How can you help clients plan for unexpected challenges when working towards their goals?

People perceive unexpected challenges in different ways. A broader way to classify it would be. 1: people who are comfortable with uncertainty. 2: people who are uncomfortable with uncertainty. For the first category, unexpected challenges are not very uncomfortable. For the second category, the goal would be to enable them to become comfortable with not knowing what is ahead of them. Even though the solution would vary with each individual there are some general ways to approach the solution. 1. Divide the larger goal into smaller goals 2. Change the perspective towards obstacles: Obstacles are challenges. Encourage the client to view challenges as growth opportunities 3. Coach the client to become comfortable to sit with uncertainties

As a life coach, it is essential to help the clients anticipate and prepare for the unexpected challenges that might arise when pursuing their dreams. By mentally and strategically preparing them, anticipating common obstacles, developing a plan B, encouraging communication, and celebrating their achievements during the process, coaching will help them stay on track on their journey towards success. It’s also important to remember that setbacks are not always a bad thing; they can be a fantastic opportunity to learn and grow, setting your clients up for even greater success in the future.

The clue here is unexpected challenges. Having worked in the Telecoms sector as a Senior Project/Programme Manager, I have had a tendency most people have to an unexpected challenge. And that is to respond. And that can usually be from the wrong place. In my experience, you usually end up 'fixing' something that is not the actual cause. So the first thing to do is PAUSE, take a breath and only then review the facts around this unexpected challenge. Most are not a life or death situation. So by pausing what happens is that the brain (aka the unconscious mind) can begin to work on the problem. So very often, we start with our cognitive, thinking brain, and it does not always have all the answers. Pausing allows us to assess and decide

In my experience, the power of a well-thought-out and developed contingency plan cannot be underestimated. Anticipating pitfalls through various scenarios can significantly reduce the impact of unforeseen events. When clients resist this exercise due to fears of bad karma, I gently shift the focus. I suggest they consider someone else's situation, enabling them to engage in the exercise without the personal apprehension of manifesting negatives.

Supporting clients to become objective to situations instead of being subject to them. In order to do this it's important for coaches to facilitate the space for clients to understand their core beliefs and leverage points for change for the client.

As a coach, I recognize that for an entrepreneur, the sense of urgency is a constant reality. My role entails calming the bustling minds of entrepreneur clients, guiding them to step back and envision all possibilities and solutions at their disposal. Concurrently, I emphasize comprehensive mental preparation, acknowledging that, whether facing success or failure, emotions can be intense. Nurturing emotional resilience and anticipating the highs and lows are crucial for maintaining a clear and balanced perspective in the often turbulent world of entrepreneurship

This links to the above in relation to obstacles. Although contingency plans are considered the "B" plan and frowned upon, they can also provide an insight into the business and the clients mindset. What is it about the main goal that makes the client want to create a secondary goal? What is it about the secondary goal that the client has chosen it rather than something else? Reflective questions can help the client draw out doubts, disbeliefs and other possible ideas.

The best contingency plans have actually gone as far as developing specific triggers, responses, actions and budgets - this can take some time and effort, as well as courage to face undesirable outcomes as though they were reality - but imagine, when things start going sideways and a trigger is activated (for example, revenue under budget, loss of major customer), how great would it be to have a well thought out plan in place and ready to be activated.

As Marcus Aurelius puts it “The obstacles is the way”. Teaching growth mindset where an obstacle is an opportunity for growth is a much better approach to scenarios that may or not happen. Planning for the unknown is hard to do.

Gratitude and self-compassion are practices that induce a more positive mindset. By writing down at least one thing we are grateful for, it sets us up for the day with a more positive mindset, regardless how we felt when we first woke up. And doing the same practice at night, especially before sleep, sets our subconscious mind for a better thought process during sleep. Self-compassion allows us to deal with ourselves and become more aware of who we are. That in turn gives us insight into the changes we want to create in our life and ourselves, which leads to more confidence, self esteem, a better self image, which strengthen our resilience.

One of the greatest things someone can do when working on developing resilience is to learn to control their controllables. We can't focus on things we have no control over, but instead focus on what we can control and realize that everything will fall into place.

One thing I find helpful is in every session, we discuss what could get in the way of their goal. This brings about some creative solutions on their part – clients know better than any of us coaches what works for them. It’s so inspiring to see my client think through obstacles and find the most amazing solutions for dealing with them.

