When I first started life coaching, I faced the challenge to pay attention to my time and let my clients go on and on until we got nowhere. Unfortunately, the clients would receive “ok” coaching, and I would feel terrible about it. I didn’t realise it at the time, but I was lacking structure.
The client’s role in coaching is to keep their agenda on track, and your task is to stay in charge of the session structure, aka keeping time, ensuring the client stays on track with goals and providing them with the awareness they came for.
You can accomplish this by incorporating these five components into a successful coaching session.
1. Check-In – Don’t just walk in and start doing business. Inquire about the client’s weekend or how they are feeling. The mood of the client sets the tone for the rest of the call. It also helps you establish the necessary rapport with new clients. Consider this: how would you feel if your dentist simply walked into the room and began working on your teeth without even saying “hi” or “how are you?” It’s just strange, and it’s not a good business practice.
2. Clarify the topic – In the same way that the check-in establishes the tone of the session, this section establishes the foundation for the entire session. Clients will sometimes come to you with not one, but various different topics. Getting them to agree on a single goal will prepare you for the third stage – the coaching session.
3. Coaching Session – This is the most important part of the coaching session, and it is where you should spend the most time. This is where you can ask great questions and raise various levels of awareness. This is also where you ensure that your client stays on topic so that you can move on to the next stage as quickly as possible.
4. Lessons Learned – Allow time, in the end, to ask the client what they learned. Were there any key takeaways or lessons learned? Did they get what they expected from the session, or did they get even more?
5. Homework/Accountability – Allow time for them to discuss any actions they wish to take and how you can assist them.
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