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AIBU?

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Original poster

To wonder why there are so many life coaches

130 replies

Eastie77Returns · 03/08/2024 20:06

My Linkedin feed is awash with former colleagues and acquaintances who have become life coaches. It seems as if every other person is now qualified to guide me through whatever life stage I'm at even though there is no official credential necessary to call yourself a coach. My extrememly toxic former manager has set herself up as a fertility coach - an area she has zero experience in.

Another coach pitched her services to me the other day via LN. She coaches 'Senior Female Professionals' and offers a package for £485 consisting of a few sessions in which she helps women cope with burnout, manage your career with kids, elevate your personal brand and reach C-suite positions. All fine except her profile revealed she is about 25 years old and has 2 years professional experience😂

On the one hand it is great that so many people who want to branch out into self employment are able to do so. On the other hand, AIBU to think that this coaching industry is largely a lot of nonsense, targetting (mainly) women and persuading them to pay out £££ to receive common sense advice or stuff you can just download on the internet for free?

OP posts:
linelgreen · 04/08/2024 07:52

Is this just not a con. I started working at 16 and just learnt from those more senior to me and by motivating myself and applying for promotions moved myself up through my career to an area director position.

Arrivapercy · 04/08/2024 07:35

There are some good executive career coaches, they tend to be in their 40s and 50s and have a solid career behind them. You tend to access them via employer coordinated programs with umbrella organisations, they are heavily vetted, qualified and have good credentials or references from people they have worked with, and the employee doesn't pay.

There are loads of crap ones who have never done anything else. Anyone who gets a big slug of income training other people to also be life coaches is to be avoided.

LennyBobenny · 04/08/2024 07:35

HarrytheHobbit · 04/08/2024 07:13

Avoid anyone who mentions NLP ( neuro linguistic programming) like the plague: it is pseudoscientific guff.

Even though many NLP practices are effective? Even though plenty of NLP exercises are now being adopted by psychotherapy, both private and NHS?

During my stint in NHS therapy the therapist told me about a course she was going on, all pure NLP, although of course it was rebranded to avoid all the pseudoscience guff associations….
You may also be interested to hear that elements of Law of Attraction (yes, that pile of nonsense that MN loves so much) are also being rebranded and used very effectively to help depressed adults and children who fixate on the negative. Dismissing it as pseudoscience is very short sighted.

NLP, when tried and tested on people who are not at a point where they’re wanting to make changes, is useless (same as any therapy tbh, and I suspect this is how they’ve labelled it pseudoscience), but irl with people choosing to be there and engaging, it does actually work, which is why there is still money in being an NLP practitioner, and they are regularly sought out by individuals and by successful companies.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 04/08/2024 07:15

FranceIsWhereItsAt · 03/08/2024 20:17

I think it's all a load of old nonsense, and if you're daft enough to spend money on this sort of thing, then you've clearly got more money than sense.

I’ve often thought that a life coach tells you to do the things you know you should probably do anyway, but if you’re paying someone £££ to tell you, you're possibly more likely to actually do them.

HarrytheHobbit · 04/08/2024 07:13

Avoid anyone who mentions NLP ( neuro linguistic programming) like the plague: it is pseudoscientific guff.

Loopytiles · 04/08/2024 07:07

I wonder who pays for these services and who is financially supporting the person offering the services.

Londonrach1 · 04/08/2024 07:04

Never heard of them. Don't know anyone who is. Maybe it's a new thing

Savoury · 04/08/2024 07:03

Most career coaches mean well but are generally not going to coach you to make the C suite. It also irks me that they describe themselves as having made the upper echelons of their field; that’s not true of the people I know who do it.

Some are utterly deluded and have barely held down a career - let’s hope these are few and far between.

A tiny proportion are well qualified as coaches having themselves make the C suite or having relevant organisational or psychological skills. These generally work with organisations rather than finding work on LinkedIn.

LennyBobenny · 04/08/2024 07:01

Eastie77Returns · 03/08/2024 22:30

I’m sure she has clients. Mindfulness is all the rage and someone, somewhere will have fallen for this nonsense. I live near a large forest where a Yoga teacher I know organises mindful walking. It’s basically just walking through the forest in silence (which is a good thing to do) but why would you need to pay someone to do that.

Show quote history

Because mindfullness can be difficult to achieve, and when done properly can be life changing.
There’s also an element that anything meditative (which has all sorts of proven benefits) can be enhanced by doing together in a group.

If you wouldn’t pay for it fine, but you’re clearly not understanding the many reasons why people do pay, and have done for decades - it’s not a flash in the pan scam!

Londonlassy · 04/08/2024 06:21

A friend who moved to a more remote location and couldn’t find work locally set-up an online life coaching business. Had no significant life experience, no qualifications but did daily online posts about how she could transform people’s lives. No one liked her posts or commented on her promotional videos. She tried to make it work for about five years and then abruptly went silent online.

it was like watching a slow car crash

Aussieland · 04/08/2024 06:14

Proper life coaches with qualifications can be excellent in certain situations and make a huge difference especially in professional careers.

people who did an online course for an hour and got a certificate off the internet? No. its MLM

BigMandyHarris · 04/08/2024 05:58

Having said that, I do think mentors and coaches in a professional (work) situation are great

BigMandyHarris · 04/08/2024 05:57

Because they lost their own way in life and now need to help others see the light.

