What do you think?

It is not uncommon for clients to ask, “what do you think?”

Like most professionals, this isn't one of my favourite questions!

How should I react? How would my clients expect me to react?

It depends on the situation. Doesn't it always?!

Let's say a client is asking me whether they should leave their partner. As a mental wealth/resilience coach, I’m not in the role of 'adviser', and I wouldn’t want to be, albeit partly, responsible for someone’s breakup. So instead, I might say, "That’s an interesting question, I'm interested to know what you think", returning the spotlight back where the responsibility seeming lies. Easy-squeezy.

Similarly, if the client asks, "Do you think I should continue my medication?", again this is uncontroversial: "Yes, or you can speak with your doctor".

If the client asks, "Do you think cutting out ‘x’ food will help me lose weight?", this requires more thought. What qualifies a coach to advise on nutrition? Information I receive can be inaccurate and biased. Which source would I trust most? An advert, magazine editorial, CPD trainer, government advice, latest research, or meta-research (across many studies)?

What I do know is best practice and that means trying to find reliable sources or refer the client to an expert who knows more. In some circumstances nutritional advice is dangerous. For example, some vitamins interact badly with certain medications, and drinking too much water can kill. Dieticians and Nutritional Therapists undergo years of training to know these things better than I ever could.

The general rule, then, when a client asks, "What do you think?", is for me to assess:

1. Who is responsible - client or me?

2. Do I really know the answer? How do I know I know?!

Want to find out how I can help you build your resilience?

Let's chat https://calendly.com/karenbartle/resilience

Resilience is Contagious! Catch it if you can ??