Welcome to the iNLP Center Life Coach Career Aptitude Quiz!
The life coach career aptitude quiz is on this page. It is 100% anonymous with no obligation. You do not have to input your email address to see the results. When you submit your answers, you will be immediately sent to the results page, where your score will be displayed.
On the life coach career quiz results page, you’ll see a legend with further information about the range of scores and what it could mean for your potential to have a successful life coach career. If you have questions about your results or think we can help in some way, feel free to contact us.
Important note: The life coach career quiz is not a scientific quiz. There is precious little research in the mainstream about any life coach career or the aptitudes required to have a successful career in coaching.
The field, while making massive gains in acceptance and popularity, is relatively new. This is a good thing if you’re considering a career in life coaching. Lots of opportunities out there in a field that is here to stay while growing in leaps and bounds.
The rationale for the life coach career aptitude questions comes from the iNLP Center’s 25 years of training life coaches. In 2018 alone, we taught over 1000 life coaching classes. We’ve seen the evidence over time and have learned which qualities contribute most to a successful career in life coaching.
Additionally, the life coach career quiz includes important elements of the International Coach Federation core competencies for life coaches. These core competencies are also based on decades of experience in the industry.
You’ll get the most accurate results on the life coach career quiz if you take a moment to read about each question before taking the quiz.
Here are the elements covered in the life coach career quiz:
Personal Development Lifestyle
A life coach career is a deep dive into personal development. Have you always been interested in self-improvement? This interest is what makes a life coaching career more than a job.
For personal growth seekers, coaching doesn’t feel like work. It’s something you’d do for free if you could. A high level of natural interest keeps you invested and motivated to improve your coaching and provides a depth of knowledge from which to operate.
Natural Trust
Successful life coaches are not only trustworthy but come across as such. If people naturally trust you, you’ve probably been told so from time to time. People might comment that you have a good heart or a nice energy about you.
This does not mean you don’t have issues of your own or get upset with people. It simply means you have a certain integrity about yourself.
Have people sought you out for advice?
Many of the best life coaches already had a career in casual coaching before they ever got paid for it. Their friends, co-workers, family members and such naturally seek them out for advice, problem-solving, or just to talk. Is this you?
It doesn’t need to be, but if it is, it could mean that you have a natural gift and could turn it into a successful life coach career.
Comfortable with People’s Issues
A life coach career is not a counseling venture. It’s not therapy, but it’s still a confidential setting in which people reveal things about themselves that they may not reveal anywhere else. Often, these are secrets or subjects involving shame.
When this happens, it’s important for a coach to remain calm and non-judgmental.
Hold Clients Accountable
Even if you’re not an accountability coach, there is accountability built into all forms of coaching. Coaches typically establish a coaching agreement with clients.
Then there’s showing up for appointments, following through on assignments, and fully participating in the process. When clients are not holding up their end of the agreement, it’s appropriate for life coaches to raise the concern.
Good Listener
Are you skilled at listening, paying attention to what people say, and really understanding? Have others commented that you’re “such a good listener” and expressed appreciation to you for being a sounding board?
Asking Powerful Questions
Beyond listening, asking questions that inspire solutions and new ways of thinking is a hallmark of life coaching. Asking powerful questions is a skill developed over time. It begins with an ability to listen well.
Tell people what they don’t want to hear tactfully?
Often what the client takes away from coaching is far different than what they’d ever considered before. They leave with a different perspective. Along the way, life coaches might challenge beliefs and opinions the client has hung onto for quite some.
This is particularly applicable to clients who realize they’ve been blaming others for their situation in life. A coach’s challenge is to help clients discover a deeper, more empowering truth.
Creative – planning actions – think outside the box?
The best life coaches are creative. They think outside the box. And they have a secret that helps them provide unique insights. Coaching models. Every coach has at least one coaching model – a lens through which they view clients. Coaching models give a fresh perspective.
Additionally, it helps to be a natural creative thinker. Are you able to look at situations from multiple perspectives?
Observant
The default for many people is to live in their minds, thinking of what they are going to say next while other people are talking. Successful life coaches pay attention to verbal and nonverbal behavior with a clear mind while their clients are talking.
Open-Minded
Life coaches need to be open-minded because they are not positioning themselves as subject matter experts. While they may be a source of creativity and inspiration for clients, they understand that the client is the best subject matter expert concerning his or her own life.
Are you open to supporting others’ ideas, even when they’re not what you would do in the same situation?
Influencer
A life coach career has many elements. Achievement, social success, and high income are some of the telltale signs of a great coach. Yet, the most meaningful element for the best life coaches is the fulfillment they find in having a positive impact upon others.
A Harvard did a study on effective management styles. They determined there were three kinds of managers.
- Managers interested in personal achievement
- Those interested in social status or socially connecting
- Managers interested in power (or influence)
Harvard determined the most effective managers to be those interested in influencing others for good. When they noticed a positive impact upon an employee or the organization, that’s where they found their fulfillment.
A life coach career is similar. You spend your days positively impacting others. Does that provide the meaning you need?
How entrepreneurial are you?
The majority of life coaches are in business for themselves, although it’s increasingly common for companies to staff internal coaches. Does the idea of being in business for yourself provide a welcome challenge? Does it terrify you?
Are you able to promote yourself?
This is an interesting one. Notice we’re asking if you are able to promote yourself, not if you love to promote yourself. You don’t need to love self-promotion. You do need to be able to put yourself out there, however.
Many coaches promote the power of life coaching vs. themselves as a coach. This is a great approach. However you do it, promoting your business with you as a coach is an essential factor in a prosperous life coaching career.
Do you believe in coaching?
This may be the make-or-break factor in your life coach career. Life coaching is a life-changing process. People who invest in life coaching will soon discover it was the best decision they’ve ever made. When you believe this, getting clients becomes much easier. Your confidence in what you do will be contagious.
Now let’s move onto the life coach career quiz…
Once you have completed the survey, come back to this page to interpret your results.
Understanding your Results
While no one can tell you with 100% certainty that you would or would not make an effective life coach, your score on this test is an indicator.
It’s safe to say that the higher your score, the more natural life coaching aptitude you have. However, a lower score doesn’t mean you can’t be a successful, transformative coach. Training and practice make a world of difference. How could it not?
How should we evaluate your score, then?
Here are a few reasonable guidelines:
- If you scored above 70%, give yourself a green light. Training will more than make up the difference.
- If you scored less than 50%, you should consider talking to an expert life coach or life coach trainer before moving ahead with your plans.
- The specific areas in which you rated yourself lower should be areas to focus on and improve during your life coach training.
Finally, there’s the issue of how much you should trust your own answers. Some of us overrate ourselves in key areas and underrate ourselves in others. Getting a second opinion from a trusted, objective source is advisable if you suspect this might be the case with you.
Here’s the Next Step to Becoming a Life Coach:
Anyone can call themselves a “Life Coach”, but what really makes a person a Life Coach is their ability to help people improve their lives.
In order to become a successful Life Coach, you must:
- Learn the skills of how to coach others
- Master the tools to help create lasting change for your clients
- Understand how to market your coaching practice
Choosing the right life coach training will make all the difference!
We have created a complete Life Coach Training & Certification program that addresses all the areas above and plus provides one-to-one guidance through the entire process. Our program covers everything you need to start your new career!
Call us at 951-428-4264 to learn more about our NLP-Integrated Life Coach Training
Or, read about it here:
Accredited Life Coach Certification Training
