Imagine a business built on what matters most to you, one inspired by creativity and connection.  Where purpose leads to profit and wealth is measured not just by your bottom line, but by your higher self. Welcome to the Work Your Inner Wisdom podcast where we connect the spiritual with the practical to create a holistic approach to entrepreneurship. Leave the hustle behind and let your intuition lead the way as you grow a successful, fulfilling business and a joyful, radiant life.

 

Well, hello, my wise ones, and welcome back to yet another episode of the Work Your Inner Wisdom podcast. My name is Lee Chaix McDonough and today, I want to answer a question that I get quite often from some of my clients. And that is, how do you become an intuitive coach? So that seems like maybe a very simple question on the surface. But there's a lot that goes into it. So today, I'm going to unpack what it means to be an intuitive coach. And really, there's three parts here. The first is what does it mean to be intuitive. The second part is what does it mean to be a coach. And then of course, the third part is when we combine them to be an intuitive coach. So I am not going to spend too much time in today's episode talking about what it means to be intuitive, because we have done that quite a bit on the podcast already. In Episode 3, I explored the art and science of intuition, so that is definitely a fantastic episode to check out to learn more about what intuition is and how you can cultivate it in your life. In Episode 17, I also talked about fear and intuition and how they relate to each other. And that's another really strong one to check out. And then of course, last week, I introduced you to my framework for making intuitively based decisions, the decide framework in Episode 23. So if you haven't listened to that one yet, make sure you check that one out, because it is a good one. So in terms of what it means to be intuitive, I'm going to refer you back to some earlier episodes, because I really want to spend today exploring the art of coaching. And I want to walk through what it means to be a coach, how you can become one and some of the common questions I hear from my clients about coaching. And after we explore the profession of coaching a bit, then I'm going to walk you through what it means to be an intuitive coach, and how I use an intuitive perspective in my coaching approach with my clients. So it's going to be a great show. So let's get right to it. 

So by far, the most common question I get is “How do I become a coach?” Well, there's a short answer, and there's a long answer. The short answer is you call yourself a coach. That's it, anyone can be a coach. And that's both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good in that there are not a lot of obstacles to entering the coaching profession. So if you want to show up and serve people powerfully, you can do that through coaching. And there aren't a lot of hoops to jump through in order to do so. Anyone can call themselves a coach. But that is also what makes it such a problem is that there is a very low bar to entry into the coaching profession. Because there is no federal or state regulation of coaching, at least in the United States, and I'm unaware of any in other countries as well. So because coaching is a self regulating industry, it is entirely on the coach to determine what education and training they need, what policies they follow, what rules they follow. So it can be a little tricky, and in many cases, it's buyer beware. If you are choosing to work with a coach, then you need to do your homework about what type of background this person has because truly anyone can call themselves a coach. And I may say a few controversial things in today's episode, so get ready. But here's controversial thing number one, there are a lot of people out there calling themselves coaches who are salespeople. And there is nothing wrong with sales. It is an honest job and some of my favorite people in the world are amazing at sales. But being really good at sales does not make you a coach and selling someone a powder drink mix does not make you a coach, what makes you a coach is your ability to create a transformation for your client through partnership, through goal setting, through support and encouragement and through using particular structures and approaches so that your client can optimize their performance. And that is a subtle and nuanced profession. So that's I just want to like lay that out there. I know some of you may be hearing this and thinking “Whew, Lee, that's a little judgy of you.” Fairpoint. It's simply because I wholeheartedly believe that coaching is such a dynamic, important process. And so I do get concerned when I see people who are not coaches adopting that moniker to describe what they do. So just be mindful that because there's such a low bar to entry, and because anyone can call themselves a coach, there may be a lot of misinformation out there about what coaching is, and what people expect from you as a coach. So when I went into the profession of coaching, I decided that I wanted to pursue credentialing through the International Coach Federation, which is one of the main regulating bodies in the United States and throughout the world. I attended an ICF accredited program, the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching or iPEC and I have since pursued my coaching credentials through ICF. I started with my ACC, or my associate certified coach, and I now hold the PCC credential or the professional certified coach credential. The next step, probably several years away from me is the master certified coach. And that's, that one's a big deal. That can easily take a decade to complete all the requirements to become an MCC. So we’ll, we'll see about that one. But it was really important to me to obtain my PCC because that is a signal to other coaches, to potential clients, to my community, that I am a certified coach who takes her profession very seriously. I received the training, the education, I do the continuing education, I commit to follow the ICF code of ethics. This is my professional organization. I'm proud of it, and I stand with it. So that's one of the reasons why I decided to pursue a credential. There are other credentialing bodies out there. There's the International Association for Coaching or the IAC. There's also the Center for Credentialing and Education, which I believe started as an affiliate of the National Board of Certified Counselors, so that one has a bit more of a counseling or psychology bent to it. And I don't know much about those particular organizations, I do know they're reputable, and certainly ones to consider if you're called to do so. But for me, ICF was really the gold standard in coaching credentialing and accreditation. And so that's why I chose to attend an ICF accredited program. And it's also why I use ICF’s definition of coaching to really guide my work. And I want to share that definition with you. ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. So I want to break down that definition a bit and explain why I think it's so strong. 

