Three Keys to Effective Coaching

Hear the 3 coaching keys in under 2 minutes

Lisë Stewart, founder of the Galliard Family Business Advisor Institute, on the three keys to effective coaching.

I think there are three keys to really being able to coach effectively. The first one is to meet the client where the client is.

That means we step into the relationship with the client. Many times, as professional advisors or coaches or consultants, what we’re trying to do is to convince the client to come to where we want them to be. We have a product, a service, idea, or methodology that we think is going to work just great, we’re a super hammer looking for the nail.

As effective coaches, we meet the client where the client is. The client’s needs are far more important than our own.

The second one is I believe in pull systems, not push systems.

The pull system means that we’re that asking powerful questions to pull from the client: we’re trying to get them to tell us what’s going on; it’s not for us to tell them what’s going on.

And the third most important thing? It’s about them, and not us.

Often times, as a consultant, we’re trying to prove to the client that we know a whole lot – that we’re smart, we’re worth investing in. You should pay us because we have the answers, we have the solutions.

In coaching we do just the opposite: it’s all about them. We’re there to support them, we’re there to listen, we’re there to pull from the client, we’re there to meet them where they are.

It is not about you, it’s about them. So if you’re doing most of the talking, we’ve got to switch that around. Any more than six sentences, and we know it’s now about you.

Remember, effective coaches are there for the client – not the other way around. Happy coaching!