Recently we began describing the 5 Elements of a Powerful Coaching Process through our blog and a follow-up article focused on the first two elements, Uncover and Discover. This article continues our series by taking a deeper dive into the last three steps in the coaching process.
- Uncover
- Discover
- Visualize
- Create The Plan
- On-Going Coaching
Coaches are keenly focused on helping their clients meet and exceed their goals. We have found that a coach can be far more successful when they also pay attention to making sure that those clients stay motivated when they’re on their own. Transformational coaches strive to create autonomous clients who can tap into the coaching they’ve been given whenever needed.
In last week’s article, we discussed the first two stages of the coaching process: Uncover and Discover where we help clients uncover strengths and roadblocks and discover their priorities, values, and life lessons. Now they are ready to enter the next stage of the coaching process, visualizing their future in preparation for setting goals.
Visualize: With you as the facilitator, visualization can be a powerful tool for goal setting. It can help to bring your client’s goals to life, making them seem more real and achievable. Visualization involves imagining having already achieved their goals and experiencing the feelings of success and fulfillment that come with it. By visualizing goals as if they have already happened, clients create a strong emotional connection to them which can serve as a motivator. Additionally, visualization practiced on a regular basis can keep your client motivated when you aren’t around. All part of sharing techniques that create coaching that last’s a lifetime.
When clients visualize the steps they need to take to achieve their goals, they can develop a clearer understanding of what needs to be done and create a targeted plan of action. It can also help them identify potential roadblocks that may arise and generate creative solutions to overcome them.
There are a variety of visualization techniques, such as guided visualization, creating a vision board, and writing down goals and imagining they have already been achieved. The key is to make the visualization as vivid and real as possible and to engage as many of the senses as possible. Here are some ways you can help your clients visualize:
Ask questions: Start by asking your clients questions to help them identify what they want to achieve and why. Encourage them to describe in detail what they see, hear, and feel when they imagine their desired outcome.
Guided visualization: If you are comfortable and skilled in guided meditation, lead your clients through a guided visualization exercise where they are at the starting line of a race. In front of them, they can see the finish line where their goal awaits. Take them through the race from start to finish suggesting they imagine a surge of energy and motivation as they gracefully glide over each obstacle.
Emphasize positive feelings and client strengths: Encourage your clients to focus on the positive feelings associated with their desired outcome, and to imagine themselves experiencing those feelings in the present moment. This is a perfect place to apply your skills in Appreciative Inquiry. (AI) is a strengths-based, solution-focused approach to change and improvement. One of the main components of AI is using positive experiences and strengths to imagine what they want the future to look like. The goal is to create a vision and a set of aspirations for the future that emphasizes the client’s strengths.
Practice regularly: Regular practice is key to successful visualization. Encourage your clients to spend a few minutes each day visualizing their desired outcome and suggest they make this a habit.
Create The Plan. Your client’s plan consists of two components: attitude and action. Attitude can be addressed by incorporating the lessons they identified and the new paradigm they’ve adopted into the plan. Action is all about goals and maintaining a clear focus on priorities.
Goal setting is one of the most challenging exercises for a coach and client, in part because goal setting involves using both hemispheres of the brain. The left side of the brain is used to create goals that are structured. Many coaches use the S.M.A.R.T. method for creating goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. In this way, they create goals that are quantifiable and allow for measuring progress along the way. The right side of the brain is accessed when incorporating the results of the visualization and dreaming exercises to create goals that speak to why they want to achieve each goal.
Carefully crafted goals should feel like gifts clients want to give themselves. In our practice we have our clients read their goals aloud and if they don’t get goosebumps we go back to the drawing board. Seriously, our clients love it.
Goals that sound like chores or punishment are doomed from the start. “Lose twenty pounds.“ never made anyone do cartwheels. But “Lose 20 pounds so I can beat my brother in the annual family basketball tournament” can inspire a person to start dieting and exercise from day one!
Be sure to consider the time frame in which your client needs or wants to complete their plan. Timing will have a big impact on whether goals are strategic or tactical in nature.
