Cathy Liska Building on the foundation you created for your coaching business with your action steps from the previous blog posts in this series, you are prepared to provide excellent coaching services.
Before beginning coaching, sign an agreement with your client. The International Coaching Federation provides a sample for members and many coach training programs also provide agreements. In the agreement, define your role as a coach, note the rate and number of sessions, provide boundaries for communication between sessions, detail the commitment to the coaching relationship, and ensure the client has your Code of Ethics. The written coaching agreement supports clear understanding of the relationship for clients.
Focus intentionally on understanding your client. Recognize their personality type, learning style, and approach to communication because it empowers you as a coach to adjust to the client effectively. Because people are generally a combination of personality styles and use different approaches to learning and communication based on circumstances, being present in the moment is essential. How you adjust to the client may be different moment by moment.
Develop rapport with your client by understanding who they are and flexing to their style and lingo. A good relationship between the coach
and the client is one of the top indicators of excellence in coaching.