Powerful Requests #1

The first class in this course was held on Wednesday, July 18, 2007. I was feeling overwhelmed at taking the class today because not only have I had a three week break from classes but I am also in the middle of a cross-country move. As I sit here taking my class I have four movers buzzing around extracting furniture from my home. I am excited about the new adventure that my family and I are embarking on but stressed out with the details and chaos of it all.

What makes a request powerful? It may have an element of stretching or challenging the client. It may mean stepping out of their comfort zone and take a risk. It moves the client into action rather than just talking about it. When a client moves into this area we as coaches need to hold the client accountable, checking in with them that they are moving forward. We can also acknowledge and enthuse them to keep them motivated and engaged in the challenge they are undergoing. We should also celebrate with them as they move through the smaller steps that they accomplish along their way to the big goal.

How can we help people to reflect on their experience to see what they have accomplished and get as much out of it as they can? Asking them to share what the experience was like for them, what happened as well as their reaction to it. Questions that we could ask to help the client really reflect and learn from the experience: “How did you feel about accomplishing that?” “Have you incurred any consequences or rewards because of this change?” “What assumptions did you make that empowered you and what assumptions did you make that hindered you?”

After Action Review – What were the actions? What did I learn? What could I do differently next time? Again this is a technique to look back at what the goal or challenge was and what was done and then what was learned in the situation.

Based on today’s class there is so much more to powerful requests that to just challenge the client into action…the more important part is to follow-up the challenge or ‘powerful request’ with an evaluation of sorts.

I feel like as a coach I do this quite well. I spend a good part of my coaching sessions going over what the client said they wanted to accomplish and reflecting on if they were able to do that and how they did it. The part that I need to improve on is the “What did you learn?” part.