The Important of Planning and Goal Setting in Life Coaching

The need for planning and goal setting in life coaching is essential to the individual’s success and the coaching relationship.

The ICF Core Competency No. Ten.

Prior to the ICF updating its coaching competencies in 2019, there existed eleven core competencies. Today we have eight. The International Coach Federation’s eleven core competencies were created to be employed by coaches around the world to operate their coaching practices effectively. The Core Competencies are grouped into four clusters according to those that fit together logically based on common ways of looking at the competencies in each group. In the previous structure, we had the planning and goal setting listed under cluster or category D.

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Planning And Goal Setting—Ability to Develop And Maintain an Effective Coaching Plan With The Client.

As a professional life coach, you must work with your coaching clients to create and maintain an effective coaching plan. The ability to plan and set goals is a significant contribution to the success of the client. It helps both you and your client identify what it is, what the client desires to achieve, how it would look like. Once the goal has been established, you both begin to work towards it, taking the necessary steps to move forward towards realizing the goal. In addition, you want to ensure that the goals that are being put forth are realistic. The definitive guide to follow is the SMART acronym which stands for Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Timed.

Here is What the International Coaching Federation expects of every professional life coach regarding planning and goal setting.

They must:

Consolidate collected information and establish a coaching plan and development goals with the client that address concerns and major areas for learning and development.
Create a plan with results that are attainable, measurable, specific, and have target dates. (See SMART acronym above).
Make plan adjustments as warranted by the coaching process and by changes in the situation.
Help the client identify and access different resources for learning (e.g., books, other professionals).
Identify and target early successes that are important to the client.

Sample Questions For Goal Setting With Your Coaching Client

Below are a few great questions you can ask your coaching client as you work towards goal setting.

How committed are you to the goal(s)?
What have you done in the past to meet your goals?
In what ways do you work towards your goals?
Do you have a life plan or purpose?
Are you already a high-achieving goal-getter?
Do you find your goals challenging to achieve?
How would the desired goals impact your life?
Do you have the support system you desire in your life to accomplish your goals?

Even though we are relating planning and goal setting to life coaching in this article, as individuals, it is also essential to plan and set goals if we want to succeed in whatever we are striving to accomplish, be it personally or professionally.

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