‘I can’t or won’t do it, but I’ll teach you if you pay me’

Though it may seem like it, the personal development business is not for everyone.

I once met a coach who dreaded coaching. Very few things in this world bored him more than a client during a coaching session. Another coach I knew was attempting to sell his services to corporations, even though he had never worked for one in his life and had only a vague idea about how large international companies operate (obviously, he attributed his poor sales to corporate ill will, narrow-mindedness and envy). A third coach I remember spoke passionately about how employees should think, feel and act. As an employee himself, he was miserable and ineffective.


I’ve observed the coaching epidemic for a while now, and I came to believe that picking a coach is no safer than traffic in India.

There is a huge difference between genuine and wannabe coaches. We all want to be Tony Robbins, but preferably without all the hard work. Too many (so called) coaches have picked this line of business for all the wrong reasons. You’ve lost your job and can’t get another? Become a coach. You’ve quit your job because you just couldn’t handle the stress and the sacrifice? Become a coach. You have no idea what you want to do with your life? Become a coach. You think full-time work is just sad? Become a coach.

Coaching is not an excuse, a backup plan or a ‘between jobs’ activity, nor is it the coach’s personal therapy process. Genuine coaching comes from passion, deep belief and the credibility that arises from validating personal experience. You complete that with some serious schooling on the topic, and then you may start to claim you want to get into the coaching business.

Well, at least that's how I see it. What about you? Have you ever tried to work with a coach? What was your experience with it? How many coaches do you have in your LinkedIn or Facebook network?