In this engaging conversation, Steve Chandler, a renowned life and business coach and best-selling author of over 34 books, shares his transformative journey. He discusses breaking free from family tradition to overcome addiction and the crucial role of creativity. Chandler also highlights a powerful question for dealing with problems and the importance of shifting focus from ego to clients in coaching. He reveals insights from a rebel philosopher and emphasizes the significance of mindfulness and boundaries in coaching relationships, leaving listeners inspired to embrace their true potential.
Shifting focus from oneself to clients enhances coaching effectiveness by fostering compassion, curiosity, and a liberating coaching experience.
Writing serves as a transformative outlet for personal growth and communication, significantly influencing one's career trajectory in coaching.
Deep dives
Embracing the Client's World
Coaches can significantly improve their effectiveness by shifting their focus from themselves to their clients. This change in perspective allows coaches to move past self-consciousness and fears, creating a more dynamic and enjoyable coaching experience. By understanding and entering the client's world, coaches can cultivate compassion and curiosity, making the coaching process more liberating and fulfilling for both parties. Furthermore, this approach highlights the teachable nature of compassion and the possibility of personal growth, emphasizing that anyone has the potential to change and innovate in their coaching practice.
The Transformative Power of Writing
Writing emerged as a crucial outlet for self-expression and personal development, particularly for those with social anxiety. The speaker shares how writing evolved from a compensatory method to a profound love, subsequently leading to various successful careers including journalism and copywriting. This passion for writing not only transformed his own life but eventually played a role in his entry into coaching, where he realized the impact of written words on personal growth and communication. By focusing on the process of writing, he was able to create content that resonates and connects with others in meaningful ways.
The Dangers of Distraction
Modern society often presents coaches with an addiction to distraction, manifested through constant information consumption and the pursuit of external validation. This addiction can create a cycle of dependency on outside influences rather than fostering internal reflection and growth. Coaches may fall into the trap of believing that they need more knowledge or external acknowledgment to succeed, rather than recognizing the resources within themselves. By overcoming this distraction, coaches can redirect their focus to their clients, enhancing both their professional practice and personal fulfillment.
The Importance of Professionalism
Establishing professionalism in coaching is vital for creating a service-oriented environment that benefits both coaches and clients. This involves setting clear boundaries, maintaining time agreements, and ensuring that the focus remains on the client's needs rather than a coach's personal anecdotes or social dynamics. Professionalism allows for a more predictable and respectful coaching relationship, ultimately leading to greater effectiveness in addressing client concerns. By distinguishing between professional and social selves, coaches can enhance their credibility and foster more productive coaching interactions.
The Godfather of Coaching
How could this possibly be called The Coaching Life Podcast without the Godfather of Coaching as a guest? Yes, he made the top 80!
With his masterful humor and clarity, Steve Chandler shares:
• What started him writing and how, over 30 books later, his methods may change during his retirement.
• How he had to break a family tradition to overcome addiction.
• How to deal with ANY problem, and what’s the one question that can help you deal with any situation?
• Why the Ultimate Coach may not be for everyone.
• What happens when you lose yourself in your work, and turn the camera around to the client.
• How a rebel philosopher helped him discover the 3Ps.
• Why Steve doesn’t want you to remember him and what he’d like you to take from his work instead.
• The role his wife Kathy plays in all he does.
You can find Steve’s Online ACS at https://www.coachingprosperityschool.info/
Here’s a little more about Steve:
Steve Chandler is a life coach and business coach and one of America’s best-selling authors whose 34 books have been translated into over 30 foreign language editions throughout Europe, China, Japan, the Middle East and Latin America.
Chandler graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Creative Writing and Political Science, and spent four years in the U.S. Army in Language and Psychological Warfare. His Coaching Prosperity School (The ACS) has been serving coaches from all over the world for 13 years, and is now available online as a multiple-lesson video and audio masterclass.
You can find out more about Steve at www.stevechandler.com
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