Do you want to know how to be a life coach who can gain instant credibility with your clients? Do you want to know how to be a life coach who has a clear picture of your client’s behaviors, motivators and personal skills…even before the first session? Do you want to be able to do this before you take half a dozen coaching courses?

The solution is using profiling and assessment coaching tools and skills. We offer certification and training for those who want to know how to be a life coach who has a deep understanding of these assessment tools. You can also use assessments if your quest is to learn how to be a life coach for people in sales, management, relationships, communication, and career planning. And there are some good coaching courses out there that will not only teach you the theory, but include practical experience in using the assessments during coaching sessions.

After your client takes a 10 minute computerized test, you will receive a detailed report on the results. Even without taking any coaching courses, you will have some understanding about a person’s behavioral style and core beliefs.  Why?  Because even if you can’t read the graphical results of the assessment, there are many pages of text that you can read through to really learn how to add value to your coaching clients.  By the time you read through those results, you will know how to be a life coach who can communicate with and motivate your client most effectively.
One product, the DISC, measures 4 aspects of human behavior:

• D is for “Dominance” and measures how people meet challenges or solve problems

• I is for “Influence” and measures how people influence others to their point of view

• S is for “Steadiness” and measures how people respond to the pace of their environment

• C is for “Compliance” and measures how people respond to rules set by others.

Understanding which measures are dominant will give you information about a person’s strengths and weaknesses. Someone who measures extremely high for “Influence” will value other people so highly they may have difficulty saying “no” in order to manage their own priorities. Someone who scores very low on “Compliance” will most likely have trouble keeping their workspace organized or following the rules, but can be amazingly creative. Most of us are a combination of 2 of these measures.

Another product, the values assessment, makes it clear what motivates people to take action and why they behave the way they do. You can use this tool to understand how to be a life coach who knows how to motivate people to take specific action and how their values influence the choices they make. People tend to see the world through their values, and their behaviors are driven by finding fulfillment in the areas they feel are important to them.

• Theoretical: A passion to discover, systematize and analyze; a search for knowledge. They will probably take any coaching courses they can find.

• Utilitarian: A passion to gain return on investment of time, resources and money. They will only sign up for coaching courses that they are sure will make them money..

• Aesthetic: A passion to add balance and harmony in one’s own life and environment.

• Social: A passion to eliminate pain and suffering in the world and to assist others.

• Individualistic: A passion to achieve position and to use that position to influence others.

• Traditional: A passion to pursue the higher meaning in life through a defined system for living.

With access to these reports, you can get a clear picture of a person’s personality and values almost instantaneously. And when used properly, assessments can really help you become a more effective coach.

Colette Seymann

JTS Advisors Accountability Coach