So the first piece is that they emphasize the fact that the coaching relationship is a partnership, there are people in this relationship that are on equal levels. So the coach doesn't come in and tell the client what to do. And the client doesn't come in and order the coach around either. This is a relationship of equals, it is a true partnership. And when we have that type of partnership, then it promotes co-creation, which y'all know is something that I've talked a lot about. And in fact, I devoted an entire episode of my podcast, Episode 7 to talking about co-creating with the Spirit. While here in coaching, we're co-creating with our clients. And we do so in what ICF calls a thought provoking and creative process. And so again, we are opening ourselves up to possibility and creativity, we are gently challenging our clients if we need to examine some of their thoughts or beliefs or patterns, but we're doing so in a way that's inspirational. And in a way that always keeps our clients' agenda, their desires at the center of the work we do. And the result is to help them optimize their performance or, as ICF puts it to maximize their personal and professional potential. Because that's really what we're about. Our clients, for the most part, are people who are generally functioning well, they're doing okay, they're doing fine, but they want to be great. They know that they are destined for more, they know that they are not currently living up to their potential and they feel stuck. They could go about their life as they are now and be just fine. But they don't want fine, they want fantastic. And as coaches that's what we're able to do. 

So I've shared the definition of coaching with you. I've talked a little bit about certification. And I want to address the question that I get from a lot of my clients, which is “Well do I need to be certified?” So here's my stance. I believe that every single coach out there needs coach training. Every single coach needs training, no matter who you are, how experienced you are, even if you are a certified coach, you still need continuing education. We should never rest on our laurels and we should always strive to increase our knowledge base to refine our practices. We can always be learning and growing. So every coach out there needs coach training. If you are interested in coaching and you have limited experience in the field of human services, so let's say you are not a therapist, not in HR, your work experience thus far has not had a great deal of focus in terms of like building interpersonal relationships and guiding people through problems. Well, in that case, I am going to suggest that you complete a coach training program. And my bias is that it'd be one that is accredited by ICF. That way, you know that you are getting solid training and you will be practicing in a way that's consistent with the ICF code of ethics, and also with ICF’s core competencies. So ICF defines 11 different core competencies that masterful coaches exhibit when they are working with their clients. And I strongly encourage you to check out coachfederation.org, that is the ICF website. And you can find their code of ethics, you can find the core competencies, and you can learn more about the accreditation process that schools go through and the credentialing process that individuals go through. So if you have minimal experience with human services, I strongly recommend completing a coach training program. And I would encourage you to consider an ICF accredited program. Now how about those of you that have a great deal experience in human services, and for many of my clients, they fall into this category. I work with a lot of therapists and other helping professionals who are interested in transitioning into the world of coaching. I suspect it's because of my own background as a therapist, I tend to attract other people who want to go through the journey that I did as well. 

