How do you motivate and inspire individuals you coach?

Trust and rapport are key in either a coaching or mentoring relationship but the two relationships are very different and cannot be considered in the same way. The role of a Coach is to tease out the motivation and inspiration which already exists within an individual. Influencing and guiding are not what a Coach should aim to do - the individual will find their own answers and truths if they have a constructive coaching conversation based on trust and rapport, with transformation as the outcome.

We should share our experience with the people we mentor. How you faced challenges head on? How to create a mindset which gives you the power to take everything positively? See every challenge as an opportunity to shape yourself for the future. Be honest, that is very important.

When coaching junior colleagues or mentoring student interns, I prioritize bi-weekly 1:1 meetings for open discussions, where I actively listen and provide support tailored to their needs. This approach not only helps in their career growth but also fosters trust as they see that I genuinely care for their success. I maintain my availability on Slack, encouraging them to reach out with questions or concerns, further reinforcing our mentor-mentee relationship. Additionally, I organize weekly 'learn by doing' groups, promoting collaborative work on small, but impactful projects. This not only enhance their skills in creating a sense of accomplishment, but also solidifies the trust they have in my guidance and support.

Think of building trust in a coaching relationship like the air we breathe. Once trust is damaged, it's tough to repair, just like cleaning up polluted air. In coaching, this means any breach of trust, such as being judgmental or inconsistent, will likely drive clients away. In a coaching relationship, trust and safety form the solid foundation, and with that in place, anything becomes possible.

Additionally, it is important to establish and maintain confidentiality. Assure your coachee or mentee that their discussions and personal information will be kept confidential unless it poses a risk to their safety or the safety of others. This will create a safe and trusting environment. Demonstrate empathy by putting yourself in their shoes and trying to understand their perspective. Show that you genuinely care about their well-being and success by validating their feelings and experiences. Respect their autonomy and allow them to make their own decisions. Offer guidance and support, but ultimately let them take ownership of their choices and actions.

Relationships that focus of self-discovery and maximizing potential will go much farther than those that are purely focused on finding the next job opportunity.

During my coaching sessions I try to understand motivation factor of my coachee which helps me to build their motivation in executing their actions without resistance. I start with #OSF one step forward practice.

To motivate and inspire those you coach, build trust, set clear, achievable goals, break them into manageable steps, provide constructive feedback, celebrate successes, and encourage a growth mindset. Offer resources and support, ensure accountability through regular check-ins, share inspiring stories, and lead by example with a positive attitude. Adapt your approach to their needs, challenge them positively, and foster self-reflection and self-compassion. Tailor your coaching to each person's unique traits and goals, and be patient and supportive throughout their journey.

Motivation is huge and is required for growth. Helping my clients get in touch with their deep WHY (the reason they want to achieve a particular goal) is crucial to keep motivation strong.

I prefer to think about motivation/inspiration from the Simon Sinek approach: inspiration being intrinsic and motivation being extrinsic. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to help your coachee discover what inspires them and get that flame ignited. Occasionally you’ll need to fan the flame a little with the extrinsic motivation. However, always remember motivation is fleeting. The most sustainable form of drive will come from the intrinsic inspiration.

I've learned that setting and achieving goals is pivotal for relationships and outcomes. It builds trust. To navigate this, think of micro-goals, as in Atomic Habits. Achievable goals with quick feedback fuel motivation to set higher ones. Success breeds confidence, creating a positive feedback loop. #AtomicHabits #JamesClear

I've found it helpful to make it a point to revisit goals on a very regular basis and get external feedback on progression towards those goals. This ensures they receive constant focus and also allows for any needed changes as the coach and mentee learn more from experiences.

Without a clear goal and plan for getting there, it is like taking a road-trip without a map. You may end up where you intended, but it will take a lot more time and effort. Having a clear goal also reduces the chances of stalling out or spinning in confusion.

Goal setting is critical. Many people being coached or mentored are new to the role or require more experience. They often feel everything is essential and quickly become overwhelmed. Setting goals with them keeps them focused and able to prioritize in the moments outside of coaching/mentoring sessions.

Going back to developing your relationship, it’s crucial that you understand which goals will give the coachee fulfillment. You can help tailor the goals in a way that provides more satisfaction.

One of the key elements to inspiring others roots in the word 'inspire' itself, which comes from the Latin word 'inspirare,' meaning 'to take breath.' Just as consistent breathing is essential for our survival and growth, so is consistency in progress when pursuing our goals. Moments of victory in our journey inspire us. They fuel our belief in ourselves and embolden us to take the next step. This consistency of progress is a vital part of the coaching process. Just as our bodies thrive on consistent breath, our aspirations thrive on consistent effort and progress. Our job is to encourage to take that next step boldly, and let that the journey of transformation begins.

