8 Approaches to High Impact Coaching

What we do in coaching that produces high impact results for our clients results:

1 Alignment

One of the most important things we do as coaches is to get clients to align their ‘success systems’. By this, I mean their purpose, vision, plan, actions, and review.  The idea is that between us, we develop a system that, when applied correctly, guarantees success

Time and energy are both finite. As coaches, we use a number of different tools and approaches for each of the stages listed above. These include exploring and developing out states, values, beliefs, and strategies. In this way, we can help our clients become more effective and efficient in using their time and energy.  This means they achieve more with less effort, and this in turn is a contributor to feeling more successful and fulfilled.

2 Accountability

Another role as a coach is to keep our client focussed on what’s really important.  This includes reviewing, prioritising, refining, and improving what they are doing.

Over time, this continual adjustment makes a significant difference to where they end up.

3 Feedback/feedforward - and getting help from others

It isn’t always easy to do, but getting feedback and feedforward from stakeholders and other people around our client is extremely useful. Once we have mastered the delicacies of obtaining honest, and helpful, feedback, the information can have a significant impact on our client’s progress. The information works to complement other measurement approaches, such as agreed metrics and daily questions.

4 Reflection and Rehearsal

Both reflection and rehearsal are key ways to improve our client’s performance and impact.

Reflection - reconsidering past events in light of new learning - is needed to overcome blocks and bring about effective change. Rehearsing for important meetings or conversations almost always has a high positive payback.

5 Keeping decision making clean

With important decisions it’s important to keep information gathering and decision making separate.

As a coach, we can act as a neutral resource for our clients to consult when making decisions. We can track progress and content and make the client aware of any cognitive dissonance that may be affecting their decision.

6 Modelling high performance

As coaches, we can show our clients how to model the most successful people in their field. This ia a very effective way of continually developing skills and capabilities.

7 Executive education

We should all be learning all the time if we want to progress. As our clients experience new lessons (or even re-experience old ones!) we can help them extract the learning and work out how they will apply it going forward. Of course, as professionals, we are also always learning too, so we can even model to our client how to apply the lessons we gain when working with them.

8 High impact results

High impact results is why we are here. Everything we do as coaches is aimed at producing these with our clients. Over the years, I have found that the best way to do this is to focus initially on one or two areas of low-hanging fruit.  Areas where we can produce reasonably easy results, reasonably quickly. Doing this then gives us time to build a system to ensure long-term success, and also builds the motivation to continue the work.

No matter what tools, techniques, and experience we have as coaches, however, getting great results are not dependent upon us alone. They take a combination of the client, the coach, and the environment. The client needs a touch of ambition, courage, openness, and discipline. The coach needs humility, a wealth of practical experience and models to drawn upon, and a strong and genuine desire for the client to succeed. Finally, the environment needs to be in alignment, because a toxic environment can block all our client’s hard work.  When all three elements come together in synergy, the results can be truly outstanding.

Michael is a Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coach and Richard Bandler NLP Trainer and NLP Coach Trainer, if you want to see what coaching is like, he offers a free three-session Discovery Programme internationally over Skype. You can start with Michael right now by clicking here: https://www.timetrade.com/book/HPBLR

Author: Michael Beale 21st October 2018