to look at all the options—standard career options and creative alternatives. Does your client prefer finding a new job, staying in your present job and making it more ideal, or starting a business? 

Assist your client to think outside the box. I’ve coached many artists who have turned their art into marketable products like posters, greetings cards, and children’s wallpaper. Defining career options can be a very fun and creative endeavor.

These principles also apply to helping your client design their ideal life. You help your client look at all of the elements of their overall life. Then, you help them design a life that is most fulfilling and integrated.

The five other Steps to The Life Purpose and Career Coaching are:

#3- Researching and Testing out the Possibilities
#4- Developing Short and Long Term Plan of Action
#5- Overcoming Blocks to Career and Business Success
#6- Mastering Skills Needed to Transition into New Job or Life
#7- Coaching the Client Until They Achieve the Results They Desire

In conclusion, the seven steps outlined above are all important to help your clients discover their life purpose and create a career they’ll love.

These seven steps will be taught by Fern Gorin, Director of the Life Purpose Institute, in ILCT’s Life Purpose and Career Coach Training beginning on June 22, 6:30 p.m. EDT. For more information, call 858-259-9345.

Accelerate your coaching skills and business growth
through ILCT's courses for professional coaches

Dynamic Parenting, Coaching Families to Success

Regardless of your area of expertise as a coach, you probably find yourself routinely working with families. The executive running a Fortune 500 company is struggling with a teen at home. The artist is trying to juggle the creative process with a toddler. Our clients’ experiences with family profoundly affect their internal dialog and external performance so it’s good to have a few tools to deal with these issues when they come up. 

Over the past twenty years as a therapist and parenting coach, I’ve learned that successful, close, happy families consistently strive towards modeling and teaching a certain set of traits and I’ve learned the techniques they use to weave them into their family tapestry. 

I integrate this into my coaching approach to help clients unearth their own best parenting answers. By modeling the traits, I help them see their benefit. I show them how these traits can be put to work in their own families and the more they practice, the greater climate of success they create at home. After a few months, problems are less likely to take root and serious parenting issues rarely come up any more. The work is deep and contemplative, but astonishingly simple and effective. 

Jeffrey came to me with a common problem. He was an exceptional manager, but didn’t relate well to his kids. I asked him to create a list of the traits that made him successful at work and compare that list with the traits and techniques shared by successful families. He found a number of opposites. He learned, for example, that on the job, it was all about efficiency. But at home, successful parenting started with patiently doing “nothing” with his kids. He began to incorporate the traits that resonated for him into his parenting and has started to create the family he always wanted.

Another client, Samantha, was an exceptionally successful woman who could manage everything at work beautifully. But she broke out into a cold sweat at the thought of dealing with her kids. We reviewed her current approach and after acknowledging her efforts, we began to explore the traits of successful families together and she began to create a list of new approaches to try. When she got stuck, I added my two cents. When she was completely stumped, I provided her with resources. She used coaching to design her own template for parenting. Within three months, there was more laughter and respect and far less conflict at home. 

By applying these traits and techniques to their families, my clients not only become better parents but healthier and more self-aware people. I’ve been able to successfully reach parents and help them solve parenting problems from the root by using this technique. I invite you to use this article to brainstorm about the traits of the most successful people in the area you coach and apply the same technique with your clients.

Aricia E. LaFrance, MSE specializes in coaching parents and is an alumna of the ILCT. Her book, Dynamic Parenting, is due out later this year and will be available on her web site at www.coachlafrance.com She welcomes your comments. You may reach her at lifecoach373@comcast.net.

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
~ James Baldwin 

10 Step Solution for Organizing Your Coaching Office

Do you run late for meetings, run afoul of deadlines, forget appointments or misplace keys, files, important documents, or other items? If so, you’re not alone, Americans lose/waste nine (9) million hours per day looking for misplaced items, according to the American Demographics Society. If this is an area of challenge for you, follow the 10 simple steps below and get your coaching environment organized once and for all! 

1. Think at a helicopter level and identify the major categories of items to be kept in your office/workspace. Limit the number of categories to a maximum of 7 or 8. For example: 1) operational items – phone numbers, expense reports, instructions and procedures, 2) client files, 3) brochures, 4) tax and legal – contracts and receipts, 5) reading, 6) tools – assessments and articles, and 7) future projects. 

2. Sort every item, every piece of paper, every file in your office/workspace into the piles that represent the major categories identified in step #1. Start with all visible items, then move to the items stored in drawers, file cabinets and overhead bins. If you have an extraordinary amount of material to categorize, you might want to get a large box for each category so your piles don’t get mixed up. 

3. Cull each category. Be determined to eliminate everything but the absolute necessities. Dispose of old and unwanted items by pitching them, giving them to someone else, selling or donating them, or sending them to storage.

4. Organize the balance of items in each category. Put items in date order, alphabetical order, number order, or subject matter order. If organizing by subject matter, consider putting each subject into a separate file folder.

5. Make a little cheat sheet or outline of the major categories you’re using and the types of materials and subcategories contained in each. This will serve as a future reference as to where you have stored items.

6. Appoint a place to store each category. Consider the size of each category, how frequently you will be accessing each category, and where in your workspace you will be using each category. 

7. Sketch your office/workspace and mark where you intend to place each category of item. Is there convenient and sufficient storage space available for each category?

8. Purchase containers, shelving, etc. for which you don’t currently have storage space. Again, consider the size of container needed based on your available space and the volume of the materials to be stored in it. 

9. Reposition or put each category of item into its new space or container. Once you have completed this step, stand back and admire your work. You will feel energized by a new sense of control and accomplishment. 

10. Spend 10 minutes at the end of each day putting everything away. This way you will walk into an organized and inviting office/workspace each morning. Reevaluate your arrangement at least bi-annually or as new assignments are acquired.

You can use the described organizing process to organize any space within your workplace or home. Simply change the names of the major categories to apply to the specific materials you will be organizing. Consider all of your daily activities as potential targets for increased organization and simplicity, and start improving your life today with the organizing skill you have learned. 

Pam N. Woods is co-author of Create the Business Breakthrough You Want: Secrets and Strategies From The World’s Greatest Mentors; endorsed by Ken Blanchard and Dr. Stephen Covey. Pam is a Coach U graduate and President of Smart WorkLife Solutions, a life coaching and consulting company devoted to co-creating customized solutions to fit clients business, career, work-life balance, organizing and HR needs. You can learn more about Pam’s work at www.worklifecoach.com or by calling 515.225.2479. 

Accelerate your coaching skills and business growth
through ILCT's courses for professional coaches

Tomorrow's Life Coach™

Patrick Williams, Ed.D., Publisher
Annette Miller, Editor, annette@lifesync.com
© 2004 Institute for Life Coach Training
www.lifecoachtraining.com
Phone: 888-267-1206
info@lifecoachtraining.com