I think self-accountability is something we all need before we can even talk about accountability. Without it, all accountability will be extrinsic. Remove it, and you lose your drive. Self-accountability is doing what you say you’ll do. It’s like a bank — we make lots of deposits when we honor our word and this, in turn, allows us to rely on ourselves when it’s time to do hard things.

We have to change our current behaviours to grow towards what we want, as "What got us here won't get us there." However, making those changes is either hard to do, or easy to NOT do. Supporting my coachees with clear and simple steps and verbalizing the favourable outcomes makes the process easier for them to act on. Setting a date to review their actions and outcomes together gives an impetus to act on those simple steps. People who hire a coach are not looking to fail. They simply need to be supported and not overwhelmed.

GROW is an effective model to apply in driving a coachee to plan their actions to achieve their Goals. I often ask my coachees to come out with the most simple action which they can execute with less resistance at the initial stages. As they see the results and they don't get frustrated that they cannot executing the first step, it motivates them to start and them comes in the GROWth.

I notice that high achievers often forget to celebrate their wins. They just focus on "what's next". After I've encouraged them to share their success, I'll ask, "How did you celebrate?" When they invariably answer, "I didn't." I'll gently but firmly insist that they do something they enjoy within the next 24 hours and send me a photo (unless it's a bubble bath). When we stop and immerse in a self-care or self-indulgent activity, that increases dopamine, the feel good hormone. That in turns improves our memory and increases ability to learn. This cycle elevates the emotional well-being for even more success...and more wins.

Absolutely. Coachees may not be able to succeed in executing all action plan. Review helps to dive deeper in understanding the holding back factors and finding solutions to it helps them to make it up the next round in achieving their goals. Of course recognition every single milestone of win is rewarding and motivating coachees to continue their journey to success and I just love doing it.

Failures and mistakes are just data. Use them to learn and grow. They don’t have to mean anything more than that and are nothing to fear.

Acknowledging and celebrating wins is critical and often not a part of the work culture. Mentees coachees try to shrug off the celebration; I do my best not to let them off the hook. We talk through the success, the impact, and the feeling they had from that success. I use the phrase 'opportunity to learn' very intentionally. Examining learning opportunities with a mentee or coachee is never punitive and is fully expected as part of the journey. "So XXX happened, let's think about how we can (improve, change, rethink)" I believe that learning opportunities (born through a failed attempt) should not harbor elements of blame or shame in this early phase of learning- it is simply an excellent opportunity to grow.

There is always some measurable success to find in every failure. Failure presents the best learning opportunities and the coach should identify these successes in failure and keep the coachee grounded in that.

Trust yourself. That's inspiring. Build that trust by hiring inspiring mentors yourself. Simply taking a coaching course is not enough. Find a mentor who has mastered the art and learn what you can never find in a school. Get personalized guidance. Invest in your own coaching and show your clients that you walk the talk. If you don't invest, if you don't believe in the power of coaching, why do you expect them to? The best of the best train with the best of the best. And live extraordinary lives. If you take risks and make it work, you can inspire others to do that too. But if you keep playing it safe as a coach and stay stuck to your backup, you can't inspire your clients to take the leap. Trust yourself. Make it work. That's inspiring.

Lead by example as a coach or mentor. Put your enthusiasm, toughness, honesty, and dedication to work to good use. Demonstrate a commitment to improvement through deliberate practice of learning, goal-setting, taking action, and receiving feedback. Learn from your errors and applaud your successes. Keep a healthy equilibrium between work and personal life. Your mentor or coach will be more inspired by your deeds than your words, and you will work together to achieve more remarkable achievements.

Inspiration stands out for some coachees. I make my real life stories or prompt coachees to identify a close to heart inspirational story of their past or a close circle of people that the look up to, to be made as a motivation for results breakthrough experience.

Inspiring people is not a simple thing to do. You need evidence and credibility. But, if you have the ability to inspire, it's my opinion that it is your DUTY to use it to impact the world in a positive way. I tend to get the most out of my coaching clients through inspiring them based on my own personal experiences - this includes successes and failure, and the stories around them that make the ideas 'attainable' and 'accessible'. Inspiration most often strikes, in my experience, in deep 1:1 conversations. Oftentimes the client doesn't recognise this until significantly after the fact.

Inspiration isn't something to be taken lightly, it's an extremely powerful tool if you have the gift to be able to provide it to others. Motivation comes from within, but inspiration always comes from other humans (in one way or another). An inspirational quote may give you some motivation to go do something small, but an inspiration relationship with someone who's always got your back - that is what will take you deep into a successful career.