I blogged in recent times about success meaning different things to different people, and I continue to be amazed by the outbreak of “success coaches” that are sweeping the planet. Of course there are professional coaches who are wonderfully successful in many areas of life, but now the web seems full of self proclaimed “success coaches” who claim that they have the ability to make others successful!

 It appears that virtually anyone can be a success coach and here are some of the taglines that you could consider adding to your literature and website if you too want to join this elite group –

“I ignite your essence…”

 “When results are the only option”

“Enlightened entrepreneur”

“I bring together ideas from the worlds of modern psychology, behavioural science, physiotherapy, brain training, meditation and esoteric traditions... (List goes on and on!)

My question is

 “How successful are such individuals and how are they able to successfully coach others to be successful?”

There are undoubtedly great coaches just as there are great teachers, and yet it seems that anyone can become “a success coach” regardless of their success or lack of success in life, whether this is financially or creatively. Certainly many of the websites offering such services don’t to me appear that well designed and often a closer look shows that the individual making these claims often has little in the way of consistent work history, although of course that is not the ultimate determining factor for being a successful success coach.  

As I have blogged recently, some apparent “success coaches” have not been able to successfully keep their businesses from becoming insolvent while at the same time suggesting they can coach others in developing great business strategy! A co director in a company I worked in the 1990s was so taken by the marketing of a success coach, that he wanted to agree a 3 hour training session which would cost a mere £1,500. When I quizzed the “business success coach” I discovered that his “training” in becoming a coach solely consisted of a 7 day course in Las Vegas and that he would then give back 10% of all future client revenues back to his trainer. (This may sound familiar…)

Of course in the area of sports a coach either is able to deliver the results, or they are seen to fail in trying to do so. Certainly in this field there is the ability to measure the actual results against the promised results. The best and most successful coaches build their own reputations, and don’t need to hype themselves in their advertising, in a manner which suggests a level of skill that simply is not there.  The best and most successful coaches produce measurable success where lesser mortals simply can’t get the job done! Such individuals have the ability to inspire as well as the ability to teach those technical skills that produce excellence for those they coach. The English football team has apparently discovered that coaches from overseas hold greater promise than home grown talent in recent years. The wonderful “Mike Bassett England manager “fictitious movie was perhaps too close to real life, when as a coach Bassett was totally out of his depth, and when asked for direction from the team was heard to famously comment

“How am I supposed to know? Just do whatever you want” It is however unclear from the screenplay whether Bassett considered himself to be a success coach or manager of the team.

 So in the world of the self development business, why would someone call themselves “a success coach” rather than simply a “personal coach” or “coach?” I’m not sure how a person’s essence can be ignited and how such ignitions could in fact be measured!  I have met a number of individuals who call themselves “success coaches” who perhaps would be more accurately described as “aspiring to success coach?” Maybe a competition could be arranged in the style of “The Apprentice” to test them out to see just how these claims of success can translate in the real world. My guess is that, quite reasonably, the results would at best be variable on any scale of “success…”  So how do you recognize a genuine Success Coach? Well the proof for me is in the delivery according to agreed goals rather than how many people they can attract to events to create even more would be coaches! The world needs great coaches and teachers and I welcome those who are able to genuinely help others.

Skilled coaches provide a great service to those lucky enough to be coached by them and they are in my opinion worth their weight in gold. They deliver the results in real life and are often so successful that they come across as being quite modest…