What a habit coach is (and is not)
A swimming coach stands at the side of the pool. They do not swim for you, and they do not pretend to be a doctor. They watch, ask good questions and help you practise. A habit coach does the same for daily habits.
- Before this course: Deep Habit Change: relapse, identity and environment (course 9.1.3), which came after Habit Systems (9.1.2) and Show Up Every Day (9.1). You already know anchors, if-then plans, tracking, automaticity scores, lapse versus relapse, high-risk maps and self-compassion. This course is about helping other people do the same.
- The International Coaching Federation (ICF), a professional coaching body, defines coaching in its Code of Ethics as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential.
- Key word: partnering. The client chooses the goal and does the work. The coach asks, listens, reflects and helps the client keep track.
- A habit coach is not a therapist, doctor, dietitian or financial adviser. A coach does not diagnose, treat illness or tell someone to stop medicine.
| Role | Main job | Who decides the goal? |
|---|---|---|
| Habit coach | Helps a person plan, test and review habits | The client |
| Teacher or trainer | Teaches a skill or body of knowledge | Mostly the teacher or course |
| Mentor | Shares their own experience and advice | Shared |
| Therapist or doctor | Assesses and treats health problems (licensed) | Agreed in treatment |
- Honest numbers card for coaches (we use these through the course):
| Study | What it found | Honest limit |
|---|---|---|
| Cannon-Bowers and colleagues (2023), workplace coaching meta-analysis, 11 studies | Coaching had a positive average effect (g about 0.43); larger for skills (g = 0.72) than for feelings and attitudes (g = 0.41) | Few controlled studies; little detail about coaches and sessions |
| Boehmer and colleagues (2023), health and wellness coaching, 30 randomised trials | Improved quality of life, confidence (self-efficacy) and depression scores in people with long-term illness | Certainty of evidence was low or very low for most outcomes |
| Rubak and colleagues (2005), motivational interviewing, 72 randomised trials | 74% of trials (53 of 72) showed an effect | Exact methods used in real practice were poorly described |
| Ng and colleagues (2012), self-determination theory in health, 184 data sets | Support for a person's autonomy went with better motivation and health outcomes | Mostly correlations, so it does not prove cause and effect |
| Almulhim and colleagues (2023), coaching for type 2 diabetes, 20 randomised trials | Small effect on blood sugar (g = 0.29); using more techniques did not mean better results | Interventions were often poorly described |
- Reminder: "g" and "d" are effect sizes (about 0.2 small, 0.5 medium, 0.8 large). They are not a percent chance that coaching will work for one person.
- Write "Before this course: Deep Habit Change (9.1.3)" at the top of a new page.
- Write the ICF idea of coaching in your own words, using the word "partnering".
- Write three things you will do as a coach (for example ask, listen, track).
- Write three things you will never do as a coach (for example diagnose, prescribe, promise results).
- Copy the honest numbers card in your own words and circle the limit of each study.
- Check: you can explain in one breath how a coach differs from a therapist, and you can name one limit of the coaching research.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "You know how to change your own habits. Now someone asks: can you help me?"
[Text on screen: coaching = partnering] "A professional coaching body describes coaching as partnering with a client. They choose the goal. You help them think and track."
[Screen: coach and therapist side by side, a line between them] "A coach is not a therapist or a doctor. Know where your role ends."
[Text on screen: positive average effects, few controlled studies] "Research on coaching is encouraging, but many studies are small or low certainty."
[Host] "Be useful, be honest, and stay in your lane."
Write your "I will / I will never" list as a coach and your honest numbers card. Keep both in a coaching folder.
ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude
Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.
For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.
I'm learning "Habit Coach: coach others responsibly" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "What a habit coach is (and is not)". What the lesson teaches: - Before this course: Deep Habit Change: relapse, identity and environment (course 9.1.3), which came after Habit Systems (9.1.2) and Show Up Every Day (9.1). You already know anchors, if-then plans, tracking, automaticity scores, lapse versus relapse, high-risk maps and self-compassion. This course is about helping other people do the same. - The International Coaching Federation (ICF), a professional coaching body, defines coaching in its Code of Ethics as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential. - Key word: partnering. The client chooses the goal and does the work. The coach asks, listens, reflects and helps the client keep track. - A habit coach is not a therapist, doctor, dietitian or financial adviser. A coach does not diagnose, treat illness or tell someone to stop medicine. - Role - Main job - Who decides the goal? - Habit coach - Helps a person plan, test and review habits - The client - Teacher or trainer - Teaches a skill or body of knowledge - Mostly the teacher or course The exercise I'm working on: Write your "I will / I will never" list as a coach and your honest numbers card. Keep both in a coaching folder. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "What a habit coach is (and is not)" from the course "Habit Coach: coach others responsibly". Here's what the lesson says: A swimming coach stands at the side of the pool. They do not swim for you, and they do not pretend to be a doctor. They watch, ask good questions and help you practise. A habit coach does the same for daily habits. The activity: Write your "I will / I will never" list as a coach and your honest numbers card. Keep both in a coaching folder. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- ICF Code of Ethics (in effect from 1 April 2025): coachingfederation.org/ethics/code-of-ethics
- Cannon-Bowers et al. (2023), Workplace coaching: a meta-analysis, Frontiers in Psychology: doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1204166
- Boehmer et al. (2023), Patient Education and Counseling: doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2023.107975
- Rubak et al. (2005), Motivational interviewing: a systematic review and meta-analysis, British Journal of General Practice: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1463134/
- Ng et al. (2012), Self-determination theory applied to health contexts, Perspectives on Psychological Science: doi.org/10.1177/1745691612447309
- Almulhim et al. (2023), BMC Public Health: doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14874-3
The coaching agreement and the first session
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Coaching conversations: ask, don't tell
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Structured weekly check-ins
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Coaching groups and peer circles
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Ethics, notes and conflicts of interest
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Know when to refer, and your path as a coach
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Final project
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Quiz
In the ICF's definition, what is the key word for the coach's role?
Partnering: the client chooses the goal and does the work, and the coach helps them think and track.
Name one thing a habit coach should never do.
For example: diagnose, treat illness, give medical advice or promise results.
What should a coaching agreement cover?
Roles, what coaching is and is not, privacy and its limits, time, any money, and that either side can end it.
What are the steps of the simple habit-formation tool from Gardner, Lally and Wardle?
Choose a goal, choose a simple daily action, pick a time and place you meet every day, do it each time, and expect it to get easier.
What does motivational interviewing say about where motivation should come from?
From the person's own values and goals, not imposed from outside.
What should a coach do when they hear resistance ("yes, but...")?
Treat it as a signal to change approach: stop pushing and listen.
In the Rubak review, did one session or more sessions show effects more often?
More sessions: 87% of studies with more than five sessions showed an effect, compared with 40% with one.
What did the type 2 diabetes coaching review find about using more techniques?
Using more techniques was not linked to better results; a few done well is enough.
What are the six steps of a weekly check-in?
Data, what helped, what got in the way, adjust, commit, support.
What is the main confidentiality challenge in a group?
The coach can keep their own promise, but must ask members to keep each other's stories private.
What should you do if you coach your own employee or relative?
Discuss the conflict of interest openly and manage it, or choose not to coach them.
What should you do if a client talks about self-harm or is in danger?
Thank them, refer them to professional help, and if there is danger now, call the local emergency number.
Final exam
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Certificate
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