Coaching Family and Friends Recommended?

[miraclescoach]

Hi all, I am new to this forum.  I just sold my payroll service and I am headed in to Coaching this year, training with Debbie Ford and Joe Vitale.  Very excited!

I have not begun training yet, next month, but I thought this would be a great place to ask this question.

Is it recommended to coach your family and friends as your first clients as you are first going in to this field?  Does this create any type of conflicts?

Thanks!

Tammy, from Ohio!

[marksherwood]

Hi Tammy,

Interesting post,

IMHO, coaching family and friends can have its drawbacks, as there is an emotional attachment involved that isnt present (or shouldnt be) when working with 'clients'

I think i remember our very own Michael Neill used to run a course called (something like) 'How to coach friends and family...without pissing them off !'

Of course, i may be wrong and perhaps it was a course that i 'wished' Michael could have ran  ...note: Michael, if you read this, and start a course...i want 10% !!

IMHO, if you can detatch from the emotional side of things, then friends and family are a great playground for coaches to 'cut their teeth' on.

The most important thing to to me when practising my coaching skills is to have fun...and i am sure you will !!

Good luck with your new career, and keep us all posted as to how things are going.

Cheers,

Mark

[Jay Budzynski]

Hello Tammy


Welcome to the forum.

“Does this create any type of conflicts?” so as this maybe your primary concern, my question is can you envision any conflicts?

If yes then how might you address them?
What specific conflicts do you think may come up?
Who of your friends/family may not appreciate being coached?
Who of your friends/family do you think and feel would enjoy being coached?
What topics are you happy to get involved with?
What topics would you, feel uneasy covering?


From my point of view coaching friends and family, as more positive to it then negative, as you can set it up in such away that it becomes a game, as you can get your friends and family of roll play clients, and you can give them ideates to play with, and also work with some real things that would help your friends and family to do much better in what they what to do.

The thing is we coach our friends and family ever day, it’s just now as you are working to get a bit of paper that say you are a qualified then the frame of reference changes, if one of your friends have a issue and they come to you for advice, this is coaching, you help your Kid/s with home work this is coaching.


If you can plan ahead and ask yourself a host of question, about what may be involved, what may or may not create tensions, then you can work your way around and conflicts, and as you have the safety net of these people being your friends and family, then you can use them times for feedback and to refine your skills.

See, hear and feel your self feeling confident and the more you do the more competent you will be, if you have never baked a cake before, and you have a new recipe, then you have to play with the cake mix, and bake a few cakes, each time making adjustments making each cake better each time until to can make and bake the cake and then you can sell your cakes and make lots of people very happy.


Jay