Moving Forward #3

The last class for this course was held on Thursday, June 07, 2007. Being the last class we were focused on doing coaching around moving forward.

The coaching session was around moving the client toward getting an office. The client was very clear about why she wanted to get an office but found that she wasn’t moving in that direction. Her hesitation came from not knowing where to look, who to ask, and cost of an office. The client has moved to a new town and feels very insecure. The coach did a good job making sure that she had defined what she is looking for in an office, her ideal situation. The coach had asked her where the fear of rejection came from and hit it on the head that she had experienced that in her new country. She practiced psychology previous to moving and her degree is useless where she moved to, she is very discouraged. The coach then encouraged her to find a support group of coaches. As it turned out she had just that morning emailed a connection she had with a coach in Milan. The coached used a powerful question in the way of, “What could you try if you had no reservation?” She had an upcoming get together with some women that she sighted as a possibility. He challenged her to not only express her need (for an office) but also do a sample coaching session in order to help them understand. He encouraged her that it could be the start of a network. He ended by challenging her (or asking) for a deadline that she could set for herself by which to try these things.

The phone line was really poor ob this class and it was difficult to remain focused for the entire hour. I have to admit by the end of the class when people were sharing what they had learned in class to today I was watching the clock. I think that there are a lot of ways to help the client move forward: powerful questions, enthusing, powerful listening, setting goals, creating action, identifying UAC’s, raising awareness, holding client accountable, the list can go on and on. The key is to find what works for each client and also to identify what the roadblocks are for that client. The role of the coach is to help the client move forward and I think that all the things that we learn at ICA are focused around that aspect.