Cathy Liska Sometimes a client is faced with an urgent challenge and focuses on the Doing. The deep learning and meaningful change come with the Being.
In any given coaching session, it is the client’s choice to focus on one, the other, or both. It is also the client’s choice how to have the conversation. Some clients choose to think out loud and they may want to coach to rephrase, share observations, take notes, or simply listen. Other clients choose to brainstorm with their coach participating by adding ideas. Sometimes clients want to be asked pros and cons or best case, worst case, and most likely outcomes. Alternatively, a client may choose to develop lists and rank, self-evaluate, or take an assessment. For the coach this means having the ability to dance in the moment and flex to what the client wants comes with coach training and with practice. It means being comfortable with multiple tools and approaches to have options and/or to co-create with the knowledge of different tools and approaches informing questions.
What does this mean? At the start of a coaching session, the coach asks the client what they want to focus on. The coach then explores what specifically the client wants to accomplish during the conversation, what this means to the client, and how they will measure the success of the coaching session. Then the coach asks the client how the want to proceed with the conversation.
When a client does want to work on the Doing, the coach will ask about specific objectives, potential challenges, strategies, and action steps. When a client wants deeper learning, the coach will incorporate the Being and ask about how a client is using specific words, observe and ask about energy shifts, explore meaning, and ask the client what they are learning.
Both the Doing and the Being have significant value, and together they are powerful.
