Questions Coaching Clients Ask pt 2

Maybe I am letting the side down

As I was walking my dogs today I was thinking about how many things I have unsubscribed from in the last few days. I feel a pang of guilt, because apart from the things that are shameless advertising, I unsubscribed from things that I consider to be useful, meaningful and that I support. Trouble is that my "support" is largely signing up for the newsletter or blog and then mechanistically and doggedly deleting the email that fills my inbox each day - without reading it. I just don't have time to do justice to all the ideas and suggestions and reports on valuable work that my network is doing (thank goodness they are). I am a doer and a contemplator and once in a while I have something I want share.

Against all advice

All the LinkedIn pundits tell me that posting regularly and often is critical to my credibility and worth. Nevertheless, I have decided to make a commitment to my audience that my posts will be irregular and spontaneous. I hope that when you see a post or email from you might think it is worth pausing to take a look because (a) I am hopeful that it will contain something useful to you (b) I will NOT be contacting you all the time about everything that piques my interest, curiosity or passion.

In fact, the new name for the "news, views and clues letter" is

Spontaneous Conversation.

A couple of weeks ago we started discussing coaching when we pondered the question "what do your other clients talk about?". This week I am continuing the exploration of what coaching does and is - so that anyone out there that might benefit from coaching can get a better understanding.

All weekend I have be pondering the question below....

What is coaching all about?

These is a common question from potential coaching clients.

There are lots of popular answers such as it is self-directed learning, or it is a way to self-develop. There are even statistics that show the ROI on coaching and they look pretty good. Such as training + coaching produces 4x the result that training alone does. And whatever you spend on your coaching you get as much as six times the value back! Great.

But what IS it all about?

David Cooperrider is quoted as saying

We live in the world our questions create.

In truth, most of us are not very good at formulating questions. Luckily, that is one of the coach's primary skills - to ask powerful questions. Actually it is not LUCK at all. While most of us start with some semblance of curiosity and inquisitiveness, our training hones that into a skill. We learn how to ask questions that will help you to find the path you are looking for.

In that way we are:

Pathfinders

For example, suppose you have always assumed - or been told - that you are no good at math and now you have landed a job that requires you to do some math. Imposter syndrome rears its ugly head. They will of course, "find you out".

Coaches ask questions like:

• What would happen if you WERE good at math?
• What evidence do you have that you are no good at math? (Often it is a parent or teacher who has conveyed this notion early in life.)
• What are some ways to supplement your math knowledge?
• What do you know about math?
• Who do you know who can help?
• What do you actually need for the job?
• How do you know that your math ability was part of the selection criteria (we all know job ads contain descriptions of the "unicorn candidate".)
• What resources DO you have?

To help explore the question of what coaching is all about, we asked some other people who are coaches or who have used coaches, to share their ideas. Here are the 12 most popular ones! Thank you to all who contributed.

Let us know in the comments what resonates most with you!

And what is YOUR experience? How has having a coach helped YOU.

To find out more about coaching - 1:1 and group - sign up for one of our information discussions starting in January 2023.

What is one of the greatest benefits of having a coach?

To help you better understand why coaching can be beneficial, we asked founders, CEOs, and consultants this question for their opinions and experience. From solidifying your values to guiding you to inner insight, there are several reflections below that highlight why getting coached is the best thing for personal development.

Here are 12 benefits of having a coach:

• Solidifies Your Values
• Holds You Accountable
• Encourages You to Set Clear Goals
• Provides an Unbiased Third Party Perspective
• Helps You Answer Questions You Haven't Asked
• Adds Consistent Development to Your Life
• Creates Conversation Havens
• Improves Risk Management
• Supports You to Persevere
• Points Out Your Blind Spots
• Explores Opportunities That Lead to Results
• Guides You to Inner Insight

Solidifies Your Values

Understanding your values is essential for a successful career and contentment at work. You can begin creating a strategy to support these values once you have defined them. 

A career coach can assist you in identifying your values and the reasons behind them, as well as show you how to apply those values to your day-to-day work. This goal may motivate you to conduct yourself honorably at work and feel more engaged in your routine responsibilities. 

If you enjoy your work but feel uninspired lately, a career coach may help you realize that collaboration is essential to you. On a project you were previously working on alone, you might pair up with a teammate, which could inspire you.

Jacob Dayan, Co-Founder & CEO, Community Tax

Holds You Accountable

Coaches hold you accountable. While intellectually, you may know exactly what you need to do to improve certain aspects of your life, meeting regularly with a coach will force you to reveal your progress to someone else. 

Simply being a know-it-all isn't going to help you achieve your goals. Investing in a coach will put more pressure on you to take action.

Miles Beckett, Co-Founder & CEO, Flossy

Encourages You to Set Clear Goals

For most professionals, setting sensible goals is an essential part of success. Your coach can help you develop SMART plans by helping you make them precise, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. They may be more likely to succeed because of this. 

To reach your career goals, you and your teammates may need the help of a coach. They can also help you develop strategies for achieving short-term objectives as you work toward long-term goals. 

Coaches may concentrate on individual, departmental, or organizational goals. It could help your team members reach personal goals, such as getting a positive grade from management during your quarterly review, and share goals, such as reducing the average time to repair tech equipment.

Bill Lyons, CEO, Griffin Funding

Provides An Unbiased Third Party Perspective

Having a coach can help you break down barriers you didn't even know existed. It's like having an unbiased third party looking at your life with fresh eyes and pointing out areas where you can improve.

