Life coaching is a partnership between coach and client to provide structure, guidance and support for the client’s goal of creating a better life. Could your employees – and your business – benefit?
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is more challenging than it has ever been, and studies indicate that personal stress and domestic demands have a significant impact on employees’ energy and morale in the workplace. Life coaching can help restore balance by allowing us to focus on the areas of our lives which may need more attention, re-energising us and bringing back purpose, direction and passion. With the assistance of a coach, we can gain control over our lives through clarifying our values, identifying motivational factors, establishing personal goals, and receiving encouragement and accountability during challenging times. Life coaches help us perform better and ultimately improve the quality of our lives both at home and at work.
Coaching is for anyone who is motivated to create a better life. Areas in which it has been shown to be particularly effective include:
Reassessing life goals and developing action plans
Restoring work-life balance
More effective coping with stressful situations
Prioritising projects and timelines; better time-management
Improving personal and professional relationships
Identifying core strengths and maximising their potential
Simplifying life to reduce stress and increase productivity
Enhancing self confidence
Clarifying focus; improving decision-making skills
Facilitating conflict resolution
Improving communication skills
Empowering to take action
In the context of the workplace, life coaching can positively impact employee engagement, creativity, morale and satisfaction, as well as sales and bottom line figures. A Manchester Consulting Group study found that coaching resulted in a 77% improvement in employee relationships, 67% improvement in teamwork, 61% improvement in job satisfaction, and 48% improvement in quality of work. Return on investment (ROI) was almost six times the cost of the coaching programme – in other words, for every dollar spent on coaching, companies earned six dollars.
Where coaching was once viewed by many as simply a tool to help correct underperformance, today it is widely used in supporting top producers. It can be especially useful to help individuals, groups and organisations address complex problems and/ or achieve significant goals. And more companies are recognising the benefits of providing coaching to the entire workforce – for example, online shoe and clothing company Zappos.com, known for their commitment to creating a culture of unparalleled customer service, believes their success is due in part to a full-time goals coach working with any employee who wants to create a better life.
