What does a Life Coach Do? (Explained by a Life Coach)

There is an inside joke among coaching professionals: "After the second session, every coaching conversation becomes about work." Even when clients come in wanting to discuss relationships, health, or personal development, the conversation inevitably turns to their professional lives.

This isn't because coaches are obsessed with careers, it's because work occupies such a central place in our lives that it affects everything else. But this observation also reveals something important about what life coaches actually do: we help people navigate the complex intersections of their lives to create meaningful change.

Who is a Life Coach?

A life coach is a trained professional who partners with clients to help them identify and achieve personal and professional goals. Unlike therapists who often focus on healing past wounds, life coaches are primarily future-focused, helping clients move from where they are now to where they want to be.

Think of a life coach as a combination of a trusted advisor, accountability partner, and skilled questioner who helps you discover your own answers rather than telling you what to do.

The Three Key Responsibilities of a Life Coach

1. Offering a Safe Space for Exploration

One of the most valuable things a life coach provides is a judgment-free environment where you can explore your thoughts, feelings, and aspirations without fear of criticism or unsolicited advice.

In our daily lives, we're often surrounded by well-meaning family and friends who have their own opinions about what we should do. A professional coaching relationship is different: it's a space where you can think out loud, consider possibilities you might not dare voice elsewhere, and explore ideas without immediately having to defend or justify them.

This safe space is crucial for several reasons:

• Honest Self-Assessment: You can acknowledge strengths and weaknesses without worrying about appearing boastful or vulnerable
• Creative Thinking: You can brainstorm wild ideas or unconventional solutions without immediate judgment
• Emotional Processing: You can work through fears, doubts, and excitement about potential changes
• Authentic Expression: You can be your true self rather than the version you think others expect

2. Identifying Meaningful Goals

Many people come to coaching feeling stuck or unclear about what they want. They might know something isn't working in their lives, but they can't articulate what would make things better.

A skilled life coach helps you move from vague dissatisfaction to specific, actionable goals through:

Values Clarification: Understanding what truly matters to you, not what you think should matter or what others expect to matter. Your coach will help you identify your core values and ensure your goals align with them.

Vision Development: Creating a clear picture of what success looks like for you. This isn't about checking boxes that society deems important, but about defining fulfillment in your own terms.

Goal Refinement: Taking broad aspirations like "I want to be happier" or "I want a better career" and translating them into specific, measurable objectives that you can actually work toward.

Priority Setting: When everything feels important, nothing is. A coach helps you determine which goals deserve your time and energy right now.

3. Facilitating Client Growth

Perhaps the most important thing a life coach does is help you develop the skills, mindset, and strategies you need to achieve your goals and continue growing long after the coaching relationship ends.

This facilitation happens through several key activities:

Powerful Questioning: Rather than giving advice, skilled coaches ask questions that help you discover insights and solutions yourself. Questions like "What would need to be true for this to work?" or "What's the smallest step you could take toward this goal?" help you think more deeply and creatively.

Accountability Partnership: Your coach helps you stay committed to your goals by regularly checking in on your progress, celebrating successes, and helping you course-correct when needed.

Obstacle Navigation: When you encounter challenges or setbacks, your coach helps you problem-solve, reframe difficulties as learning opportunities, and maintain momentum toward your goals.

Skill Development: Depending on your goals, your coach might help you develop specific capabilities like communication skills, time management, decision-making, or emotional intelligence.

Mindset Shifts: Often, the biggest obstacles to achieving our goals are our own limiting beliefs. Coaches help you identify and challenge thought patterns that hold you back.

What Life Coaching is NOT

To fully understand what life coaches do, it's equally important to understand what they don't do:

We're Not Advisors

A good life coach won't tell you what to do or make decisions for you. The goal is to help you develop your own decision-making capabilities and trust your own wisdom.

We're Not Therapists

While coaching and therapy can be complementary, they serve different purposes. Coaches don't diagnose or treat mental health conditions, and we're not trained to help you work through trauma or deep psychological issues.

We're Not Consultants

Consultants are hired for their expertise in specific areas and provide recommendations based on their knowledge. Coaches believe you are the expert on your own life and help you access that expertise.

We're Not Magic

Coaching requires your active participation, commitment, and willingness to do the work. A coach can provide tools, support, and accountability, but you have to be willing to use them.

The Advice-Free Zone

One of the most distinctive aspects of professional coaching is our commitment to being an "advice-free zone." This can be frustrating for clients who come expecting to be told what to do, but it's actually one of coaching's greatest strengths.

Here's why we avoid giving advice:

You Know Your Life Best: No matter how experienced or well-trained a coach is, you're the expert on your own circumstances, relationships, and priorities.

Ownership Creates Commitment: When you come up with your own solutions, you're much more likely to follow through on them than if someone else tells you what to do.

Building Self-Reliance: The goal of coaching is to help you become better at navigating challenges and making decisions independently, not to become dependent on external guidance.

Avoiding Blame: When coaches give advice and it doesn't work out, clients can blame the coach rather than learning from the experience and trying again.

What to Expect in Coaching Sessions

While every coach has their own style, most coaching sessions follow a general structure:

1. Check-in: You'll typically start by updating your coach on progress since your last session and sharing what's most present for you today.
2. Goal Setting: Each session usually has a specific focus or objective that you determine based on your current priorities.
3. Exploration and Discovery: Through powerful questions and reflective exercises, you'll explore the topic at hand and gain new insights.
4. Action Planning: You'll identify specific steps you want to take before your next session.
5. Accountability: Your coach will help you commit to your action steps and identify any support or resources you need.

The Ultimate Goal

The ultimate goal of life coaching is to help you become the CEO of your own life: someone who can set meaningful goals, make conscious decisions, navigate challenges, and create positive change independently.

A successful coaching relationship should leave you with:

• Greater clarity about what you want and why it matters
• Improved decision-making skills
• Better strategies for overcoming obstacles
• Increased self-awareness and emotional intelligence
• Enhanced ability to set and achieve goals
• More confidence in your ability to handle whatever life throws your way

If you've been considering working with a life coach, remember that coaching is most effective when you're ready to take action and make changes in your life. It's not about finding someone to solve your problems for you, it's about partnering with someone who can help you solve them yourself, more effectively than you could alone.

The right coaching relationship can be transformative, but the transformation comes from within you. A life coach simply helps you access and activate the wisdom and capabilities you already possess.