Watch How Coaching Works: A Short Movie on
You Tube
We released a movie titled “How Coaching Works” as a way to explain coaching via YouTube using an animated cartoon. This blog series aims to share the psychological underpinnings of the cartoon. The third blog is written from the “client’s” perspective.
Q: What were your initial thoughts about engaging a coach?
Client: I wasn’t sure how to prepare for it. I had an image of what coaches did and said. I imagined how it might feel to be coached by the greats – Vince Lombardi, Yogi Berra, and Lou Holz. They were great motivators and had a lot of information to share. Working with my coach was very different than I expected.
Q: How so?
Client: While it was true that my coach had great breadth and depth of knowledge and expertise, by the end of each session, I felt like the expert, in the driver’s seat. My coach had a way of drawing out my ideas, my own experiences, rather than relying only on telling me what to do. It seemed like each question and reflection, while on the surface seeming simple, got me thinking and talking more and more about what I could figure out when challenged to do so – accessing my deeply buried insights and wisdom. And I found myself talking about my successes more than I usually would.
Q: But wasn’t that frustrating for you? Didn’t you want to get advice on how to proceed?
Client: At first, I certainly thought I did. Except, in retrospect, I also tend to be someone who resists being told what to do. Like when someone lectures me about eating less fried food. I often just nod my head politely, and then drive through McDonald’s for fries on the way home.
Q: There was an interesting moment in this movie when the coach chose to give you the tool, the pencil. What was that like?
Client: My first reaction was “Wait, help me out here. I can’t do this by myself!” But my coach just looked at me in this way that said “You have the capacity. You are in charge.” I think it was a turning point in the relationship between us, and in my willingness to take responsibility. A line was drawn - no pun intended – and I knew I was being called to take the first step.
Q: What makes coaching different?
Client: The coaching relationship is one like I’ve never experienced before. I felt the coach was honest and authentic and completely devoted to my success in a way that transformed me. The conversation was kind of like a dance. We are both so engaged with the conversation that we move in synch with each other. We laughed, we shared my frustrations, we expanded my hopes, and we faced my roadblocks with courage. I left each coaching session feeling alive – energized, confident, positive, with renewed hope that I will be successful, allowing me to truly make a difference in the world.
Margaret Moore, also known as “Coach Meg,” is CEO and founder of Wellcoaches Corp. in Wellesley, MA and can be reached by email at:
coachmeg[at]wellcoaches.com
http://www.coachmeg.com
http://www.wellcoaches.com
http://www.harvardcoaching.org