What do you do if your Business Coaching clients have skill gaps that need addressing?

When coaching clients with skill gaps, I create a safe space for them to discuss areas they wish to improve. Through questioning and listening, I guide them to reflect on their abilities, explore motivations, and gain clarity on why closing gaps is crucial for growth. Together, we brainstorm steps and resources that align with their learning style, empowering them to own their journey. I hold clients accountable while providing space for reflection and navigating obstacles, supporting them in developing resilience and adaptability to grow and thrive. My goal is to empower clients to trust themselves, take action, and fully experience their potential.

Uncovering skill gaps isn't just diagnostic; it's an exploration into the unseen territories of your client's potential. Approach this journey not as uncovering flaws but as discovering hidden treasures of untapped talent. Each discussion, each observation, is a step deeper into the labyrinth of their capabilities, with each gap a clue to unlocking their full prowess. Remind them that every great discovery was preceded by the quest of identifying what was missing. Here, each identified gap is a beacon of growth and opportunity.

The identity gap in skills refers to the disparity between the skills individuals possess and those required by the evolving job market. This gap can lead to challenges in employment, career advancement, and economic growth. Bridging this gap requires a holistic approach, including education reform, upskilling and reskilling programs, and increased collaboration between academia and industry to ensure that individuals are equipped with the relevant skills for today's and tomorrow's jobs.

When working with my clients, I ask them to identify their personal SWOT - what are their own personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. What skills do they enjoy and which ones could they outsource? After reviewing their personal SWOT, we can easily identify the skills gaps. Strategies to bridge the skills gap includes outsourcing certain job functions to contractors, adding new positions to the org chart or increasing the owners knowledge to fill in the gaps. Technology is changing at lightning speed. We have to adapt quickly. By embracing and recognizing change, we can be take a proactive approach to grow and increase our intellectual capital.

Gaps are often seen as voids. However, they can also serve as vital breathing moments, offering opportunities for reflection and fresh perspectives. Taking a pause, like a "gap year" before college, lets us focus on improving ourselves, becoming better. It's during these intervals of introspection that we're better equipped to identify areas in need of development. By assessing their importance and value, we can begin bridging these gaps, seamlessly transitioning towards growth and empowerment. Think of building skills for these gaps as constructing bridges—each one facilitating a smoother, more powerful journey forward. If you identify a gap, you're lucky! Tha means you still have room to grow!

When setting goals with clients, I like to use a memorable framework, like SMART Goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). I find it helpful to begin by pinpointing the exact skills that align with their business objectives, ensuring these targets are clear and measurable using the SMART framework. Collaborate with my client to establish realistic timelines and benchmarks for progress is the next step. The goals should be challenging for them yet attainable. Embedding their skills goals within the broader context of their business growth strategy helps to maintain relevance. This approach ensures their skill development is targeted, measurable, and directly contributes to their business goals.

First of all, together with the client, we determine the list of important points. Then we draw a road map to reach those points. Actions, goals and time are determined for each one, and I ask the client to inform me of the actions along the way

Help clients set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). Break down larger goals into smaller, manageable tasks. Foster accountability through regular check-ins and adjustments to ensure progress. Encourage them to celebrate achievements along the way to maintain motivation and momentum.

It’s very obvious and typical to use smart goals, however what some coaches mentors or even business consultants don’t take into accommodation, is how the person learns and how the person executes the action behind the learning. Smart goals is one way. Visionary goals are another way. And then there are action takers. There are high-performance that don’t actually need to set a smart goal, and they don’t need to see it in their vision either, what they do is they actually use intuition to create the action behind the goal. These people are rare. They majority rely on their network and all of the people in their group, they surround themselves with other achievers that are educated in different areas compared to themselves.

Una vez que ellos han identificado sus brechas, la segunda parte que me parece eficiente es fijar metas alcanzables y congruentes con la verdadera situación a la que se están enfrentando. Después de fijar los objetivos congruentes y realistas hay que fijar la hoja de ruta y su medición de avances para que el grupo se sienta vencedor aunque sean en peque?os avances. A mí me funciona, marcar pocos objetivos a corto plazo y un objetivo aspiracional a un a?o.

Not My Job! If a client has identified the skills gap and found the appropriate training for development, It is not my job as their coach unless they request help as an accountability partner. A client needs to own their own training, priorities and select investments in training time and materials that are compelling enough to keep them engaged. I think it is critical to the coaching relationship to maintain arms length on anything that’s not part of the agreement for the coaching engagement. I am not their father, and I do not want to set that archetype into the relationship. I can become an accountability partner if a client request it, but I find that pretty rare.

Emphasize prioritization and time management within the plan to optimize learning efficiency. Encourage them to allocate dedicated time slots for skill development activities regularly. Integrate feedback loops to assess progress and adjust the plan accordingly. Foster a growth mindset, highlighting that setbacks are part of the learning journey.

Help them incorporate bite-size learning. This may get more buy in from the client, as it provides the opportunity to break down their learning into smaller achievable steps.

Do not expect a jump from a skill score 5 to 9. Measure the outcome monthly, or fortnightly. But measure the efforts daily. Make a plan that best suits their schedule. Sandwich it between habits they have already mastered. Set an accountability.

