Cathy Liska Shelly is an architect. The nature of her work means she deals with clients who change their minds, have difficulty making a decision, and may not understand her drawings. She must meet her client’s needs and wishes while also meeting building and accessibility codes, budgets, and schedules. She must communicate with a variety of interesting, if sometimes difficult people. She must be clear with everyone about what’s going on and what’s expected of everyone. She is expected to be intelligent and inquisitive, a good listener, and able to explain things so that everyone understands what she’s doing.
Shelly wants to cut her budget by spending less time explaining and making changes. She wants her clients to make well informed decisions they stick with happily. Shelly was surprised when one of her colleagues suggested she enroll in coach training. She spoke with a coaching certification facilitator and discovered coaching skills would help her immensely. As in coaching, Shelly’s work is all about the client. Coaching would help her help clients discover what they truly want.
After receiving her coaching certification and participating in the coaching process, Shelly found setting specific, measurable goals comes naturally. When she sits down with a client she asks meaningful, client-centered questions. She uses visualization techniques to ensure the client has a full sense of the building. Shelly has found she is asked for fewer changes. She more effectively discusses drawings because she understands and works with different learning styles. Shelly describes the impact of coach training on her work as amazing and powerful.
