How do you balance challenging and supporting your coachee or mentee?

The Johari Window is a powerful tool to understand your coachee or mentee on a personal level. It consists of four quadrants: 1) Open Area, you and your coachee/mentee share common knowledge and experiences. 2) Blind Area holds insights about them that others see but they don't. 3) Hidden Area represents their personal thoughts, fears, and vulnerabilities. Building trust and fostering open dialogue encourages them to share and explore this hidden side. 4) Unknown Area is full of undiscovered potential and untapped talents. Using the Johari Window, you can deepen your understanding of their needs and tailor your support accordingly. It's a personal and insightful approach to fostering growth and development.

In my last session I introduced the Johari window to my coachee. This not only helps a coach to understand their coachee but also helps the coachee to understand that there is so much to be explored in the unknown quadrant and it is perfectly okay not to resonate yet with the qualities associated with the best state of mind. In a way it helped me instill coachees' trust and faith in the process that I was taking the coachee through.

One powerful tool I consistently use with my clients is the Wheel of Life. Its simplicity makes it approachable, giving clients a comprehensive look at their life's key areas. But here's where it gets even more impactful: I encourage clients to turn each step towards a perfect 10 into actionable micro-steps. For instance, if Darren rates his finances at a 5, step 6 becomes 'review the current financial situation and create a budget,' step 7 becomes 'open a savings account and deposit x amount monthly for 6 months,' and so on. By transforming their Wheel of Life into a roadmap of actionable steps, clients can revisit it periodically to witness tangible progress unfold right before their eyes.

I find that a conversation and attempt to understand their goals and objectives is a good starting place. The various tools and methods mentioned are all well and good, but I like to get back to basics. You're a project coordinator who wants to be a project manager? Get the competency matrix for each role and then tell me what the delta is so that we can work out a path to your aspiration.

Listen Care and Reflect. Usually after listening you will be able to identify weather the blockage is a matter of knowledge or a matter of mindset. Then you care, acknowledging their state and their openness creates a space of trust and ask permission to give specific feedback. That is how challenge comes to life. You should always circle back to How can I support you on that?

Challenging and supporting the coachee begins by building trust in the program itself. Obviously, this is a process. However, the process must begin by first giving breakthroughs to the client by helping them understand WHO THEY ARE. This clarity builds trust in the process and the coach. Next, providing them with the ability to work on their negative coding of the mind. This builds confidence in them to start working on their goals and makes the process easier. The way I challenge and support them is first ask for feedback and let them share their breakthroughs. Show them possibilities where they could push themself to the next level. Draw their attention to things they have not even considered.