Well, here's where, here's controversial step number two, and this time, it might be a little controversial from the coaching side. I don't necessarily believe that every mental health professional or every human service professional needs a formal coach training program. Because I will be honest with you, I loved my time with iPEC, I am so glad I chose iPEC as my training program. I have zero regrets. It helped me learn how to view my work and myself through the lens of coaching. I established some extraordinary relationships. And I really stepped into my own as a coach. And it was just a period of great personal transformation for me. So I have no regrets about completing iPEC. However, I will say that many of the skills and tools that they taught were not necessarily new to me as a licensed clinical social worker, a lot of what they were teaching and sharing had its roots in psychology, in organizational development and a myriad of other backgrounds. And so the ways in which they teach you how to work with your clients, those were very familiar to me. So if you are a licensed therapist, you may not necessarily need to attend a coach training program to learn the skills to be a coach. But as I mentioned before, you absolutely need coach training, because every coach does. For you though, it may look like creating your own coach training program bespoke just for you. So it might include self study, there are some excellent resources out there on coaching, books and podcasts and the like. It may mean attending some CCE, some coaching continuing education. So whether it's a one hour lunch and learn or a workshop, maybe even a weekend retreat or event, that may also be a part of your personalized coach training program. And of course, I am going to strongly recommend that everyone interested in coaching actually have the experience of working with your own coach. Personally, I would never ask my clients to do something that I myself am not willing to do. I have always had a coach, since I started my coach training program, I continue to have a coach, I believe in the power of coaching. Moreover, I become a better coach because I learned from the coaches that I work with. So being coached serves me personally, it serves me professionally, and it also helps me evolve as a coach. So if you are a helping professional, and you're thinking, “Oh, I don't really need a coach training program, per se,” you might be right. But please, please invest in yourself by working with a coach. I really strongly recommend it. And in general, here's maybe controversial point number three – I don't believe coaches should go without their own coach. I have a real problem with people who are putting themselves forward as a coach who have never actually had the experience of true coaching themselves. So again, part of your personalized coach training program might be self study, it might be attending workshops, but it absolutely should include working with a coach. So that's my take on how to become a coach. Simply put, anyone can be a coach. Not everyone is a powerful coach. And a powerful coach is one who invests in their own learning, whether that's through a formal coach training program like those accredited by ICF, or whether that's through cultivating your own individualized program with self study, with workshops and other CCE events, and definitely by working with a coach. 

Okay, so I just gave you a pretty good synopsis of what coaching is based on the ICF definition of coaching, how to become a coach, whether or not you need to be certified and who it's best suited for. Now, I want to move from coaching into intuitive coaching. So we have the foundation of intuition from my earlier episodes, we now have a general understanding of what coaching is, and what it's not. And so now I want to move into discussing what it means to be an intuitive coach, and share a little bit about how I use my own intuition in my coaching approach. 

First and foremost, to be an intuitive coach, you need to hone your own intuitive skills, you need to really get to know your intuition, understand how it shows up for you. Again, in earlier episodes, we've talked about how for some people, their intuition shows up as a physical sensation in their bodies. For other people, it shows up as maybe a thought, something that just kind of comes in quickly, and you don't even know where it comes from but you know, it's true. There are many different ways that your intuition can show up. And so I strongly encourage that you really take time to get to know your intuition, to honor it, and to pay attention to how it shows up in your life. Notice when it shows up, notice how it influences your decision making process, perhaps continue to cultivate an intuitive decision making process. Again, my DECIDE framework can help with that. But I want you to really get to know your intuition. Because to be an intuitive coach, you need to be very comfortable with recognizing your intuition and allowing it to play a role in the work that you do. So that's the first thing, really get to know and hone your own intuitive skills. 

The second thing is that intuitive coaches are willing to do their own work. And this goes back a little bit to what I was talking about before about how I really believe that powerful coaches have coaches themselves. Well, intuitive coaches are willing to do their own work. And they know that means before, during, and after sessions with clients. So what does it look like to do your own work? It means being aware of your own thought processes, the beliefs that you've bought into and that you hold. It means bringing those unconscious beliefs forward to your conscious awareness. It means questioning beliefs, or thoughts that are not serving you. It means being aware of your inner emotional life and understanding the effects that your feelings have. And it means being willing to adapt and to change how you view yourself, the people in the world, the world around you. It requires a flexibility and an openness to experience. So intuitive coaches before they even work with their first client, they are doing their own work first. So everything I've talked about so far, in terms of how to be an intuitive coach is a highly internal personal process. You need to first hone your intuitive skills and then you need to be willing to do your own work, especially that mindset work. And that's one area where working with a coach may really serve you. 