Like a Cult

Original poster
Eastie77Returns · 04/08/2024 05:53

EmeraldRoulette · 04/08/2024 00:19

@Eastie77Returns “It’s basically just walking through the forest in silence (which is a good thing to do) but why would you need to pay someone to do that.”

my first thought there is safety. Go in the safety of a group but in silence.

You would pay someone to walk through a forest with you in silence?

OP posts:
Boxina · 04/08/2024 00:32

EllenLRipley · 03/08/2024 21:18

It's an MLM model - life coaches training new life coaches is the main earner - not being a life coach. It's a massive scam

This. It's being pushed really heavily right now, a friend has been getting so many emails from one business which is pushing it's course where you train to be a trainer of coaches, without having actually been a coach!

Lampshadeblue · 04/08/2024 00:29

I know 2 life coaches. They have both failed/given up on every career they’ve chosen, multiple times. When they told me they were becoming life coaches you could have knocked me down with a feather! The very last 2 people who should be guiding others!

BingoBangow · 04/08/2024 00:23

Not too dissimilar to “Psychics” 🤔

At least life coaches can give tips and hints on life where as ‘“Psychics” are just con artists praying on the vulnerable

EmeraldRoulette · 04/08/2024 00:19

@Eastie77Returns “It’s basically just walking through the forest in silence (which is a good thing to do) but why would you need to pay someone to do that.”

my first thought there is safety. Go in the safety of a group but in silence.

Tightfishedtwat · 03/08/2024 23:54

Reddog1 · 03/08/2024 21:01

They couldn’t hold down a proper job. Many of them do MLMs on the side.

I was going to say similar. It's the new MLM. Some people on my SM did MLM and now they are life coaches. FML. My cousin does it. She manages her life because her DM has her child all the time and thinks she can tell me how to juggle work and kids 🤣

needmoresheep · 03/08/2024 23:32

Life coaches, work coaches, retirement coaches, divorce coaches, finance coaches - all bollocks! It is a big con

Redlegs · 03/08/2024 23:18

Reminds me of that brilliant episode of Peep Show where Jez becomes a life coach. So perceptive!

TempestTost · 03/08/2024 23:13

I think for people doing it there is some of the appeal of MLM schemes. Easy to get into with no real qualifications, supposed working for yourself, not many set up costs, you pick your own hours.

There are now schemes (scams IMO) that say they will train you to be a life coach, for a fee.

Redlegs · 03/08/2024 22:37

It’s for people who aren’t willing to have ‘therapy’ but know they’re doing something wrong.
Personally I think we would all do a lot better if we questioned why all the burnout, took a look at literature about late stage capitalism and patriarchy then realised we’re all as fucked as each other so bought nice dogs and cheese with the money that would have otherwise gone on some mentally ill ghoul who couldn’t hack the corporate life.

Original poster
Eastie77Returns · 03/08/2024 22:30

GenAvocadoOnToast · 03/08/2024 20:59

I knew someone who set herself up as one of these. She does ‘food coaching’, where she has dinner with people and talks about mindful eating and being at peace with hungry sensations. She also offers various types of therapy with no qualifications other than a certificate from a £30 course run by the university of spiritual quackery. I wonder if she actually has any clients or if it’s a fantasy.

I’m sure she has clients. Mindfulness is all the rage and someone, somewhere will have fallen for this nonsense. I live near a large forest where a Yoga teacher I know organises mindful walking. It’s basically just walking through the forest in silence (which is a good thing to do) but why would you need to pay someone to do that.

OP posts:
mugboat · 03/08/2024 22:27

TipsyJoker · 03/08/2024 20:18

I’m not sure you fully understand what life coaching actually is. There are so many different modes of life coaching from transformational to NLP. Whilst it’s true that you don’t need to be qualified to become a life coach, I would advise anyone looking for one to only work with one who is qualified and accredited. There are plenty of highly qualified, life coaches out there who genuinely care about making people’s lives better.
Whether that’s their career, relationships, health, etc there are many different avenues and people benefit greatly from life coaches. Going to a good life coach isn’t really that much different than having a personal trainer for example. No-one seems to think that’s outlandish. And whilst you might be able to go onto YouTube and get the same exercises a personal trainer would provide, you wouldn’t get the personalised service with that looking into your diet, your areas of weakness or where you excel, guidance, encouragement, goals setting, motivation, accountability and so on that will undoubtedly help you reach your goals and usually with greater speed. Having a life coach is no different. The personal service you get, as well as the expertise is what you’re paying for. If it’s not for you then it’s not for you. There’s no issue with that. However, many people benefit greatly from working with a life coach and anything that makes people’s lives better is a good thing in my book.

Edited

I'm guessing you're a life coach 😂