How to deepen your coaching experience

You are about to embark on your coaching journey. Here are some tips to make your journey more effective.

 

Commitment: After your trial session (or the first session), please take time to ask yourself the following questions:

  • Am I able to prioritise coaching time for a set period of time?
  • Am I ready to build a respectful partnership with this coach?
  • Am I prepared to participate fully in each session and to follow through on what I have decide to do?

If all the answers are YES, then you are fully ready to experience the coaching journey and take responsibility for yourself. If any of the answers are NO, then you may want to talk to your coach again or you may not be ready for coaching.

 

Note-taking, verbalisation: Get into the habit of writing down your thoughts, feelings, new insights, etc. as they come to you. There are many thoughts and feelings in your head, but if you don’t write them down, they will just slip away. This is a visualisation of thoughts and feelings to help the client realise that they are real.

You can write on a piece of paper nearby, prepare a special notebook (journaling) to record your inner journey, or type it into your PC or mobile phone. However, some research suggests that writing with pen and paper is better for your memory and brain.

 

Reflection: Take time to reflect on what was said, felt, and thought during and before the session. This is very effective in keeping the coaching purpose in mind and continuing without wavering. If the client (coachee) does this themselves, especially by looking over the notes written down above immediately after the session and shortly before the next session, it will be the most efficient use of the limited session time.

However, this “reflection” is not for analyzing or self-blaming. If various emotions or thoughts come to mind while reading through it, it is good to record them further, but here it is only an act of remembering your own thoughts and emotions.

 

Taking action/accountability: Even if you talk about various things during the session and gain awareness, if you do not take any action, you will not feel the effect of coaching, except if you decide not to take action yourself. People often pay attention to promises they make to others and try to keep their promises. However, when it comes to the things they decide in their own hearts, don’t you tend to be too flexible and easily lower the priority? For example, “I was planning to replant the plants today, but I’ll finish the work that I was asked to do first.” Accountability means taking responsibility for the promises you make to yourself and carrying them out. If you feel it is difficult to take action, bring it up in the next session and find out with your coach why you were unable to fulfill your responsibilities.