Coaching in an election year...

The new issue of choice, the magazine of professional coaching, addresses the topic of "UnSpeakables": those uncomfortable topics that we tend to avoid talking about which may impact coaching outcomes. Think sex, drugs, religion, politics, etc. Politics, especially in the USA, especially in an election year, especially when global authoritarianism is on the rise, becomes a hotbed of emotion and can interfere with the usual business of coaching executives and leaders. For instance, take this new issue's sticky situation:

“After working together for some time, my client revealed their affinity for an abhorrent political character that opposes all of my values. I was gobsmacked and got off the call. How do I deal with this in the next coaching call, or do I ignore it?”

As an executive coach, what happens when you discover your client, who you previously considered to be reasoned, intelligent, and kind reveals their politics to be something you abhor? My colleagues and I tackle this sticky situation in the new issue of the magazine, but below is an excerpt of my own response to that question.

As humans, we often find ourselves triggered in conversation by a topic that makes us uncomfortable because it challenges our worldview, or opposes values we hold dear. That’s normal. Part of being a professional coach is that you can use your coaching tools and strategies to bring your own awareness into consciousness so you can best choose how to manage your humanity in the face of a client’s beliefs that may offend you. “You always have the power of choice,” as my friend (and publisher of the magazine) Garry Schleifer, PCC, for everything choice always says. You get to choose what will serve the client, you, the coaching relationship and the situation best. You get to weigh the factors involved and determine the most beneficial solution.

Here’s how:

1. Analyze the purpose of this coaching engagement. What

are you and the client contracted to achieve together? Does this

newfound information about your client’s values or beliefs have

any impact on the work you’ve agreed to do in this agreement?

Would addressing the issue advance the goals or negatively

impact the objective of the coaching?

2. Analyze your relationship with the client. Is your relationship

personal as well as professional? How boundaried have you

been with this client? Can you set aside your discomfort and still

serve the client’s agenda? If you’ve worked together for some

time, you may have sufficient relatedness to let the client know

you had a reaction and take responsibility for your reaction.

3. Analyze your discomfort and triggers with your own

coach. It’s great that you noticed in real time that you were

experiencing a disconnect between your values and the conversation

with the client. I wonder what caused that experience for

you? What assumptions or beliefs contributed to your discomfort?

Who do you want to be for your client? Is there anything

you need to say to your client to address this or is it best left

unspoken? Can your coach help you identify blind spots?

4. Analyze the situation. In this case, you are in this relationship

for the purpose of being of service as a coach to the client.

So, does their affinity for a politician matter at all in this context?

How much or how little does this new knowledge of your client

impact your ability to create a safe space for them to get the

results they want to achieve? Does the political landscape matter

in the context of their goals?

You get to manage you and choose whether and how you address it with your client. Once you’ve had a chance to analyze these factors, use that clarity to determine what action (if any) you’ll take on the next call. Good luck!

If you are interested in reading more?choice?articles, use my special coupon code, LPC25, to receive a 25% discount off a print, digital or combo subscription: https://choice-online.com/subscribechoice/ref/edtqmta0d5q6wvvpc5t6jxk5dhjp2s35e8q66vvd/