4 Techniques That Will Help You Become a Better Coach
If you want to learn more techniques and skills on how to become a better coach, then this blog is for you.
Hi, I’m Coach Lily and I’m the director of coach and training development here at Body Brain Alliance.
Prefer to learn on video? Watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tnFqVkWnFQ&feature=youtu.beHere Are 4 Techniques That Will Help You Be A Better Coach:
1. Listen to understand, not to respond.
This is also referred to as active listening. As coaches, we want to provide all the answers. We hear what our client is saying, but our instinct inside is to interrupt them and to give them the blueprint of the answer that they are looking for.
However, what can be the most impactful for the client as they move along in their change journey and work towards behaviors and goals that they ultimately want for themselves is to hold space and allow them to talk.
This also often results in the clients finding their own answers.
When we can guide and facilitate a conversation where the client’s autonomy is always respected and you’re giving them room to discuss and explain and express the things that they are facing…
Sometimes they’ll come up with their own solutions or their own experiments or their own ideas on how to navigate and overcome any obstacles that they face.
As a coach, the best thing we can do is guide and facilitate the conversation, not always provide them the right or the best answer.
The best answer will always come from within them.
2. Check Your Biases
We all have them even if we feel like we are the most non-judgmental, and unbiased coach there is.
Every human being has opinions and thoughts on certain topics, and as a coach, you are likely an expert in your field. This can result in specific biases around approaches or strategies someone may take to reach a specific goal.
However, it is not our job nor our place to give our biases or judgment to the clients on what we think they should do.
While yes, as a coach, we can educate on opportunities and we can discuss what options are available to them and maybe your experience or what you know about your field.
Ultimately, we want to be respecting the client’s autonomy and decision in the matter.
When the client decides what they want to do to move forward or the steps that they want to take, the best thing we can do as a coach is to allow that decision to unfold.
What works for one client may not always work for another. So when we remove all judgments and allow our client to have a unique experience, they can navigate their own solutions and likely be even more successful.
3. Focus On Your Client’s Strengths
Whether this is through a check-in, or maybe a one-on-one session, or whatever capacity that you are coaching your clients. We want to focus on the client’s strengths and how they are growing in their skills and the things that they are doing to get closer to their goal.
While it can be beneficial at times to help the client reflect on previous mistakes or previous lessons so they can learn from what didn’t work or how to plan accordingly for the future if the same obstacle were to pop up…
We do not want all of our coaching interactions to be about what they didn’t do. What they aren’t fulfilling or what they could do better as a part of reaching their goals.
Stay strength-focused. Which means as a coach, we are using ample opportunities when we are conversing with the client or the things that they submit to us or reading a check-in that we are pointing out the skills that they are using.
We are seeing growth areas that they are developing.
We acknowledge the effort and practice they are putting and reaching their goals. And we encourage them to keep trying and to keep moving forward to ultimately reach that goal.
Of course, we can acknowledge the hard days and the hard weeks that our clients are going to ultimately experience… While still focusing on what those next steps look like to help move them forward.
4. Lead With Curiosity
You may, as a coach, have worked with hundreds of clients and may think you’ve seen the same thing over and over again…
However, like I said earlier, it is really important for each client to have their own unique experience and how they navigate towards their goals. We can do this by leading with curiosity in your coaching check-ins or your coaching sessions.
Instead of listening to your client and internally assuming what they are going to say, what their struggles are or what they’ve tried… Ask and allow the client to express and explain what led to the decision that they made, and how they overcame it to be successful.
This fosters confidence, it fosters resilience, and it helps them continue towards that ultimate goal.
By leading with curiosity, it also fosters an amazing, safe and respectful relationship between you and your client.
The conversations will be free of judgment and assumptions and it allows for more curiosity and conversation.
For more support in being a better coach, check out Change Academy Pro. We host monthly ongoing support calls to help coaches serve their clients, build their skills, and ultimately become a better coach.
If you found this blog helpful, leave a comment below and share what technique you are going to try next!
Thank you for reading, see you in the next one!