“Why would an effective broker walk away from a lucrative stable of clients to help people achieve significance unrelated to wealth?”

The people who measure success in dollars pose that question more sharply. They want to know why I’m easing out of a business I’ve built for a generation and investing time and money in something far less lucrative.

Why get a coaching credential?

Anyone can call themselves a coach. But there is a craft to coaching, and I aspire to master that craft. A credential can assure clients that the practitioner has the knowledge and skill to render professional services. Here’s how the credentialing has worked so far.

I’m finishing a two-year program of training and apprenticeship that has included 100+ hours of classroom training and more than 100 hours of coaching, at least 75% of which was paid. With the client’s knowledge and permission, I have submitted a transcript of a recent client session to evaluate eight competencies. Next, I’ll take the national qualifying exam.

Becoming a competent coach enables me to serve people, regardless of their net worth, who seek a better chance of significance beyond wealth. So, I’m moving into coaching. Leadership and life coaching is not counseling, giving advice, mentoring, or therapy. I’m a thinking partner for my clients, helping them discover their unique solutions as they move from where they are to where they want to be. I am not the subject matter expert in their career, life, or relationships.

An example of a coaching session

Currently as a coach, I am hopeful, apparently competent, and yet keenly aware of giant fields of potential growth. Here’s a summary of a recent session. Confidential details are scrubbed, and the client consented to this summary. Most of my coaching involved helping people become more effective in the work arena. This topic was an exception but was important to my client.

“Don.” is a team leader in a huge organization. Also, he wants to be a better husband to his beloved wife of 20+ years. I’ve never met his wife “Sally.”

Great coaches understand that the clients typically have allies and resources that they have not considered, and of which the coach is ignorant. The coach’s job is to help the client uncover those resources and bring them to bear on their situation.

Don talked about Sally’s history, strengths, challenges, and current situation. He also shared his perceptions about the tendencies of men and women to deal with challenges and difficulties. As Don’s coach, it would have been inappropriate to offer advice. My job was to help Don find his own answers.

Don and I share faith values. I ask for permission to pray out loud before responding. He consented. The prayer was that God would give Don awareness to be a better husband and help Sally become the woman that God wanted her to be and to do what God wanted her to do.

With Don’s permission, I gently, tentatively, told him about a mental picture that had formed as he described Sally’s quandary. I clearly said this image might or might not be relevant to him. Then, I asked him who in their circle might help Sally draw on resources she had not yet utilized.

At the end of the session, Don reported that the image I offered had been relevant to him. He identified at least two people who are likely to have helpful perspectives. There were several other options to pursue which might offer help or support. Don got no advice from me.

Don left our time with hope and the expectation that their family, in general, and Sally, in particular, would benefit from their coming explorations.

Reflecting on coaching

The kind of coaching I do is non-directive. As a thinking partner, I help others discover ways to improve their situation. Clients find a better way without the burden of me providing answers.

Another school of coaching combines mentoring and coaching. Nationally, there are about 100,000 commercial/investment brokers. About 5,000 are coached. That minority averages about twice the income of their non-coached peers. Coached professional athletes earn more than non-coached athletes.

Yet, correlation does not equal causation. In other words, there is no guarantee that coached brokers and athletes will make more than those who are not coached.

In most fields, the most successful and significant commit extra effort to excel. They turn the insights of coaching into actions. In a word, they are “coachable.”

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Look, most readers will never hire a professional coach. Please think of me as a trusted friend with knowledge about a topic that might benefit you.

When and if you’re curious, ask me.

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Terry Moore, CCIM, is the author of Building Legacy Wealth: How to Build Wealth and Live a Life Worth Imitating. Read his “Welcome to My Blog.”

Click here and find out how Terry and his team can help you make the most important financial decision of your next decade.