Getting the Most From Your Coaching Session
Coaches want to see their clients succeed. Of course, our clients and their sponsors want to see the client have a worthwhile return on the investment in time and money spent working with the coach. That brings up the question: "How do I maximize the time I am spending with my coach so that I can get the most out of our time together and continue that progress between sessions?" I found an article from Forbes, added my own spin to some of the points, and listed them below.
1. Come to the coaching session with a topic to talk about. The more prepared the client is, the more definition the coach can help bring to the session and the greater the progress in the session. I begin by asking my clients a question such as “How do you want to use our time together?” Some coaches give their clients a pre-meeting worksheet to help get things started.
2. Practice journaling. That is right Journaling. You will see that journaling brings clarity to our thoughts through the simple act of writing things down and it helps us remember events and feelings that begin to fade over time. The clarity from journaling makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the world, goal setting an in an added benefit of journaling makes is the positive effects it has on our sense of wellbeing. Journaling is a great way to track your daily progress, and challenges between sessions. For more about the value of journaling, see my blog post on Journaling.
3. Be open when you speak with your coach. A coach comes from a place of non-judgement and working to help you reach your goals. When you withhold information or avoid topics that are obstacles to moving forward, the process will simply take longer to resolve. It is understandable that some topics are uncomfortable and difficult to talk about, your coach understands that some things will take time to work out. Remember, that it is the process of getting through the discomfort where we see the most growth.
4. Prepare yourself for challenges. Coaches help their clients by uncovering thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions that hold us back. Coaches ask questions that challenge the accuracy, reliability and validity of how a client sees the world. When a client tells me, as their coach, that something can't be done or it is always that way, I ask my client "how true is that?" Limiting beliefs can skew our understanding of the world and our possibilities for future success. Sometimes, we are not aware of limiting beliefs until someone challenges our thinking. Once we can see beyond those limitations endless possibilities open up. As a coach I will challenge you to see things differently.
5. Expect change. Clients want different results from the ones they are currently experiencing. Entire libraries and fields of research focus on change. Whether it is spiritual, physical, attitudinal, or organizational, change brings discomfort, and sometimes change stirs up powerful emotions of fear, or loss. The fear of the new and unknown can be daunting. A feeling of loss for the way things used to be may lead to a sense of grief for some people. That sense of grief virtually stops them from moving into new possibilities and brighter conditions. A coach is there to support and guide you as you deal with the powerful feelings that may accompany change.
As a coach, I am not helping you move forward if we don't explore some uncomfortable spaces and create stretch goals. Athletes have to stretch and stress muscles to grow stronger and faster. The same is true with our own sense of being. Each person needs to push through some discomfort to become the ideal version of themselves.
If you are interested in becoming the best version of you possible, I would love to help you do that, reach out and let’s see if coaching can help you get to where you want to be.
Here is a link to the Forbes article on getting the most out of your coaching session