Now it's time to talk about how you actually serve clients as a coach from an intuitive perspective, the easiest way for me to describe it is to suggest that you keep one eye on the client, and then one eye on yourself. So while you are in session with your client, you have to balance being fully present and engaged with the client, tuned into what your client is saying, or what they're not saying, their body language, all of the nonverbal cues, you need to be 100% aware of them. And at the same time, you need to hold an awareness of what's going on in your mind, in your heart and in your soul. So that can take a little practice, because it is easy to get so sucked into the client’s story that sometimes we lose sight of what's going on with us. Or likewise, maybe we get caught up in our own thoughts or our own experiences, and we lose track of where the client is. So that's really a skill that I believe we can develop over time and it does take practice. But it's so important to balance being connected with the client and being connected to our own internal experience. Because the reason is that our intuition is often an internal process and so we need to be sure that as we're working with clients, we keep that channel open so that our intuition can come through. And that's why it's also important to know how your intuition shows up for you. Because when that happens in session, you can take note of it and decide if and how you want to take action on it. So I encourage you to pay attention to your own thoughts and feelings and sensations as you are working with your clients. And that might be kind of a low level awareness in the background so that you are still engaging with the client, you're listening to them deeply, you're picking up on subtle cues and what they're saying or how they're presenting themselves. And you're balancing that with your own internal awareness. Now, often in session, my clients will say something, or they're, they'll share something, or they'll do something and my intuition kind of gives me a little ding, like, I just know that what just transpired is really important. And I need to go back to it with the client. So how do we do that, because that's really at the heart of intuitive coaching, when my intuition notifies me that something is really important, then all of a sudden, my intuition is serving me as the coach, but also my client. But I don't want to just intrude and say, “Oh, I have to share this with you! Ooh, I just got this hit!” That's not going to build a particularly strong relationship with your client. So what I generally do is, when I get that little intuitive hit, that we've just kind of stumbled on something that is important, I will just take a breath, pause, and I will ask permission before I share my thought. So when the client has a pause in their story, or in what they're talking about, I'll just say, “You know, I just had something come up, would it be okay, if I shared that with you?” Or maybe I might say, “You know, what you just said there, I had a pretty strong response to it, can I share what came up for me?” So again, I'm never just barging in and sharing my unsolicited opinion. I am pausing. I'm asking permission, and I'm tying it back to what the client said. And the act of asking permission is really important. Because again, it respects the partnership that you and your client have and it signals that the client is still in control here. The client is the one maintaining the agenda, our role as a coach is to simply help bring that agenda to life. But again, it starts and ends with the client. So by asking permission, it's a subtle cue that indicates this is a partnership, you have a role here. Now, to be perfectly honest with you, I have never had a client say no, when I've asked permission to share something with them. But this is a technique that I use, often, especially with new clients, when I'm still building the relationship. Once I get to know a client a little better. Maybe I'm not asking permission as much because we built up that trust in that understanding. But I think when, especially you're about to share a major intuitive hit, you always want to ask permission first. And then you can share