Strategic goals are high-level, long-term objectives that are intended to guide the overall direction and decision-making for the client. They are typically broad in scope, and often involve making significant investments of time, money, or other resources.
Tactical goals, on the other hand, are more focused on the short-term and are designed to help achieve specific milestones on the way to achieving strategic goals. They tend to be more detailed than strategic goals and can be adjusted or changed as needed in response to changing circumstances.
Overall, strategic goals and tactical goals work together to create a cohesive plan for achieving success. Strategic goals provide the overall direction and vision, while tactical goals provide the specific steps needed to achieve that vision.
Once the goals have been written, have clients go back and review their values. It’s important to make sure that the goals they have set are consistent with their values. If a goal is in conflict with a value, there is a good chance the goal won’t be achieved.
The final step in plan development is to decide what steps can be taken by the time you next meet. What actions will the client take to begin the journey to reaching their goals? A well-developed plan with carefully crafted goals and next steps become the foundation for your ongoing coaching.
On-Going Coaching – The coaching process typically involves a series of one-on-one sessions, in which the coach uses a variety of tools and techniques to help the client explore their goals, identify obstacles and challenges, and develop strategies for moving forward.
The role of the coach is to provide support, guidance, and accountability to the client, and to help them gain clarity and perspective on their situation. The coach does not provide advice or tell the client what to do, but instead facilitates the client’s own process of discovery, growth, and change. This is where your skills are used to anticipate, recognize, and manage transformational moments for your client, inspire them to greater heights, and help them find motivation when they get stuck.
The structure of coaching sessions can vary depending on the coach’s approach and the needs of the client, but here is a general framework that can be adapted to fit different coaching styles and client needs:
- Establish an objective: Begin by asking the client what they want to achieve or work on during the coaching session. This will help to create a focus and direction for the session.
- Explore the Client’s Situation: Ask open-ended questions to gather information about the client’s current situation, challenges, and resources. This can help you to better understand the client’s perspective and provide insights that can inform the coaching process.
- Identify Barriers and Lessons Learned: Work with the client to identify any obstacles or challenges that may be preventing them from achieving their goals. This can include internal barriers such as limiting beliefs or external barriers such as lack of resources or support. Ask them to look for lessons that can be learned from recent challenges.
- Develop Strategies: Collaborate with the client to develop a plan for addressing the identified barriers and achieving the desired outcome. This may involve brainstorming solutions, setting goals, and creating action steps.
- Review Progress: What action steps did the client agree to take at your last session? Follow up with the client to assess progress, provide feedback, and make adjustments as needed. This can help to ensure that the coaching process is effective and that the client is on track to achieve their goals.
- Agree on next steps: To ensure the client is making consistent progress, have them identify the action steps they plan to take before your next meeting.
- Wrap-Up: At the end of the coaching session, compare your key takeaways with those of the client. Comparing key takeaways can help to promote clarity and accountability, assess progress, and can contribute to a more successful coaching relationship.
Remember that coaching sessions should be customized to fit the needs of the individual client. Some clients may require more guidance and structure, while others may prefer a more open-ended approach. As a coach, it’s important to be flexible and adaptable and to work collaboratively with the client to achieve their goals.
We hope this month’s series on the 5 Elements of a Powerful Coaching Process has answered some questions for you and has inspired you to review your own coaching process. What learning models do you teach your clients so they can tap into the learnings when you’re not around?
As always, thanks for reading.
P.S. We certify coaches all over the world in Best Year Yet® a coaching process that is truly transformational and has produced unimagined results for our clients. Plus, it includes a coach’s portal with access to client plans and an online goal-tracking system making it easy to track each client’s progress. Clients have access to their plan and the tracking system online and with a free mobile app.
We would love to have you join our unique community of transformational coaches. For more information on our certification program go to The Passionate Coach or reach out to us at info@thepassionatecoach.com.
Additional Resources:
The Passionate Coach, A Practical Guide to the Art of Transformational Coaching and
Stop Shoulding on Yourself, 5 Steps to Create Goals That Feel Like Gifts, both available on Amazon
