Working with a Coach

Coaching is a partnership where the coach and client have different but important roles. You (the client) set the agenda and goals for each conversation. You identify what you want to achieve and the criteria of what it looks like when you get there. I (the coach) help you achieve your goals by using my skills and coaching tools (active listening, creating awareness, challenging, supporting, serving as a sounding board, asking questions to help generate new ideas, etc.). 

Consultants are hired for their knowledge and expertise. They're usually asked to diagnose problems and prescribe or implement solutions.

With coaching, the assumption is that individuals or teams are capable of generating their own solutions, with the coach supplying supportive, discovery-based approaches and frameworks.

Coaches won't tell you what to do. They'll ask questions and explore options with you to help you decide what to do. 

Mentors provide wisdom and guidance based on his or her own experience. Mentoring may include advising, counseling and coaching.

The coaching process does not include advising or counseling. They do not assume they have the same knowledge or expertise as their client. But coaches are skilled in listening and problem-solving. They utilize toolkits and frameworks to help their clients see all sides of an issue and implement solutions.

Unlike a mentor who "walks ahead" and advises on next steps, coaches "walk beside" their clients and help them reach their own objectives.

Clients often ask, “What’s the difference between coaching and therapy?”

The first important difference is perspective. It’s sometimes said that the road of life, therapy is a rearview mirror and coaching is a windshield. Therapy helps us process problems of our past while coaching supports growth for the future. Therapy looks backward and coaching looks forward.

The second important difference is focus. Therapy helps people heal emotional pain and resolve issues in themselves or their relationships. It focuses on dealing with past problems that affect their emotional well-being now and helps them handle today's challenges better.

On the other hand, coaching supports personal and professional growth by helping people set and achieve specific goals. These goals are usually about success in their personal or work life. While coaching can lead to positive feelings, its main focus is on creating plans to reach these goals and making sure people take action and stay accountable.

If a coach thinks someone needs help with their mental health, they'll suggest they see a mental health professional.

Training programs are based on objectives set out by the trainer or instructor.

Though objectives are clarified in the coaching process, they are set by the individual or team being coached, with guidance provided by the coach.

Training also assumes a linear learning path that coincides with an established curriculum. Coaching is not linear and without a set curriculum.

(Source: Envision Global Leadership)

Most coaching sessions start with the coach asking the question, "What would be the most valuable goal we could work toward together today?" The client sets the agenda by answering that question, for example: "I'd like to focus on how I communicate in high-stress situations."

Whatever the nature of the goal, we’ll identify a few things during the session:

1. What is your desired state? (i.e., how exactly do you want your communication strategy to change during high-stress situations?)
2. How will you know you reached your desired state? The coach will ask you to think of specific measurements or evidence to show that you reached your goal. The more specific your criteria, the better. For example, for communication skills, you would want to think about changes in tone of voice and body language, changes in how you open and close the conversation, what communication strategies you use, and how you want others to respond. 
3. Where are you now in relation to your desired state? What needs to change?
4. What are the obstacles?
5. What are you going to do about it?

"Coaching agreement" has 2 meanings.

The first is the written agreement that is written and signed by the coach and client before coaching begins. This written agreement outlines the client's objectives for coaching, the number, frequency, and duration of sessions; ancillary services provided like assessments, and the financial investment.

The second refers to a verbal agreement that the coach and client make at the beginning of each session. It means that the coach takes the time to clarify what goals the client wants to work on for that session. At the end of the session, the coach will usually revisit the goal and ask, "Today, you said you wanted to work on X. How did we do in moving you closer to your goal? What insights have you had during this session, and what action steps do you need to take?"

Coaching is an important financial investment. However, I do not post a fee schedule on my website because the needs of every coaching client are unique. I don't do "one size fits all" coaching. Rather, I talk to potential clients about their coaching goals and then customize a coaching solution for them. 

It's best to discuss finances as part of a strategy call:

My coaching programs are outcomes-based. If you are struggling, my commitment to you is to help you get quickly back on track.

Having said that, clients are free to cancel coaching at any time. I charge 50% at the beginning and 50% at the mid-point of a coaching engagement. In the unlikely event that clients cancel before they finish the entire engagement, they are refunded based on the proportion of coaching time used. 

As your coach, it's my role to:

• Discover and help you clarify what you want to achieve; 
• Encourage self-discovery;
• Elicit client-generated solutions and strategies;
• Provide objective assessment and observations that encourage self-awareness and awareness of others;
• Act as a sounding board in exploring possibilities and implementing thoughtful planning and decision making;
• Champion opportunities and potential, encouraging stretch and challenge commensurate with your personal strengths and aspirations;
• Foster shifts in thinking that reveal fresh perspectives;
• Challenge blind spots to illuminate new possibilities and support the creation of alternative scenarios; and
• Maintain professional boundaries in the coaching relationship, including confidentiality, and adhere to the coaching profession’s Code of Ethics as defined by the International Coach Federation

I use a variety of toolkits and worksheets as a springboard for discussion. I also often send articles or make book recommendations to clients for deeper learning.

Since I take the privacy and confidentiality of all my clients seriously, I cannot provide a comprehensive client list. But I can try to arrange client referral conversations on a case by case basis after obtaining written permission from all parties. 

You, the client, are the driver of what happens in the coaching sessions. So, you will: 

• Create the coaching agenda based on personally meaningful coaching goals;
• Prepare for the meeting to the point where you have a general or specific idea of what you want to work on or need help with;
• Reflect on the above and have an idea what your desired outcome is with the session. It does not need to be defined, but prior reflection is helpful; 
• Reflect on how you’d like to use the time with me and what kind of support you need from me that would be helpful to you; and
• Commit to the process and set aside time for your own development and act on what you’ve committed to between sessions.

(Source: Envision Global Leadership)

All coaching clients are provided with a FREE assessment to determine their stress and burnout levels, and the types of stress that may be contributing to their stress. This assessment is called the Maslach Burnout Inventory and takes about 20 minutes to complete.

Although the cost of this assessment is included in the coaching fee, clients are not obligated to complete it if they don't wish to. 

I am also certified in Hogan Assessment tools (Hogan Personality Inventory, Hogan Development Inventory, and Hogan Motives, Values, and Preferences Inventory).

These are available for individuals or teams.

You will usually complete the assessments between the first and second sessions. Doing them at the beginning of the coaching engagement allows you to integrate results-driven goals into the coaching.