what came up for you. So it may be, “You know, I I noticed something when you were talking about x, would it be alright, if I shared something with you?” And I get the nod from the client. “Okay, so when you said that, my stomach kind of tied up into knots, I got this really anxious feeling. And I'm wondering if that anxiety was present for you, too?” So what I just did there was that I reflected on my own internal experience and then I asked the client to comment on it. Did that come up for you, too? That gives the client the opportunity to either say, “Well actually come to think of it. Yeah, I was feeling kind of anxious about that.” Or maybe they say “No, I'm not really feeling anxious about it. Like that's, that's not really what's going on here.” Either way, it's just data. And so the fact that your stomach got insight into knots may mean that you've got some work to do around that issue. But I'm willing to bet that if it feels salient enough to bring up to your client, it's probably because you are picking up on something that they are feeling as well. So there is a way to bring that forth in a way that serves the client, but also gives them the option to refute it, if it doesn't resonate with them. One thing that I will say quite often is, you know, I just had a thought come up, would it be okay, if I shared it with you. And then again, once I get permission from the client, I'll share whatever intuitive hit or thought came up. So sometimes it's a sensation, like I mentioned before, you know, my stomach's in knots, but sometimes it's a thought, and I'll share the thought with the client. And then I will ask them, “How does that sit with you? Or how does that resonate with you?” So I'm always following up anything that I share with an opportunity for the client to comment on it. Again, this is my reflection, or this is my feeling, it may or may not be the clients. And so it's always important to give the client the opportunity to either expand on it or to refute it. Again, if they say, “Oh, that's not really what's going on here.” That's okay. It doesn't mean you're a bad coach. It doesn't mean you've done anything wrong. It means you've actually been able to continue the conversation, you can now seek clarification, and really get to know your client even deeper, and maybe file a way that this came up for you because it may suggest an area where you have some more work to do as well. What you may have noticed from the examples that I've shared thus far is that when you are practicing as an intuitive coach, you're doing a lot of observing and you're doing a lot of reflecting. So you're noticing what's going on both for your client, but also for yourself. And then with permission, you're reflecting on that. You're sharing that experience with your client. That's really at the heart of intuitive coaching, being fully aware and observant, so that you're paying attention to the little things and you're not dismissing your own intuitive hits. And you're sharing them and reflecting on them in such a way that it invites the client into the experience. It invites them into conversation. And it does so from a place of respect. And with a willingness to have the client say, “Nope, that's not what's going on for me.” We don't attach ourselves to the outcome, we don't feel like we have to be right, or that we've done something wrong if our intuitive hit is off base, it's not about being right or wrong. It's about serving the client. And it may be that you bring up this intuitive hit and it doesn't resonate with the client. But that gives them the opportunity to elaborate more, and then they have their own realization. So see everything kind of unfolds as it should, when we show up and when we honor our intuition, provided that we're sharing it in a way that promotes connection and conversation with the client. So I encourage intuitive coaches to trust your hunches. Trust your intuition, it is a gift, it is there for a reason, and it is trying to tell you something. But be aware that sometimes your intuition may be trying to tell you something about yourself, and not about your client. And so sometimes that can take a little bit of discernment within the coaching session. 

