How to respond well to client problems

This week I’m sharing less of a question, and more how a great coach responds to difficult questions.

For the past year the focus of my work has been coaching and training leaders?who want to become certified They Ask, You Answer coaches .

I’ve been teaching them what I’ve learned over the past 10 years or so, and my mission is to get them there faster and in a better state by making sure they learn from my own mistakes. (And I’ve made a lot of them!)

As you can imagine, the process of teaching from my own experience has taught me volumes, and my students have taught me even more.?

One of the coaching skills I’ve been testing hard for lately is the ability of a coach to respond well in difficult moments.

For example:

• A client comes to you with a problem:?“We’re spending all this money, and we’re not seeing results…”
• A client is frustrated with your coaching:?“I’m paying you to help solve these problems, and all you do is ask questions!”
• A client wants to quit:?“This isn’t working for us, and we want to cancel.”

In initial role-plays, what typically happens is that the coach will take it personally, try to defend their situation, and justify their value. Worst case, they blame it on the client. Almost always, the coach buckles under the pressure from the client. As you can imagine, this doesn’t end up in a good place.

What we’re looking for is a response that sounds something like: “I’m pleased you’re bringing this to me, this is exactly what you and I should be talking about…”

We reframe conflict as a problem and see it as an opportunity to strengthen and galvanise our relationship with our client.

Sure, the client is frustrated, angry, and emotional, but that’s what makes you valuable to them.

In most circumstances,?what the client really wants is your help to solve the problem with them.?It’s not personal, and what they need is an objective and rational person to help them through it.

Be the coach they need in order to help them get clear on what the real problem is. Believe in the power and value of coaching, and don’t buckle under the pressure to be anything other than the best coach you can be.

DFTBA!

Chris.

PS.?If you'd like a weekly letter and more coaching resources/tips from me, go ahead and?subscribe to my weekly letter ?that lands in your inbox every Thursday.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

#coaching ?#yesand #mindset