Ah, Those Terribly Simplistic Coaches Who Wannabe Life Changers

Life coaches are filling their bank accounts, not licensed, not regulated, without a code of ethics and questionable training, but at whose expense?

(Previously published, but re-published as the time requires it.)

Photo by Fuu J on Unsplash

Coach is a word that was once the exclusive province of those involved in sports activity. Now, it has assumed the multi-purpose, all-encompassing aura of that other poorly-used word, clinic/clinical. I don’t know about you, but I question the wisdom of both, and today’s news in my email just solidified my concern as yet another guru poked his head forth as a newly minted “coach” for executive managers or would-be managers.
It reminded me of a very unpleasant experience I had many years ago while attending mandatory training at a psychiatric hospital. Staff was going to learn to be team players and assert themselves on units that included quite possibly dangerous patients, including those who had murdered one or more people.

How were these coaches going to help us perform this magic? Oh, it was straightforward, and that simplistic approach is still kicking around, but this time it’s not free training but something that costs a big chunk of money.
Seated in a large auditorium-like room in the hospital's main building were all newly hired staff…