Your Clients Need A Coach

As a coach, I regularly encounter a common mindset that causes people to believe they don’t need help: I CAN DO IT ALL MYSELF!

Does that sound familiar to you too, Coach?

They feel their skills and knowledge are sufficient to do their jobs. After all, they’ve been doing their jobs all along, and things seem to be alright. The important stuff is getting done (or is it).

You probably know that this kind of perspective represents an “iceberg outlook” where only a surface-oriented assessment is made. What lies below the surface is either unknown or ignored.

For so many working folks, experience or skill level prevents seeing what lurks under the surface. Their ship is in danger, but they don’t know it yet.

Until a poor performance appraisal, dismal customer review, or heart attack gets their attention.

I encounter clients daily who are so inundated with day-to-day crises that they are robbed of the opportunity to step back and evaluate what might be hiding below the waves. If dangers are suspected down there, some clients aren’t willing to face them; exploration is postponed until a more “opportune” time arrives.

It’s not uncommon for clients to envision the most positive outlook. They reason they can manage their challenges alone and coaching won’t benefit them.

News flash! This thinking is a myth, and it is unfounded!

Human behaviour experts agree our self-assessments are flawed because we generally see only what we want to see. The Psychology Today article, “Metaperceptions: How Do You See Yourself?” describes how we paint ourselves in the most favourable light. But the best source of objective information about our client’s abilities and tendencies is from another set of eyes. This skill is where a trained coach can be invaluable.

Coaches have the skills to assess circumstances without the influence of personal or emotional ties or organizational tradition. They are trained to diagnose issues from observation, discussions and experience. When clients see the truth about their situation, you can guide them through the process of addressing problems with fresh perspectives, thinking and behaviours.

Your best clients know that there’s nothing wrong with having blind spots. Everyone does. The key is to identify and overcome them. More and more clients credit the added viewpoint of a qualified coach who leads them to see what they never saw themselves. They are also thankful for a coach’s ability to guide them through a process to discover their solutions.

Coaches inject perspectives and pose questions to help a client gain clarity on what they need and how best to create it. This perspective strengthens them, often with subtle adjustments. Clients are not torn down by their coaches. Instead, they are built up.

Some clients reject vulnerability in the presence of a coach as seeming weak or unknowledgeable. The myth is that the client is inferior to the coach and must bare their soul to them, forcing the client to deal with insecurities, weaknesses or failures.

But, as you know well, coaches are not psychologists. Their process does not include intensive analysis, nor do they dive into a client’s past, personal life or private matters. Coaching is not about putting clients in vulnerable positions. They empower them.

As one of my coaching gurus, James Flaherty, said best, “Coaching is not about telling people what to do. It’s giving them a chance to examine what they are doing in light of their intentions.”

That’s coaching, my friends!

I’ve found some great resources for helping my clients see (and share) the benefits of coaching. You can share them with your clients too!

The next step is to pop over to Coaching Tools, where you will find a new package on the benefits of coaching called Why Hire a Coach. Take a look!