The four essentials for successful coaching

Do you have them all?

By Antoine Laganiere

As coaches, we sometimes have clients who begin to doubt themselves or the process, even within just a few sessions. In those early stages, we might hear them say things like, “I don’t have time for coaching this week”, “what’s the goal of this process?” or “I just don’t think I’m improving enough”. They might feel confused, unsure, or unmotivated.

These feelings can sometimes arise because the clients may not be ready for coaching. They may believe coaching is more aligned with mentorship or teaching, rather than something requiring more in-depth, challenging work on their part. Or they may not be emotionally prepared to delve into the issues impacting their careers or quality of life.

Most often, however, these feelings arise because clients aren’t absolutely clear about four essentials for successful coaching:

Know your goal

And be able to articulate it, with a strong personal reason why it’s important. It may be something you want to overcome that’s keeping you stuck, or preventing you from growing. Or it may be an objective or purpose you’re aiming for as part of your career or personal evolution. If you don’t know your goal yet, that’s ok – but be willing to explore with your coach what it could be. It’s been said that 90% of coaching is getting clarity on what you want, and this can be harder than it sounds.

Commit to taking action

Be willing to push outside your comfort zone – because that’s where growth happens. Having difficult conversations, trying to be more empathetic or assertive, or taking the time to be more organized – any one of these goals will be uncomfortable if it’s unfamiliar or challenging. And the actions don’t have to be big. Even small steps are important. Steps you can analyze after the fact with your coach to find out, how did that go? What was difficult about it? What did you notice? And if you didn’t complete the action, being able to reflect on that with your coach, too, and explore what might have gotten in the way? Or determine, do we need to change the approach or scale back?

Sometimes it can take a while for something to go from a subjective idea to an embodied habit. But even a 1% change can be huge. It’s still a win. It still demonstrates growth.

Understand your ‘coachability’

Are you open to new ideas, perspectives, and ways of thinking? Do you enter conversations looking to broaden your perspective and learn? Do you want to grow? Are you curious? How receptive are you to hearing feedback and acting on that feedback to help achieve your goal?

Have a support system

Do you have colleagues, leaders, people you’re managing, or peers who know about your coaching and will provide feedback? Will your family and friends support your coaching journey? It doesn’t have to be everyone around you. But if there are at least a few people you trust and see every day who will be there for you and help hold you accountable, you’ll be more likely to get the most out of your coaching experience.

Self-awareness is a big part of working with a coach – and change is harder than it looks. Those who are the most successful in their coaching programs are willing to explore, try new things, reflect, and come ready and engaged to push further into their coaching goals. And knowing your goal, pushing outside your comfort zone, being open and curious, and tapping into your personal and professional support system will help you get there.