As a personal coach, you may encounter clients who are facing career transitions, such as changing jobs, industries, or roles. These transitions can be challenging and stressful, and sometimes your clients may resist your guidance or suggestions. How do you overcome client resistance and help them achieve their career goals? Here are some tips to consider.
Client resistance can stem from various factors, such as fear of the unknown, lack of confidence, attachment to the status quo, or conflicting values. To overcome resistance, you need to understand where it is coming from and address it empathetically. Ask open-ended questions, listen actively, and validate your client's feelings and concerns. Avoid judging, criticizing, or dismissing their resistance as irrational or unfounded. Instead, show curiosity and compassion, and try to uncover the underlying needs and motivations behind their resistance.
It’s extremely important to ask gently where a job seeker is at - developmentally, personally, academically, emotionally, etc. all of these factors come into play when considering how capable someone is in job seeking and understanding what types of blockers and obstacles might stand in their way. Your job isn’t to solve or negotiate these things for them, but to empathize and see what you can do to work with or around them while empowering and resourcing job seekers with what you can so they handle challenges themselves.
While examining the source of resistance it is also important to consider the timing and how it effects other areas of the client's life, allowing for the proper life balance in their particular circumstances. Resistance may also indicate the exploration of skills and fulfillment need to be considered, measured and addressed.
One way to help your clients overcome resistance is to help them explore the benefits and costs of change. You can use a simple tool such as a decisional balance sheet, where you list the pros and cons of changing and not changing. This can help your clients see the potential outcomes of their choices and weigh them against their values and goals. You can also ask your clients to imagine how they would feel if they made the change or if they stayed the same. This can help them tap into their emotions and intuition, and create a vision of their desired future.
By creating this type of resource for the client to examine it also gives them an indication of what is fueling the hesitation. Once that has become clear it allows you to work together to eliminate any obstacles. It is also beneficial in helping to create the pathway and goals to achieving the desired outcome.
Another way to help your clients overcome resistance is to enhance their self-efficacy, which is their belief in their ability to perform a specific task or achieve a specific goal. Self-efficacy can influence your clients' motivation, persistence, and resilience in the face of challenges and setbacks. You can enhance your clients' self-efficacy by helping them identify and leverage their strengths, skills, and resources. You can also help them set realistic and attainable goals, celebrate their progress and achievements, and provide constructive feedback and encouragement. You can also use role models, testimonials, or case studies to inspire and motivate your clients.
Motivational interviewing is a client-centered and collaborative approach that aims to elicit and strengthen your clients' intrinsic motivation for change. It is based on four principles: expressing empathy, developing discrepancy, rolling with resistance, and supporting self-efficacy. You can use motivational interviewing techniques to help your clients overcome resistance by using open-ended questions, reflective listening, affirmations, summaries, and eliciting change talk. Change talk is any statement that expresses your client's desire, ability, reason, or need for change. You can use change talk to reinforce your client's motivation and commitment, and to help them resolve their ambivalence.
Finally, you can help your clients overcome resistance by collaborating on a plan of action that outlines the steps they need to take to achieve their career transition goals. A plan of action can help your clients clarify their direction, prioritize their tasks, and track their progress. It can also help them anticipate and overcome potential obstacles, and adjust their strategies as needed. You can help your clients create a plan of action by using SMART goals, action steps, deadlines, milestones, and accountability measures. You can also review and revise the plan of action regularly with your client, and provide ongoing support and guidance.