Avoid this coaching trap!

I am a Certified Mentor Coach, which means I frequently observe newer coaches working on their skills. I’ve noticed a trap that coaches regularly fall into and I’d like to help you avoid it.

It’s the trap of seeking to add too much value.

You see, when we coach we do so in the hopes of helping our coachee break through to a new level of awareness about themselves, the way they see the world, and how they might address an important challenge before them. This is all well and good. It’s what the coachee is looking for, too, after all.

Where this can become problematic is when the coach becomes fixated on this idea and keeps “coaching” even as the session should be drawing to a close. They do this because they feel they haven’t really gotten to the heart of the issue or the client has surfaced something new that must be addressed now despite there not being enough time to properly explore it. What’s worse is when this newly surfaced issue is only tangentially related to the outcome the coachee is seeking in the session.

The client will, in most cases, go along with the continuing coaching because they expect the coach to manage the time and focus of the session.

When the coach notices that time is rapidly running out, they abruptly shift to closing the session and inquiring about how the client has grown in the process. At this point the coachee usually knows time is up and will say one or two things to which the coach approvingly responds and seeks to schedule the next session.

Here’s the bottom line on this: Don’t expect a breakthrough to come in every coaching session. And, don’t force it.

Remember that coaching is rarely a one and done modality. Coaching is hard work for both sides and takes time and effort. While there are countless cases of breakthroughs being realized in a single coaching session, there are also many times when it seems like something magnificent didn’t occur. This is perfectly alright.

Furthermore, the value of coaching isn’t just measured in the number of insights or aha’s that occur inside of a session. There are many other benefits of coaching such as thinking out loud, being heard, being affirmed, having an opportunity to engage in a role play before a difficult conversation, and more.

You are better off managing the time and focus and partnering with the client to close the session regardless of what you want in terms of a breakthrough. If coaching occurred, then the client will have had an experience that may lend itself to growth after the coaching session when they go about the next steps they committed to in the closing of the session.

Clients also often reflect on coaching after a session is done and may experience new thinking in that quiet moment. The impact is there!

So, in closing, don’t fall into this coaching trap when you feel you’ve not given enough value in a session.

We hope this post has been helpful to you on your coaching journey. If you’d like to go further with our instruction, consider joining the Center for Executive Coaching. We have 3 levels of enrollment and payment plans to suit your pace and budget. Learn more here.

Hope this is helpful to you! Want to learn more about coaching? Read our article on, “One simple change that could positively affect your coaching business.”

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