As a coach, I have the privilege of working with individuals in all different stages of their career and life journey. I have worked with people that are new to leadership positions, executives within an organization, recent college grads that are new to the work force, individuals that have lost their job, individuals approaching retirement, those that are looking for their next career move, and many, many more. One of the parts I enjoy so much about coaching is that in order to be a good coach for someone else, it doesn’t mean that you must have experienced what that person is specifically going through. As a good coach it’s your job to be an incredible listener and ask the right questions for the client to get the answers for themselves. Now that I’ve recently crossed over the 100-hour mark of coaching, I wanted to share five benefits I’ve seen my clients experience during our time working together.
So many times at the end of my sessions, the client responds with “it’s so nice to talk about something that’s important to me and not just the latest fire drill.” We are all incredibly busy and spend so much time dealing with different issues, but it’s so important to take time for yourself. I can honestly say through my 100+ hours of coaching that we don’t take enough time to work on our ourselves which will therefore improve those around us. It’s important that we take time to focus on making ourselves better so we can positively influence those around us.
It’s uncomfortable to be vulnerable and it’s even more uncomfortable to be vulnerable to our boss, our fellow employees, and those we manage, but with coaching it’s allowed. As a coach, it’s my job to provide an open space for my client to explore themselves, work on what they want to work on, and use no judgment. I tell every client before we begin working together that my goal is to help them become a better version of themselves and I’m going to do that by intently listening, asking great questions, and using no judgment. I’ve had so many clients tell me how helpful it is to talk with someone about an important area of their life with a person has no prior opinion or direct relation to it.
One of my favorite parts about coaching is bringing an experience from someone’s past into a current issue they are facing. If we are constantly in that issue everyday it can be really hard to take some time to step back and really explore the issue at hand. We go through the situations over and over in our head but may be worried about exploring that issue with others who may judge us. By using a coach, you get the opportunity to talk openly about it and figure out if there’s a new perspective to take. I’ve had so many clients end our sessions talking about how they never really thought about the situation that way and how helpful it was to bring a previous experience into this one.
When we are dealing with a big issue, it’s often most helpful to think through our values and how that relates to the problem at hand. Or it’s very possible that we are experiencing trouble with something because it’s directly against our values. I love using values coaching to help a person work through something that they are dealing with and feel comfortable about making a certain decision. I’ve had so many clients tell me how relating this issue back to their values helped them feel clearer about their decision, or they decided to do something entirely different because of how it was pushing against their values.
We all need accountability partners in our life because face it, we are human and other things come up. A continuous coaching relationship is a structured way to make sure you are moving towards your goals and becoming a better person. We have all tried to do something and have it end a few days, weeks, months later just because we lost steam. I’ve had so many clients tell me how our consistent sessions helped them stay on track to make sure they were continuing towards their goals. It’s easy to give up, but it’s much more difficult to give up when you have a coaching session on your calendar to discuss what you promised to work on the previous week.