So those are my strategies for intuitive coaching. We first need to hone our intuitive skills and get to know them really well. Get to know how our intuition shows up. We need to be willing to do our own internal work before, during and after sessions with clients. And then during sessions, we need to keep one eye focused on the client and one eye turned inward to focus on our own experience. We need to be aware of what our intuition is telling us. And we need to ask permission before we share those intuitive hits with our clients. When we share them, we always need to present an opportunity for our clients to agree or refute. We understand that whether a client says that our intuitive hit is on or not, is not a reflection of how we are as coaches, how powerful or strong or good we are as coaches. We understand that everything is happening for a reason and that even if we share something that doesn't land with the client, it may actually open up the conversation for further exploration provided we're doing so in a way that promotes connection. So now that we've gone over the basics of coaching and of intuitive coaching, it's time for the Make It Work moment.

 

So I am proud to say that this week's Make It Work moment is brought to you by my brand new membership program Coach with Clarity. Coach with Clarity provides an aligned approach to the art of coaching and it is especially for the intuitive coach and healer who wants to elevate their practice. It's a membership site where we blend business strategy with the craft of coaching so that you are truly getting the best of both worlds. Every month as a member you will get access to hotseat group coaching calls, Q&A calls about coaching or about your business. I bring in a guest expert every month to provide a training to help you build your business. And we also have monthly co-working sessions so that we can keep each other accountable as we make progress in our businesses. Experiential learning is really at the heart of Coach with Clarity, so through the monthly hotseat coaching calls, you'll have the opportunity to observe and even receive powerful coaching. And then if you like, I have an optional but encouraged partner match program where I match you with another Coach with Clarity member so that you can practice coaching with each other through peer coaching, you can serve as accountability partners – how you cultivate that relationship is up to you, but I help set it up so that you can take the experience of observing coaching, and then apply it to your own practice. You also get full access to the Coach with Clarity Toolkit, which are all of the guides and templates and systems I use in my own coaching business. And then finally all of this is woven together with the Coach with Clarity members only Facebook group. So you have the built-in community of vibrant, intuitive coaches who are looking to uplevel their performance and their businesses so that you don't have to go it alone. Coach with Clarity is unlike any other membership out there and I would love to invite you into it. So check out the program at coachwithclarity.com. Coach with Clarity truly is an aligned approach to the art of coaching. And I would love for you to experience it firsthand. So check out coachwithclarity.com. And I hope to see you in the membership. 

So for today's Make It Work moment, I wanted to come up with an activity that would really support you in your journey towards intuitive coaching. And so I'm going to suggest that you do a reflection exercise. I want you to think about a time where you have interacted with someone in your life, perhaps it's your partner or a family member, maybe it's a client or a business colleague. But I want you to think about a time where you got a sense that something was happening, something maybe underneath the surface. I want you to think about first, how you knew that? What signals were going on in your body, in your mind, in your heart? What tipped you off that something else was going on? And then finally, I want you to think about how you communicated that to the other person and how it was received. It may be as simple as thinking about a conversation that you had with a friend who was telling you “Everything's fine. Yeah, no, I'm fine.” And yet you had a sense that everything was not fine. And that things were going on that she was reluctant to talk about. So how did you know that? How did you sense that even though she was saying she was fine, things weren't fine? What clued you into the fact that something was off? And then I want you to remember what happened next? Did you take your friend at her word and ignore your intuition and just move on? Did you pause and honor your intuition and follow up and ask her what was really going on? Did you have mixed feelings about it? Did it feel scary to question whether she was fine? Again, I want you to take some time and really reflect on the experience. Doing so will give you a better understanding and appreciation for how your intuition shows up and serves you in your relationships with other people. And that will ultimately strengthen you as a coach as well. So that's your Make It Work moment for this week, I want you to think about the times that your intuition has shown up for you in relationships, I want you to remember what it felt like when your intuition was telling you something, and then how it felt to act on it, whether you did or whether you didn't. And then I want you to head over to the Work Your Inner Wisdom Facebook community and find this episode's discussion thread, let me know what came up for you and how your intuition serves you in your relationships with others and in your coaching practice. If you're not already a member of the Work Your Inner Wisdom Facebook community, you can do so by going to workyourinnerwisdom.com/community and request to join. You can also reach out and share your experiences with me on Instagram. I'm @LCMcDonough and I would love to hear from you over there if that's really my favorite social media platform. So follow me on instagram send me a DM and let's continue the conversation over there.

I also hope that you will check out the Coach with Clarity membership program. If today's episode spoke to you, then I suspect you are going to find the membership to be exactly where you belong surrounded by other intuitive, heart centered coaches who are looking to refine their coaching craft while building their coaching business. So head over to coachwithclarity.com and check it out today. And if you know another coach that you suspect today's episode will resonate with, I hope you'll share it with them just send them a link or better yet, grab their phone and subscribe them to the Work Your Inner Wisdom podcast because I really want this podcast to serve as many intuitive, heart centered entrepreneurs and coaches as possible. And you sharing this episode helps make that happen. So thank you so much in advance. So this has been a really fun episode for me to create for you. I haven't talked too much about the specifics of coaching so far in Work Your Inner Wisdom, but it really is at the heart of what I do. It's how I serve the world. And I know so many of you out there feel the same way. So I hope you enjoyed this episode. I can't wait to hear your thoughts about it. You can check out today's show notes at workyourinnerwisdom.com/25 It has been such a pleasure to talk to you this week as always, and I will catch you again next week. So until then, my name is Lee Chaix McDonough and remember to let your inner wisdom lead the way.