Interview with a Coach: Michael Laffey

Michael Laffey celebrates his birthday and shares his coaching vision with Life Coach Hub.Coach Michael Laffey recently celebrated his birthday, a chance he uses to re-evaluate his life and put things in perspective. Here, Michael talks about his coaching style, how coaching has changed his life and that of his clients, and what the future of coaching will bring.

Coaching with Michael Laffey

LIFE COACH HUB: Michael, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. Many people out there might be wondering what a coach does. What would you say is the most common challenge clients come to you with?

Coach Michael Laffey: It’s usually a barrier of some description; doubt, self-limiting belief or an ongoing discomfort.

LIFE COACH HUB: Many coaches talk about coaching as inspirational. Have you found coaching to be inspirational?

Coach Michael Laffey: To be honest, every session is inspirational on two levels:

• For the client: it’s always good to see when they audit their thought patterns, connect dots and find fresh meanings in their situation. 
• For me: Working with clients makes me, as a coach, reflect as a person. 

We’re so skilled at being objective but there is always a part of me that takes what is said and passes it through a ‘what about me’ filter; ‘What would I have done?’, ‘How would I have felt?’, ‘When I was in that type of situation, how did I react?’

And from them I learn more about myself. I come away from every session learning something.

Coaching is an amazing way to expose yourself to so many view points and approaches in life.

LIFE COACH HUB: How would you describe your coaching style?

Coach Michael Laffey: My style is relaxed, inquisitive & positive.

I’m increasingly incorporating Clean Language when I feel it’s appropriate. If I feel the client will benefit from it, I’ll put it out there an as option and include it in that session or in a specific Clean session.

I’ve found Clean to be amazingly beneficial as part of my own professional development & ongoing monitoring – and so, integrating it with clients feels like I’m sharing a trade secret!

LIFE COACH HUB: What does your ideal client look like?

Coach Michael Laffey: My ideal client is an independent thinker. They are willing to succeed in whatever they put their mind to, keeping an eye on the prize while appreciating what’s going on now. They learn from the iterative steps they take.




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Coaching is an amazing way to expose yourself to so many view points and approaches in life.

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LIFE COACH HUB: Which of these roles would you say match your role as a coach most closely?

Sounding board?

Coach Michael Laffey: Quite definitely – I love giving people the space to speak as they like, explore however they want and create outcomes that are personally meaningful.

Motivator?

Coach Michael Laffey: Yes, there’s nearly always a positive to be gained; an outcome or a learning experience. Then it comes down to what the client benefits from most in the coach-client relationship. It could be mentorship or guidance, but only if I feel I can add anything.

Consultant?

Coach Michael Laffey: I’ve definitely found that it’s relevant where the client relationship has a business aspect to it. I’m a sucker for a spreadsheet and having been a project manager & regional director in the past, it’s pretty easy to utilise the benefits of it when opportunity allows.

Friend?

Coach Michael Laffey: I would use the term Buddy instead – taking it from a gym context. It’s a friend, but for a purpose; where you get out that bit extra. That extra bit makes the difference.

LIFE COACH HUB: What do you think the future of coaching will bring?

Coach Michael Laffey: Increasingly there’s a trend toward self-monitoring and ownership. Place properly thought-through decisions and actions back to the source. I think coaching helps enormously here.

We have to remember that people’s interaction with the world has changed immensely in a very short space of time:

• As consumers, people are now used to immediate gratification
• As online users, people portray personas. What’s real and what isn’t either blurs or confuses. If you want an answer, you Google it. Ideas flow far more quickly than ever
• As health matters grow in importance, people are educated yet still naïve about healthy living & investment in themselves

So where does that leave people when longer term investment, effort and slow steady progress is really what personal growth is all about?  Of course, there are quick wins, but real change happens over time as a repeated habit. This is where coaching remains valuable.

In addition:

• We live in an increasingly (and thankfully) more open idea of what is family & society; divorce, re-marriage, step-children, multiple generations, long-distance families, single-sex couples, gay parenting, inter-faith & multi-cultural. All of these come with their own histories, expectations & values. How does someone carve out their own path when homogeneity is no longer the norm?
• People are living longer, too. Baby Boomers are now the amazing Golden Boomer generation. Old age is being re-written. Expectations are higher. Self reliance is more important and often more desired. With this generation comes a whole new look at what it means to be happy in old age: How do we live with increasingly long-term ailments or conditions? How do we ensure our retirement is paid for? We now have the Nevertiree, so what defines Retirement anyway? We’re seeing an emergence in Silver Divorce. We’re seeing an emergence of Silver Businesses.

So as an overall aid, coaching continues to help in ways that motivate people, getting them to define options and answers that they want over the long term whilst keeping awareness & progress monitoring clear & focused short term.

Here’s what Michael’s awesome clients have to say about him

Sue Anello

Homeopath

I was fortunate enough last year to have the opportunity to receive life coaching from Michael Laffey. His approach holistic – looking at my physical and emotional as well as professional well being and I really felt that I was being heard and encouraged every step of the way. Through working with Michael I made profound changes in my life and I cannot recommend him more highly.

Lauren Hellicar

Freelance copywriter / content editor

I knew I needed to make changes in a few areas of my life, but wasn’t quite sure how to tackle them or which to tackle first. A friend suggested I try life coaching. With a friendly and professional approach that set me right at ease from the moment I met him, Michael soon got me on track to working out my next steps and having the courage to take them. I’d highly recommend Michael’s life coaching services to anyone in a similar situation.

Renske McFarlane

The Goddess Lounge

Michael was an excellent mentor at The Prince’s Trust who always showed enthusiasm and engagement with my ideas and projects. I particularly enjoyed his unbiased listening ear and constant belief and encouragement he offered me. This really helped me to maintain self belief and to ensure progress in setting up my business.

Want to know more?

Check out the audio piece Michael did called The Creative Brain on Audioboo.

Questions for Michael? Want to get in touch? Leave a comment below or contact him!