Your client resists your coaching advice. How can you effectively guide them towards progress?

Your client resists your coaching advice. How can you effectively guide them toward progress? Understand their resistance. Resistance often stems from fear, discomfort, or past experiences. Start by listening empathetically to identify the root cause of their hesitation. Acknowledge their feelings and validate their concerns without judgment. Engage in a candid conversation to uncover any misconceptions or barriers. Offer reassurance by breaking down your advice into smaller, manageable steps. Illustrate the benefits and potential outcomes to create a clearer vision of success. By deeply understanding their resistance and addressing it thoughtfully, you can build trust and guide your client towards meaningful progress.

One of the things that we can deal with this resistance issue is that we just let them hear our advice and not to expect change of behaviour overnight. Give time to make it happen. Respect his or her decision and just give support whenever it is needed.

Be open to resistance from your client. Resistance is a sign that your client is taking action. Even if it appears at the present time to be negative action. Emotions are triggered, thoughts are happening and the person is struggling to work through these feelings and thoughts. Be patient, kind and consistent in your coaching approach at this time. Acknowledge their resistance, ask them open questions about it. For example, "I see that you are feeling some resistance to moving forward together in your work, can you tell me about this?". A new place of acceptance is available and your client will feel validated and noticed. By not wanting to control the outcome you have the opportunity to build trust.

Find the friction! What is it about your advice that rubs them the wrong way? There could be so many different reasons they are resistant - from fear, to misunderstanding, to lack of resources, to your advice being simply not right for them. Not only is this a brilliant exercise for the client in self awareness but it opens you as a coach to different ideas, approaches and ways of expressing your advice to clients. Being open and flexible in your approach as a coach is a must - one size doesn't fit all so find out what bits are uncomfortable for them and adjust it to make it a better fit.

When a client resists your coaching advice, the key to guiding them towards progress is to deepen your trust in their ability to trust themselves. Start by actively listening to their objections and concerns, and then analyse their behaviour to identify any underlying triggers or limiting beliefs. Once you've gained this insight, approach coaching with a supportive and encouraging attitude, celebrating their small victories along the way. By consistently acknowledging their progress and providing positive reinforcement, you help them build self-trust and gradually become more open to your guidance.

Your client resists your coaching advice. How can you effectively guide them toward progress? Build trust. Trust is the cornerstone of any successful coaching relationship. Begin by demonstrating genuine interest in their goals and challenges. Show empathy and confidentiality, ensuring they feel safe and understood. Consistently provide honest and constructive feedback, and be transparent about your own limitations. Follow through on promises and be reliable in your interactions. Share small wins and celebrate their progress to reinforce your commitment to their success. By building trust, you create a strong foundation that encourages openness and willingness to embrace your guidance, leading your client toward significant progress.

My coaching approach is a facilitation style and therefore I am not offering advice rather guiding a person to discover their own truth in their own time. In this way I aim to build a trusting working relationship with my client. My aim is for them to feel that our coaching space is their growing time, to explore, experiment, resist, challenge, feel inadequate, gain confidence. All of these emotions and experiences are valid for effective experiential learning. I want my client to more than anything trust themself, their own emotions, thoughts and decisions. I am their cheer leader and sometimes guide.

Your client resists your coaching advice. How can you effectively guide them toward progress? Reframe their perspectives. Resistance often comes from fixed viewpoints or negative mindsets. Start by helping your client see challenges as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles. Use positive language and examples to illustrate how different perspectives can lead to new insights. Encourage them to question limiting beliefs and explore alternative solutions. Share stories of others who have overcome similar challenges by adopting new viewpoints. By reframing their perspectives, you enable your client to break free from restrictive thinking, opening the door to innovative approaches and meaningful progress.

I see my role as to help my clients to see what's going on in their mind and the cause and effect that results. This enables clients to challenge their own assumptions and gain a shift in perspective that enables them to move forward. This puts them in the drivers seat to decide whether they want to keep creating the same outcomes or tackle the inner obstacles that are identified and support a new perspective.

Limiting beliefs restrict a person's opportunity to grow and to challenge themselves. However guiding a client in changing a long held limiting belief requires empowering them to change their own thoughts, their own mindset. To achieve this change of perspective requires a shift by the client in how they frame their understanding and belief about their own potential. In my experience experiential learning exercises can provide the circuit breaker many people need to reframe their beliefs about themselves. The blindfold trust exercise is my favourite when you shift the assumption that the able bodied coach goes first to lead and instead invite your client with an acquired brain injury to lead you. Miraculous mindset shifts are possible.

