How to get the most out of your coaching sessions

Whether you are engaging for the first time in a coaching session or have many sessions logged, there are a few key steps to consistently making this process powerful and effective. 

Coaching is an experience of ‘coming together’ with another individual and takes real effort to create real results.  Though the structure and arc of coaching is provided by the coach, both the coach and the client must be committed to the process to create the space for progress to occur.

Prepare

The investment in yourself and your future costs time and money so make sure you have clarity on what is the single most important issue to work on prior to the appointment.  If there was work to do between sessions, prepare that or proper reasoning as to why it didn’t get done (own it).  Make sure that your physical needs are taken care of such as food and drink so these are not distractions during the session.

Engage

Get involved immediately in the session.  After a proper check in or ‘landing’ make sure you express your needs and wants.  Get clear and communicate to your coach exactly what would make this session successful to you.  Remember that as you are doing most of the speaking and processing, time can go by fast (so make it count!).  Also allow yourself to sit with the powerful questions being asked of you so your well thought out responses can lead to quicker progress.

Feel and flow

Allow yourself to become completely immersed in the process and let go of preconceived notions and limitations.  Let possibilities flow and focus on the end goal, not the means to achieve that goal.  It has been said that ‘there are many roads into the same city’ and it is in your best interests to make space for that to happen.  Drill down into your ‘why’ for pursuing that goal and completely let go of the ‘how’ that might be achieved and allow this ‘why’ to become the fuel and driver to that end.

Commit

Write down the action steps that you are willing to take between now and the next session.  The act of writing this makes it truly real as this engages your brain and body.  Make clear decisions and voice to your coach exactly what you are willing to fully commit to.  Create space on your calendar for work on this as well as your next coaching session with your coach.

Reflect

Communicate back to your coach what has been the most powerful aspects of this session.  By putting voice to this, you will cement your learning with gratitude.  This technique will allow for future expansion by investing confidence into your intuitive self.  Subconsciously this honoring will go to work for you while you continue in your daily conscious activities, exponentially expanding possibilities and positive manifestations.

Move

Many coaching clients find it beneficial to integrate by simply going for a walk or any kind of movement.  This can serve to bring the learning out of the head and into the body, where a lot of our knowledge lives anyway.  We as humans are meant to move, sitting still doesn’t always serve us.  For my part, I have found physical movement is incredibly beneficial as opposed to sitting down stewing on things spinning around in my head.

If this sounds a little ‘WOO WOO’ or ‘out there,’ you are quite right because it is! There is much to be said for the intangible realm and coaching is not for everyone.  If done right, the coaching experience can be impactful not only now but for years to come.  Coaching can provide not only the solutions to face the present day challenges but also the skills to navigate future and unforeseen scenarios, thereby offering immense value to the client.