I had a coaching session that left me eager to get back to work that day.
And I’m not talking anything like an “Ugh, this session is dragging, can it please be over so I can get back to the other stuff I need to focus on?”
What I experienced was a “Wow, that was a great session. Now that it’s over I’m actually excited to face off with and complete this mountain of tasks before me.”
In other words, I was ready to hit it with renewed vigor thanks to a clear and empowered context. The work, instead of feeling like just a bunch of stuff I was supposed to do, now again had clear purpose and I was present to how doing that work would forward what I was committed to.
This state of mind was in refreshing contrast to sessions I’ve commonly experienced with other coaches, where the overall, even if merely implied directive was simply to “sit with” the inquiry we’d just had and “see what unfolds”.
You can create a context for your sessions with clients where there’s an understanding that the work is where the rubber meets the road, and for it you can spark ambition, rather than mere passive reflection. (Passive reflection is great, but it’s not the same.) You don’t have to be a slave driver or task master to do that.
It’s a good sign if your clients leave your calls more ambitious than they came in, more eager to get back to work and progress in what matters to them.
When you’ve had a great session and your client is clear-eyed and ready to go, you can suggest in no uncertain terms that they take a few minutes to create a suitable action plan. It should be one that will channel that readiness into a clear set of steps and deadlines between now and the next session.
CA’s Action planning makes this simple and fast.
It doesn’t have to be fancy, it doesn’t have to be terribly detailed. And it doesn’t have to be something for them to create later. Let them know you’ll be happy to wait as they get this done during the last few minutes of your session, while they enter it in to CA.
You’ll be able to see what they come up with as they build the plan, and can offer encouragement on the spot (e.g. “This looks like a great plan, I can’t wait to see how this moves you forward.”).
