“How does coaching work?”

You’re the only one who really knows your circumstances. Coaching starts with good conversations about those. Coaches listen well in order to learn from the stories that clients tell about their own hopes and struggles.

Coaches then help explore a range of options and constraints related to their clients’ personal or work aspirations. Coaches offer targeted encouragement, too, as they work with clients to map effective plans for forward motion.

Coaches might continue in a supportive role after initial strategy sessions. Ongoing guidance and wise questions can help clients overcome obstacles, negotiate tough relationships, or chart new directions.

My own coaching is done primarily through phone calls and Zoom. Most calls occur once or twice a month, with briefer Spotlight Sessions in the interval by phone or text. I am currently offering a sculpted coaching program — Light the Way — that can also be individually customized.

But my coaching always starts with a free Forward Focus Session ($0.00). Learn more by pressing the button below.

“Is coaching another word for therapy?”

Therapy and counseling tend to focus on mental health, which usually involves past trauma and the recurring problems it presents. Open wounds and unhealthy responses resulting from trauma may need more resolution for the client to move forward in a better way.

Coaching, in contrast, focuses on present and future challenges with the mission of developing concrete strategies for overcoming them. Good coaches guide clients with incisive questions toward practical actions on identifiable goals. The goals are often established by the client in conversation with the coach.

Both forms of guidance can be helpful and may overlap in the course of any conversation. But coaching does not aim to solve or salve traumatic pain. Coaches are equipped to help individuals surmount present obstacles, strategize for their future, and actuate a new reality.

“Is coaching by a pastor just another name for spiritual direction?”

No, spiritual direction focuses explicitly and primarily on a client’s spiritual journey. The spiritual director helps a client probe their own journey, discern its direction, and perhaps even facilitate the client’s own encounters with the divine.

Coaching works differently. Coaches address concrete present and future challenges in one or more spheres of an individual’s life. Those challenges likely involve some aspect of a client’s spiritual journey, too, but coaches do not ordinarily explore that relationship. They stay focused on helping the client strategize for the attainment of practical goals.

As a coach who is also a pastor, I simply let the client lead in this area, even with my clergy clients. I do not balk at discussing how a client’s spiritual journey shapes certain goals or is impacted by the pursuit of them. I appreciate the way deeply held values inform the decisions people make in any given circumstance. But I do not explicitly seek information related to spirituality unless a client demonstrates an interest in exploring those issues with me.

“Will I have to stress about saying ‘no’ to things you want me to do?”

A lot of people wonder this, even if they're too nervous to ask. Nobody wants another demanding relationship to maintain. They wonder how often they’ll have to dodge a coach’s direction or flat-out reject it.

Some professionals in the life coaching arena guide their clients with strong advice.

Most coaches who are familiar with the methods of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), like myself, coach people in a different way. We primarily ask just the right questions to get you to your own answers.

“I need solutions. Why would I bring my challenges to a coach just to be asked how I want to handle them?”

I love this question. It’s so appropriately skeptical!

If a coach merely turns your questions around on you, she’s not a good coach.

Good coaches know how to listen in different ways to a client’s stories. They hear and notice things the client may not have considered. Coaches also ask questions from unique angles and point the conversation down unexplored paths.

Sometimes you’ve asked the same questions yourself, but you hear your answers differently when a good coach asks them.

Coaches may have some of their own solutions in mind, as well. Their questions can still be very useful for identifying which actions they want to recommend or approve.

Even the best coach, however, cannot know your context and considerations better than you. That’s why the right solutions are more likely to emerge through a regimen of insightful questions and productive dialogue with a wise coach.

“How much does coaching cost?”

That entirely depends on the coach and the value they offer. My own rates are comparable to coaches with similar experience and/or education. My easy-to-find pricing is located beneath my packages.

“Can I try out coaching and ask more questions without paying quite yet?”

Yes! Fill out my contact form to sign up for a 30-minute Forward Focus Session ($0.00). We can meet by phone for a brief, preliminary coaching call that guides you toward clarity on some of your top priorities. I can also answer any questions you have. A Forward Focus Session does not require you to pay for any packages or sessions.

If you decide to work with me, we can talk more about my sculptured program or customize it to meet any unique needs you identify.