Your client resists your coaching advice. How can you effectively guide them toward progress? Set clear goals. Clear goals provide direction and motivation. Start by collaborating with your client to define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. Break down larger objectives into smaller, manageable tasks that feel achievable. Make sure the goals align with their values and long-term vision to boost commitment. Regularly review and adjust these goals based on feedback and progress. Celebrate milestones to maintain momentum and build confidence. By setting clear goals, you create a structured roadmap that guides your client steadily toward progress, making the path forward more tangible and less daunting.

How can you effectively guide them toward progress? Offer support. Support can significantly reduce resistance by providing the encouragement and resources they need. Start by regularly checking in to discuss challenges and celebrate successes. Offer practical tools, strategies, and resources tailored to their needs. Be available for questions and guidance, showing that you’re invested in their success. Encourage a growth mindset by reinforcing their ability to learn and improve. Provide constructive feedback and recognize their efforts, no matter how small. By offering consistent and empathetic support, you help your client feel valued and understood, empowering them to overcome resistance and make steady progress.

It is not my role to provide specific advice. The closest I will get to this is guidance once a client has set their own direction. For example, a client in my Equine Experiential learning program wanted to ride a horse again. We had a few challenges as she had not ridden a horse for 30 years and had an acquired brain injury since that time. Once she had set the goal and her mindset was belief that she would do it my role was to ensure her journey towards this goal was as safe and supportive as possible. And to work with her experienced carers to jointly craft the progressive steps towards the audacious goal. This required facilitating her ability to achieve small progressive goals. She rode the horse on the date she set.

How can you effectively guide them toward progress? Adapt strategies. Resistance can stem from a mismatch between the coaching approach and the client's needs or preferences. Start by assessing what strategies may not be resonating with them. Be flexible and willing to modify your approach based on their feedback and evolving circumstances. Experiment with different methodologies, tools, and techniques to find what works best for them. Personalize your coaching style to better align with their learning style and communication preferences. By being adaptable and responsive, you demonstrate your commitment to their success and create a more conducive environment for overcoming resistance and achieving progress.

As a coach, you shouldn’t be giving advice! It’s up to you to help the client come up with their own strategies that they fully buy into and will be confident and motivated to follow through.

Coaching isn’t about offering advice - mentoring is offering advice When I’m coaching I ask questions that help my client find their answers

As an ADHD Coach, my clients need to be listened to and given guidance. I create milestones rather than goals because "goals" are not easy for a neurodivergent brain to accomplish. I also let them know what I am hearing them say so I can be assured that we are on the same page, but also it helps my clients review what they said and can actually spark the answers and solutions they have inside them.

My clients are resourceful individuals and I see my role as shining a light on their resourcefulness. My clients don't need to be 'fixed'. I hold the space during our coaching ask questions to confirm and I then listen. I may give them a reframe and ask them to reflect on it. I don't give advice I help them navigate a way to the destination they have identified and then together we produce a strategy. I will hold them accountable to their goals. I see my role as essentially holding up a mirror and making sure the light is on.

For my neurodivergent clients, they have heard all of the advice already. They’re talking to me because advice doesn’t work for them. We work together to co-create new paths to new solutions for their unique brains. Given that each brain is unique, I’d recommend this framing for any client, neurodivergent or not! A coach does not give advice. Mentors or consultants advise. Coaches help clients come to new awarenesses and turn those awarenesses into action. Clients are the experts on themselves, so they must co-create their awareness and action with the partnership of the coach.

I had a client who thought their issues were caused by external factors, only to realize that the real work lied within. It’s completely normal to face resistance when diving into personal challenges, especially when we’re not fully ready to address them. Being open to exploring these inner aspects is a big step forward. When you're ready to tackle these personal hurdles, it can lead to transformative growth. Remember, it's all part of the journey to a more fulfilling life.

People surprise us. And yet we humans have predictable patterns of behaviour as well. Resistance is to be expected when a person has challenged themselves to go beyond their comfort zone or when a coach has challenged them to exceed what they believe they can do. One of the challenges as a coach who sometimes is a parent, is when you communicate your belief that a person can achieve what to them seems impossible. This happened recently when I encouraged my adult son to buy a house that needed resuscitation not a renovation. Once I showed my belief by my positive action towards him achieving this miraculous transformation there was no exit. You can carry a person through their resistance with your own belief and action when it's necessary.