One method I use is see, feel change Out of the improvement area, I bring a good sample for customer to watch, or I take them to a company with best practice

Encourage your clients to seek mentorship or coaching for personalized guidance. Additionally, suggest engaging in peer learning or group discussions to gain diverse perspectives and insights. Practical projects or simulations can deepen understanding and build confidence in applying newly acquired skills.

The best coaches create a system of training that is not dependent on content, but instead is built on building strong emotional and relational members to support your goals. Getting a board of advisors or your “crew” in the boat will help you excel far beyond another book or podcast.

Addressing skill gaps with training is not just about filling voids; it's about igniting a transformative learning journey. Guide clients to view training as an adventure, picking paths that resonate not just with their minds but their spirits. The choice between online courses and in-person workshops isn't just logistical; it's a choice of experience, a step towards becoming not just more skilled, but more inspired. Encourage them to leap into learning, where real growth happens beyond comfort zones.

If the skill set needs any training, make them sign up for one. But first, identify their learning style from VAK and ensure the training fits their learning style. In-person works best for me, I am not someone who will complete a self paced learning if it is not supported by accountability.

Address with your client how your relationship will evolve while acquiring the new skill set. i.e. will the business coaching evolve in parallel with the training session, will it be paused, or will the business coach play the trainer role?

Sin duda, eres un entrenador “provisional”; nosotros no pertenecemos al sistema ni somos consultores internos porque se habitúan a ti y pierden capacidad. Debemos despedirnos del cliente a su debido tiempo y decirles que seguimos ahí, por si nos necesitan.

Monitoring progress and reflecting it back to the client is crucial in the coaching process. It serves as a powerful mirror, showing clients not just where they started and how far they've come, but also clarifying next steps. This ongoing feedback loop reinforces their achievements, boosts motivation, and provides clarity on areas that still need attention. It's a tangible way to validate their effort and the effectiveness of the strategies in place, nurturing a sense of accomplishment and encouraging continued growth. Regularly reflecting progress back to clients helps maintain momentum. It also lets you know if you need to adjust strategies and ensures that the coaching journey is dynamic and responsive to their evolving needs.

Encourage clients to self-assess periodically to track their growth. Introduce tools like progress trackers or milestone charts to visualize achievements. Also, facilitate peer reviews or assessments to gain diverse perspectives and insights on their development journey.

Tracking Growth: The Importance of Self-Assessment in Development I strongly encourage my clients to regularly self-assess to monitor their progress. Utilizing progress tracking tools and milestone charts provides a tangible visualization of achievements. Incorporating self or peer reviews also enriches understanding of the development journey, offering diverse and constructive insights for ongoing growth.

Je constate qu'instaurer une culture du feedback aide peu à peu le coaché à prendre du recul sur ce qu'il juge être juste normal et il gagne ainsi confiance dans ses ressources. Cela le motive (merci les neurosciences !) à continuer lui-même à s'améliorer.

If your client has the opportunity for self-reflection, they may become more committed to achieving their goals, and sharpening their skills. Help them identify their strengths, as well as areas of opportunity.

Suggest journaling or regular review sessions where clients can document their progress, challenges, and insights. Encourage them to celebrate achievements and identify areas for refinement, fostering a proactive approach to their development journey.

To support a coachee in encouraging reflection during a coaching program, the coach should create a safe and non-judgmental space where the coachee feels comfortable exploring their thoughts and experiences. Employ active listening and powerful questioning techniques to stimulate deep reflection on past actions, outcomes, and underlying beliefs. Encourage the coachee to consider alternative perspectives and potential areas for growth, fostering self-awareness and insight. Lastly, integrate structured reflection exercises and journaling prompts into the coaching process to facilitate ongoing self-discovery and learning.

Reflecting on learning and how the skills have impacted their business is really helpful, to identify what worked and what didn't. It's also great content to use in a CV if they decide to go for promotion or a change of role.

My clients often test new skills to managing people, teams and their own balance in highly complex global contexts. It is crucial to assess the impact of the new behaviours in a systemic way, such as predicting cascading system reactions and a learning curve with cumulative effects over time. Gabriele Oettingen's "Rethinking Positive Thinking" is an interesting example of this new perspective, which reverses the traditional teaching of downplaying obstacles and challenges and helps to move from fantasies to real-life achievements.

Working on leadership is a journey where I believe the first step is to identify the direction the coachee wants to go that will fit its values and environment. Then skills can be part of the answers to develop the leadership style.

Coaching is an art of going through, next to the client and not being on a pulpit, shouting opinions without the necessary involvement to collaborate in an environment of mutual benefit.

Continue to support them and celebrate their wins, regardless if they achieve the goal. Focus on effort and progress, not just the outcomes.

I find my clients often need a combination of technical and adaptive solutions- which means combining skills training with asking the right adaptive questions. If you subscribe to a traditional approach to coaching that says you can only ask questions: consider running some coaching experiments where you combine skills training with adaptive coaching and see what you learn about the value you create for your customers.

My clients need to learn more about themselves than they'd realize. When they come to me for business skills, there is always a personal aspect to develop and blocks to work through. I see this process as a caterpillar turning into a beautiful butterfly as they become aware of their uniqueness and powers over every aspect of their lives. It's a beautiful journey and I'm so blessed to be part of it and being able to guide them.