People just need to understand that unexpected challenges will cross their paths all of their lives as if they are humans. They then ask three important questions to the universe. 1. Grand me the ability to accept this that I cannot change. 2. Please give me the ability to change what I can. 3. Grant me the wisdom to know the difference By evaluating the problem and your answers your coach will guide you to a solution

Taking a somatic approach and using simple self-regulation techniques to assist the body in its response to unexpected challenges is a vital tool in bringing the brain back online so that the matter can be addressed from a calm perspective. This is what I find most effective.

Sometimes my clients find that over the course of meeting with me, their goals shift. They realize what’s truly important to them. Our discussions help them to find clarity on what truly matters to them, and that is amazing to see! So changing our goals isn’t necessarily a bad thing – it can be the proof that we are expecting more from life and living a life more in line with our true values.

Goal setting or planning or whatever you want to call it is a journey. As humans again we need to understand that change is inevitable and we need to adapt. Youngster can decide that at a very early age in his/her life they do want to become a doctor - however, in the final years they get introduced to hospital service and then get in touch with trauma and blood - they cannot cope with that - Thus they need to immediately change their goals. A person wants to become a pilot only later out find out he is afraid of heights. One needs to help your client to review their goals regularly and plan accordingly.

By helping our clients review their goals, say every 6 months, it gives them the opportunity to decide if they are still working with their values and if they are still going in a direction they want to go in.

For companies, your Accountant is your best early-warning system for measuring whether you're achieving strategic or operational goals. The reason for this is that achieving strategic and operational goals cost money - and who is measuring that revenue and spending? Your Accountant. If you're able to directly align your budgeting and reporting with your strategic and operational goals, then you'll be able to easily measure and recognize whether the operational and action plans are actually happening (because the money you allocated is actually being spent). I've implemented this very successfully in 2 organizations. If you want to learn more about this, check out my 2-hour audio course "Acing your Strategy" on LinkedIn Learning.

Life is unpredictable and what you carefully planned can be thrown out of the window in a second. Knowing life means knowing there is always opportunity to adjust and review goals. Sometimes it will lead to a better outcome,

One of my clients is helping her whole office just by being engaged in coaching and being who she is. Her coworkers stop by her office and see her coaching reminders and goals she’s working on posted in view. They naturally ask about them. She then shares with them what she is learning, and she is helping build a real community at her work. They are supporting each other and becoming better as an organization.

It is a very important function of a coach to help others overcome their obstacles, but do not take it away from them, you need to sit down and discuss the problem or the obstacle and let them come up with a solution - they need to be fully accountable - It's their monkey they need to feed it, not you.

Keep in mind, however, that people consider achievement in different ways. One client may benefit from continual encouragement, where as another will be indifferent to it. An option is to let the client decide what and when to share their wins. This allows them to decide what is a win, allowing them to reflect on it, as by writing it they are subconsciously accepting their success. It's also there for future reflection.

Celebrating achievements is a very important learning curve that will help a person see that they are on the right path and in the right direction. It will grow confidence and satisfaction.

All achievements should be celebrated no matter how small. Small victories have a way of snowballing into larger ones. This happens in a lot of ways, but achieving something creates thoughts of positivity and that encourages more positivity in our lives and a multitude of areas.

When things get tough, always go back to your foundations. Tapping into your values and your vision for your business gives you an anchor to come back to when circumstances outside your control create chaos!

Create a plan for your goals, but do it backwards. Start as if the goal has already been accomplished and identify the steps you took to get there, but going backwards to reach the present. This takes longer than going the opposite route, but you are likely to identify tasks that you didn't think about mapping out your steps going forward. This hopefully will cut down on unexpected challenges. It also gives you a reference point when problems crop up so you can get back to your desired path.

One thing that comes to mind for me is to work with my client to see obstacles as a normal course of life; a bend in the road and not a brick wall. Thereafter, create many options having in mind the current bend. Relax, reflect and ask "what else?"

Irrespective of your planning, something not planned for also can go wrong. The idea is not to be ready with alternate plans for each and every possibility. The readiness should be there in mind that if something goes wrong, we will correct it. We would need to be present in the moment, to see the possibilities of corrections available. Too much analysis, right in the beginning may not be of much help as we can not foresee everything. We have to be smart to find a solution for unknown problems also.

In my experience, having a flexible and open mindset naturally brings more opportunities and choices. Life can throw us curve balls, and by being able to look at it on both sides of the fence, or even multiple - we can move forward in a positive and confident way. Questions to ask - what can we learn from this? Has this shown us a totally new path to move forward on that we would have never considered before? What else do we need to explore? Is this coming back to my values, mission/vision? Knowing your core truths, mission and values will enable you to navigate any tricky situation.