Four Mistakes a Newbie Coach is Likely to Make
Offering advice limits creativity and ownership: As a business coach, it’s not your job to advise. When you jump into giving advice, you are likely to shut down idea generation by others. Instead explore ideas and solutions with them, so that they understand the solution, and how it was arrived at. People are much more likely to take ownership and carry it through when they come up with their own solutions. People are creative and resourceful and fully capable of solving problems
Being judgmental: The client needs to be given time to reflect, respond and be an active participant in the conversation. It’s not the coach’s place to judge as it causes clients to withdraw and stop expressing their true feelings.
Not being present: Leadership coaching requires you to be totally present to the client and to their issues. You can’t be present in the service of the client with a cluttered mind. As a coach, therefore the constant clearing of the head and thoughts becomes an essential practice. You need to have your head clear of any supposedly smart, intelligent thoughts, your emotions need to be on an even keel and your body-mind needs to be totally aligned and at peace for you to do the coaching well.
Not reviewing progress: Create an effective method for reviewing and measuring progress. When you coach, you need to create the environment to enable your clients to come up with their own solutions. They can then assess their progress and change course if their solution did not have the desired impact.
Business Coaching India by ‘CoachMantra’ is a model for engagement, empowerment and accountability. It teaches those being coached to be responsible and to “own” their results. By engaging in coaching, you’re making a decision to replace mediocrity with high-performance. Coaches essentially lead individuals on a path of self-discovery which in turn, helps them resolve professional and even personal crises.
Blog Writer – Guest – Team Coachmantra