Look, the coaching space has been full of drama the last couple of weeks. A big name in coaching has landed in the middle of the behind-the-scenes, and the out-loud conversations. Everyone is talking about it. I’ve done my fair share of talking about it. We have to learn from our collective mistakes.

This used to happen occasionally, maybe every few months; one of the big names in the coaching space finds themselves in the middle of controversy. Now it is happening almost weekly. This is probably not a bad thing. The reconning of bullshit in our industry marches on.

It usually blows up for one or some combination of the following:

• The way said guru coach treats participants in their groups or programs
• Something related to behaviors fueled by bias, unconscious or conscious. Racism is a thing that still burns bright in coaching
• Slick marketing, uber-high dollar marketing with programs that fail to produce the miracle-million dollar-results they promised

Every time this kind of shit blows up, I hear it in the background, like a rumbling train that runs through the middle our space leaving people to think coaching, as a profession, is trash.

We whisper about it. We have slightly panicked phone calls with our colleagues about how gross the public-facing parts of our industry can be - collectively, we cringe.

But here is the thing we might want to notice: Almost all of the gross nonsense that unfolds in the coaching space revolves are marketers, marketing coaches, marketing trainers, money-making-formula gurus, and make-more-money training programs.

That is only one part of our coaching universe. It is typically the most problematic part of our industry. That said, when I look at the whole beautiful, bold, profoundly important universe that is coaching, the marketing sleaze is a very small, loud, and shouty but small part of what coaching is.

If you are watching the fireworks in our industry turn into public firing squads and wondering how to feel good about being a part of this slime-fest that is coaching - as Mr. Rogers would say, look for the helpers.

Of course, we see a marketing-ick-fests in too many places, too often in the coaching space. Marketers are very, very good at being visible. A world-class marketer will get themselves in front of lots and lots of people - therefore, when the shit hits the fan, it is very public.

However, coaches are out there every day, in the trenches with their clients, changing lives, shifting realities, and introducing our clients to the best versions of themselves day in and day out. Generally speaking, I can say with almost absolute confidence, coaches are good people who care deeply about their work and their clients.

Marketing is so essential for sustainable coaching practice. We need to be willing to get in front of our people and make them offers that will make a difference in their lives. 

However, make no mistake: Marketers and Coaches are not the same.

Yes, coaches need to learn to market.

However, marketers will do what they do, and that thing is about sales and money.

Coaches will be who they are and, with luck and love, learn to demonstrate their love for their clients by intentionally marketing.

All of this rambling is just to say the coaching industry is not the dumpster fire the high-dollar, glittery, deafeningly loud crowd of marketing gurus make it look like it is. Those people are in the small minority in a community of beautiful people with generous souls doing life-changing work.

I am proud to call myself a coach.

I love what I do and feel good about how I do it.

You can be proud to be a coach too.

.

And here it is, shameless plug at he expense of someone else's drama-

The Coaching Guild is a coach training program that focuses on training COACHES. Yes, we have an organic marketing module that is an integral part of our curriculum - however, what we do is all about the coaching skills.

The Coaching Guild is a training coach training program specifically designed to nurture dreamers, artists, creatives, outsiders, rebels, and good troublemakers. It is a multi-instructor, multi-disciplinary approach to training that prioritizes learning innovative foundational coaching skills and marketing training.