I think when you're on your own, you can get stuck in your own ways of doing things. Having an outside perspective can help you see things from a different angle and find new ways to approach problems or tasks that are getting in your way.

This is especially helpful if you're not sure what exactly to work on or how to go about doing it. A coach can help you create a plan and hold you accountable for sticking to it.

Shaun Connell, Founder, Writing Tips Institute

Helps You Answer Questions You Haven't Asked

You don't know what you don't know, and that makes it hard to learn and grow. 

As a freelance coach, I help my trainees answer questions they hadn't yet thought to ask. It's a great way to gain fresh perspectives and get the most out of the coaching experience. 

Coaches bring out the best in each of their students by giving guidance and direction that you hadn't been able to gain on your own. It's truly an invaluable experience.

Alli Hill, Founder & Director, Fleurish Freelance

Adds Consistent Development to Your Life

In the world we live in with constant changes, chaos, wins, and losses, I truly believe the key to success is having a coach. 

A coach is no different than the “village” we needed as a child, but a coach genuinely has your best interest at heart and will hold you accountable when needed, educate you when you lack understanding, and support you when you’re doing both well and not so well. 

Coaches add consistency and the balance that’s needed every step of the way and oftentimes, you may be blessed to find a few coaches that help you in different areas of your life, which collectively, yields amazing productivity from yourself and those around you. 

You should always find a coach or mentor that will help you elevate your life in both personal and professional platforms.

Linda Ngo, CEO, Ngo Limit

Creates Conversation Havens

Today’s employees and leaders are confronted with workplace blind spots, obstacles, and enormous workloads. The greatest benefit a coach provides is an unconditional, safe environment of honesty and support. 

Coaches offer a unique space—one that people might not otherwise have in their life—to freely express ideas, dissect problems, and work to become better professionally while improving overall health, happiness, and work-life balance.

Julie Flanders, Visionary Leadership Coach, Julie Flanders

Improves Risk Management

Entrepreneurship is all about identifying and taking the right risks while also steering clear of those that could prove potential hazards. This is where the advice and direction provided by experienced coaches come in handy. 

With the ability to differentiate between overview and oversight, they can show entrepreneurs and their teams how to separate reasonable risks from bad ones. Even as they give us the confidence to take calculated risks, they also leave with insights that enable us to say no to the ones that are absolutely not worth the gamble. 

With an engaging risk management strategy to lead the way, every business decision now carries fewer risks and higher rewards.

Kris Harris, Owner, Nootka Saunas

Supports You to Persevere 

One of the greatest benefits of having a coach is the ability to get someone else's perspective on your business. When you're in the thick of things, it can be difficult to step back and see where you can improve or what new ideas you could implement. 

Having a coach gives me a chance to get an outside opinion on things I've been considering but haven't had time to really explore. A coach is also a significant source of motivation. A coach can help you stay focused on your goals and keep you pushing through times when it would be easy to give up.

Arkadiusz Terpilowski, Head of Growth & Co-Founder, Primetric

Points Out Your Blind Spots

One of the hardest aspects of work is not knowing what you don't know. And having blind spots.

A coach, who is an "outsider" to your organization and has experience in work environments, can help you see what's going on in different situations that you may not see. And there may be elements to work that you don't even realize you don't know. Or parts of your job that you need to pay more attention to (i.e. blind spots).

For example, coaches can help unravel the dynamics of meetings. There are different work meetings, from touch-base meetings to strategy to brainstorming. In addition, there are 1:1 meetings with managers, etc. What is the dynamic of each of these? How can they best be navigated? How can a meeting strategy provide "successful outcomes?"

Coaches can help employees to understand the dynamics of the workplace, see how they work best, and navigate tough situations. A fantastic coach will show you things you never saw before.

Janet Granger, CEO, Marketing Strategist, Mentor, & Coach, Janet Granger

Explores Opportunities That Lead to Results

Coaching explores opportunities! When open to opportunities and possibilities, greater clarity and value are realized. Well-trained and experienced coaches support clients' exploration of what this value looks like and how they want to show up both personally and professionally. Coaches are the process experts that bring a laser-focused approach leading to "lightbulb" moments and achieving solution-driven results.

Jill Wilk, Founder, Executive, & Team Coach, Jill Wilk Consulting

Guides You to Inner Insight

There's nothing like having a coach to guide you through challenges. Especially during times when big decisions need to be made, it's helpful to talk through the different scenarios with a coach. 

Great coaches won't give you the right answer, but rather help you discover it yourself. All the answers we need are already within us, but are often masked with all the other things in life or work. 

Going through self-discovery exercises with a coach can help you get to the bottom (or top) much faster than trying to go at it alone.

Kelli Anderson, Career Coach, Resume Seed

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ALLE LLC - Coaching for Leadership, Burnout, Resilience and Health & Wellness is a collaboration of four women whose passion is to help find your path through coaching conversations.

Our Values

In all of our offerings we:

1. Care - about you, your goals, your wellbeing and your ideas.
2. Optimize - rather than maximizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses, we help you embrace all aspects of your strengths, personality, experience and more
3. Awareness - coaching is self-directed learning which builds awareness and choice.
4. Consistency - we provide a dependable consistent supportive coaching service that is focused on you
5. Honesty - honesty and authenticity are at our core. Whether it is showing up as our complete selves, challenging you on your assumptions, reality testing your plans, we will always be honest, authentic and kind

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