Legends of the Coaching World

The greatest coaches work magic. This magic is the prestige in the world of coaching that leaves witnesses dumbfounded, in awe, and strangely attracted. This has also drawn many imposters into the coaching world and it angers and pains me to see the undiscerning and desperate fall for their tricks.

I’ve seen the title “coach” on so many people’s business cards. Yet, what makes them a coach? Is it a training course they attended? Is it past experience coming from a related helping profession? Is it management experience? These days, it’s so easy to call yourself a coach, even if you never really went through formal training, or have direct experience in coaching. So, who exactly is a coach, and how would you know that you’re looking at the real deal? People I meet in business circles would ask me, "What does it take to become a great coach?” My answer usually isn’t what they expect to hear: “Your whole life.”

Then I tell them why.

Firstly, you have to work on yourself. And this doesn’t stop until the day you die. Clean up your life and be up to great things with the evidence to show for it, and only then do you have the power to stand for another life and the right to demand more of someone else. Only then would you have the ability to evoke someone’s possibility and transform it into performance. No one wants to work with a coach who doesn’t have his life handled, or is ordinary, or is less of a being than them. The more senior you become, the more superior you are called to be. You are the gods and demi-gods of this world.

Secondly, no matter how much you know, no matter how much you have accomplished, no matter how popular you are, you are empty. The moment you are full of yourself, you stop receiving. Great coaches are empty in order to listen. They have deep empathy and have the capacity to hold you in their presence. They are precise in their speaking and can tell you what’s going on with you even before you know it. Often, they speak by silences. Without a word, they can say, “Do your work!” Or, “Tell me where it really hurts.” They are a vessel for you to step into for a moment, to see yourself and the world through different eyes. That takes mastery.

Lastly, great coaches make sure their reach exceeds their grasp. They take ownership of more than just their lot. They make lives their business. They don’t wait to be spoon-fed. They figure things out. They are creative with their tools. They aren’t afraid to test things out, take old notions and turn them inside out in examination. They have six pairs of hands, two pairs of eyes, and a big heart. The six pairs of hands give them the ability to reach out to their own clients, and the coaches they mentor and their clients, while still keeping things going for themselves. One pair of eyes is like a mirror to help you look at yourself, and the other pair can see what’s going on behind closed doors. Great coaches don’t give up on you. They have a heart that continues to beat for you in the times when you’ve lost your heart to go on. 

It’s not just a rank, or title, or certificate that makes a coach great. Great coaches are legends because of who they are, their love, their dedication, and their stand for people to be powerful, to make a change, and to become legends in their own lives.