Career coaching is a booming field. Everywhere you turn it seems there's somebody offering to help you publish your novel, sell more software, or streamline your business. However, the best career coaches will be the ones who help you to set clear goals, improve your skills, and clarify what "success" is to you.

The Specificity of Career Coaching

Gurus, experts, and psychologists all agree that setting specific and attainable goals is at the heart of an any successful career strategy. In doing so, you'll come to have a better idea of what it is you value--what success means to you. Your goals should be oriented toward personal growth and on-the-job effectiveness, and career coaches can help you to set attainable and effective goals.

If you are a manager, career coaching can make a huge difference in this aspect. While most managers spend their time on relatively minor goals such as getting staff to show up promptly or stay focused on projects, the larger goals are what will really make a difference. A career coach can help you to motivate staff and increase their level of job satisfaction of everyone on the team. Career coaches have the strategies necessary to help you define the goals that will truly help you succeed, rather than just "get by."

Also, as your values change, your career coach can help you reassess your goals. No plan should be so rigid that it doesn't allow for detours and diversions, provided that they're good ones. Some of our greatest inroads are made when opportunities arise seemingly out of nowhere. Hence, it's important to build some flexibility into any long-term plan, and the best career coaches will be able to help you develop the necessary flexibility to be successful, on your terms, in the long run.