How Coaching Works
Coaching is focused on helping clients find solutions to problems or issues they are currently facing or helping them achieve their goals. Coaching assists clients find ways to overcome immediate problems that are holding them back from being the person they want to be and living the life they want to live. Coaches put clients back into the driver’s seat. The coach works with clients to bring about their desired change.
Clients who seek coaching are usually well-functioning in their daily life and they just want to do or achieve even more. There are no major dramas or traumas impacting on the individual at that point in time. However, if it becomes evident to the coach that there are bigger issues affecting the client’s ability to change, then referral to another professional is required.
Responsibilities of the Coach
During the coaching session, the coach's responsibility is to help the client embrace creativity to clarify their situation and discover what they really want in life. It’s to generate goals and client solutions to achieve them. The coach then holds the client responsible for the actions they have decided to take, and maintains joint accountability for getting results. This is achieved by the coach enacting the following 4 steps in the coaching process:
- Creating awareness, which is the coach’s ability to help the client integrate and accurately evaluate multiple sources of information to gain greater self-awareness and insight.
- Exploring the possibilities with the client regarding opportunities for ongoing learning based on their insights.
- Goal setting and action planning with the client to develop an effective coaching plan to achieve their goals.
- Managing progress and accountability which relates to the coach’s ability to hold the client responsible for action-taking and making progress.
Expectations of the client
Whilst the coach will do all in their power to assist the client, the client also has responsibility in relation to the part they play in achieving their desired outcomes. The coach expects that the client will be a willing participant in the coaching session, that they will be ready to make changes in their behaviour and life, and that they have the skills and ability to do so. During coaching, the coach expects the client to be open, honest, and respectful in their communication, and willing to receive constructive feedback or challenges. The coach expects that the client will be fully ‘present’ in the coaching moment, be open to new information and discovering new perspectives, and that they will stay the course with the coach even if the journey gets a bit ‘rough’ at times. Finally, the coach expects that the client will let them know of any change in circumstances that may affect the coaching relationship or outcomes.
Coaching Methods
Coaching can be conducted in four different ways. The most usual way is face-to-face. However at times, telephone, video or email coaching may be used either as the main or supplementary method of coaching.
Face-to-Face coaching allows the coach to utilise all the modalities – visual, auditory and kinaesthetic - to build trust and rapport with the client. Issues can be more quickly sorted out, explanations given and understandings agreed when people are in close physical proximity. Communication flows more freely and nuances are detected which may not be apparent when coaching by other means. Any queries can be quickly investigated and if necessary, corrected when in face-to-face coaching.
Telephone coaching is useful when face-to-face coaching is not possible. This may be when the client and coach are in different physical locations. It is a good substitute when a coaching session needs to be re-scheduled so that the momentum for change is not lost. Coaching via telephone is also useful ‘in-between’ face-to-face coaching sessions, especially when short timeframes must be met. Once rapport has been developed and trust is a ‘given’, telephone coaching can be equally as intense and concentrated as face-to-face coaching.
Video coaching enables the coach to see, hear and talk to clients all over the world for little or no cost, especially if the client appreciates the face-to-face coaching experience. The video view can be turned off if desired to allow just the audio communication, as using the video function uses a lot of processing power and internet bandwidth which may reduce your resource capacity. However, video conferencing is not always available in some areas, and delays and intermittent dropouts may be experienced on occasions.
Email coaching suits clients who prefer the written word rather the visual or auditory modes of communication. It may be more convenient in that they can read the email when it suits them – when they have time to ponder the message carefully and digest what's been said. In addition, they can re-read the text later and multiple times, to extract greater insight and meaning from the message, in order to respond more appropriately. However, email coaching is not as time or cost effective as telephone coaching largely because, for most people, reading and writing is so much slower and less reliable than listening and speaking. It has other shortcomings as well in that rapport is more difficult to build.
This modified excerpt is taken from the book “Positive Psychology Coaching” by Dr Susanne Knowles which is available from www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.
Book Reviews and a Book Trainer are available on www.susanne.knowles.com.
