Being Thoughtful In Your Coaching.

Sometimes, when we are working with our clients, we get too structured that we forget to be thoughtful in our coaching sessions. Our desire and strive to position ourselves as the expert guides and gain respect as the solution enabler can end up compromising our ability to be truly present and help clients take meaningful action.

Respect and expertise are important qualities in our practice, but we don’t earn them by attempting to show off how much we know to our clients but through work ethic and attitude. King Solomon offers great advice to his people, generally, farmers, that we can always learn from, 'Know well the condition of your flocks and pay attention to your herds'.

As great leaders and coaches to our clients, we need to make it our business to know their needs, strengths, weaknesses, potential, and motivational levels. They need us to become more thoughtful in our delivery if we want to bring out the best in them and make an impact.

Being Thoughtful In Your Coaching is not a Buzzword…………….

Our clients crave meaningful coaching and guidance, but you're likely not providing it. If you are always focused on yourself and how you can position yourself as an expert, your client will never get the attention they need. Even if you have a strong program in place, it's hard to see further out of the box when all you can see is yourself.

Being thoughtful in your coaching means that you are not only being mindful of the person you are coaching but also of what is happening in their environment and any possible barriers to their success.

Transform Your Coaching Sessions,

Fortunately, being a thoughtful leader and coach doesn’t have to be a monumental task. You can make it easier by taking a few steps to make your coaching sessions more effective. Let’s put this into perspective.

Ask Questions

Asking questions shows your thoughtfulness, the depth of your care, and the desire to proactively address what is important to your clients. I know this may seem like a small shift, but it makes a difference in your clients' perceptions of your intentions.

When you ask questions, rather than jumping into solutions without listening to them first, you are demonstrating that you are interested and care about what is important to your client, not your own agenda or bottom line.

So, in the ongoing stages of your coaching, as well as the onboarding, you need to keep asking the questions that demonstrate your thoughtfulness in the needs and want of our clients.

Give Clarity On Potential?

Clarity is a rare commodity in our industry. Sometimes we spend so much time with our clients talking past each other when all they want to get to the next level is clarity that they can do it.

Every day, in every way, we are working to help our clients live their best lives. To achieve the potential they always dreamed of and surpass anything they have ever done before. If we give our clients clarity in their potential and help them cultivate their motivation and morale, they will improve, their productivity will soar and they will achieve exceptional outcomes

Don’t Take Ongoing Relationships For Granted

As coaches, we work with people who require our service on an ongoing basis. We are not just coaching them for a day, week, or month and then moving on to the next one-time client. If you want to maintain long-term and loyal relationships with our clients, you must show them that we care about what is important to them consistently.

A good start to keeping clients loyal is to find out what they want and need and then exceed their expectations. We should never take an ongoing relationship with a client for granted. In every session and conversation show them that you care and are committed to their results.

Always Aim To Bring The Best Out Of Your Client

In order to be a successful coach, you must always aim to bring the best out of your client. You must also be able to respect the client's boundaries, understand and empathise with their issues, and be able to offer constructive feedback in an emotionally-sustainable way.

One of the main goals you have as a coach is to find the hidden potential in your clients and help them produce results. Your role is vital to their success. Help them see the benefits of the desired change, provide accountability for sticking to their goals and give them the tools they need to succeed.?

Don’t Criticise Others

Coaching is an art and a science. It is not a job that can be done half-heartedly, without effort or intention. It is one of the most demanding fields in terms of success rate and professionalism. As a coach, everything you do and say matters. It should be constructive and never destructive or damaging to your ethics and values.

Be careful not to criticise anyone else in the industry or other businesses harshly. This type of behaviour is often a sign that you are going to do the same to the client as well. You should always be aware of your moral obligations to the client, their profession, and your career.

Be A Leader

As a coach, you need to become a leader in the way you do business and deal with your clients by clearly showing them that you can lead and walk the walk. Then hand over the button and empower them to take the lead.

All leaders know their worth and what they bring to the table. You need to do the same as the expert in your client's situation. Support them in unfolding their own wisdom and expertise, make them aware of their abilities, and empower them to take the lead.

Remember, coaching is not a one-way street, it's a road with many turns and at some point, you will need to step to the side of the road and allow your client to step up. This doesn’t come naturally. It requires flexibility and a deep understanding of what exactly your client wants to achieve and how they want to get there.

Be thoughtful and Committed To Produce Results

For nearly 20 years in construction and other businesses, I had the pleasure of working with various coaches. However, every experience was different, but all successful sessions had the same driving force, thoughtfulness. I remember vividly on different occasions when working with sales coaches who always promised that they could deliver me results, but sometimes, soon after the conversations, I would feel like they were not committed to my results. This not only caused me to detach but also to doubt the belief we could actually achieve. I certainly did not feel like they were thoughtful about the work we were doing together.

When I started coaching 13 years ago, and even now, as I write this article, my mantra for success has always been to assure my clients and prospects that I’m as committed as they are to their results. I’m sure they have heard it before, but it makes all the difference when it comes from me as their coach. To ensure that I’m thoughtful in each coaching session, I ask questions, and nearly all of them have commented that I was committed, and they believed it. This has bolstered my respect and added massively to my client retention rates over the years. I now have some clients that have been with me for over 10 years, and I am sure that this is attributed mostly to my thoughtfulness as a leader and as their coach. I have earned respect of my clients in every session out of this quality that many coaches take for granted.

Take-aways or actions for reader -?

• Be thoughtful in every client session.
• Whatever your commitment level was to your prospect before they became a client, keep it up now that they are a client.
• Encourage your clients to have thoughtfulness in their business too and watch their results soar.
• Follow the wise words of King Solomon and look after your flock and herds, your clients and your connections.

If you want to achieve more as a coach, join a group of ambitious coaches, consultants & advisors that want to break through the $15k per month barrier, heading towards $30k at https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoachSuccessCommunity. It provides support, a peer-to-peer culture, templates & resources. If you want to take your business to the next level of success that you dreamed of, this is for you.