Coaches: Back to basics

Every so often in my development, it has helped me to go right back to the basics. Doing so allows me to check the foundations on which my approach and my practice is based. I am answering the question:

What’s the gap between where you are currently and where the world needs you to be?

With my own coaching supervisors, I have pared away to what matters most in my approach and worked on honing that. I have looked at each year ahead and decided what development I think I need next. I have had coaching myself, paid coaching, peer coaching and coaching circles. These allow immediate and knowledgeable feedback on specific areas, which has proved immensely helpful. I also invest in training in new areas and methods to update, improve and make the foundations stronger, and to add breadth and precision to the thinking behind the use of different ‘tools’ rather than just adding new ones.

I highly recommend a planned development approach to other coaches, since it has been so valuable to me. If you are seeking accreditation you will need to have a development plan anyway, so here are some ideas for making the most of opportunities to learn:

1.     If you pare your approach right back, what are the key things that are at the heart of your practice where you have real skill and where your clients derive the most value?

·       How would other coaches understand that, what is that type of skill or approach known as in the business? Read everything you can about that way of working, seeking to understand how your approach is similar or different and how it can be enhanced.

·       Think about your clients in their marketplaces, facing the challenges that are current. How does your core approach particularly matter to them now? How do you describe that to your clients in a way they get? Is that something that runs right through your marketing and what you say when you are networking? What do you need to add or change?

2.     Work with your Coaching Supervisor to review all areas of your practice, including the feedback you are receiving recently. Decide on one aspect of your practice that you would like to develop:

·       It may be one of the basic skills, such as developing rapport with your client

·       It may be a new technique that you would like to integrate into your practice

·       It could be a part of the lifecycle that you would like greater confidence with

3.     Set yourself some development goals and discuss how these could be met, realistically over the next year.

• Create some sort of visual reminder of your resolve to work on that area, so that you are regularly reflecting on your progress with your goal.

• Use ‘corners of time’ between other tasks to write down what has changed and what you are noticing as you improve. These are great to look back on later, and provide evidence of development over time which you may be able to use in your accreditation submission.

If you are looking for a coaching supervisor, new trio groups are forming regularly, and 1:1 work can begin any time. I would be very happy to discuss with you the approach I take