When is the right time to start coaching?
A client is ready for coaching as soon as they are ready for change.
There isn’t a particular milestone or occasion that is the same for everyone. It is something that people come to at different times and stages.
The key word here is ready.
Coaching is not something you can half commit to or be forced into. It’s not a session where you can sit silently and let someone else do the work. In coaching, there’s nowhere to hide. It requires effort and investment, honesty, vulnerability and endeavour. It’s hard work, it can be uncomfortable and it can’t be faked.
I’ve had sessions before where the client clearly wasn’t ready. They stayed at the surface of challenges we were discussing, they diverted away from more personal questions and deeper exploration, they refused to look at themselves in the role they played in the scenario. No progress can be made when that is the case.
I just want to note that there is no blame for that and there’s nothing wrong with the client. There are a multitude of reasons why someone may have that approach and feeling. It just means they aren’t ready for coaching.
But, when a client is ready and motivated to achieve progress, coaching can be transformative.
When is ‘ready’?
Ready is when the client actively wants something and is committed to act in order to get it. They are ready to do the work and put in the effort to find out what is going on, what challenges they face, who they are and how they need to be different to get what they want.
It could be a promotion, it could be more confidence or to react differently in a particular scenario. Whatever it is, they are ready to change something about themselves in order to change their future.
If you’re an individual, you’ll likely feel:
Frustrated with the status quo
Motivated and ready to act
Open to accounting for yourself and answering tough questions to find an answer
If you’re an agency looking to offer coaching to an employee, they’ll likely be:
Motivated and eager to progress
Frustrated that their efforts aren’t currently resulting in what they want
Have, or are ready to have, accountability for their actions, performance and progress
Open and collaborative
A line manager should have good site of all these things and a steer on when the person is ready.
Coaching is a collaboration between client and coach, as equals. Both need to be present, curious, brave, open and honest. If a client isn’t ready to be those things, they aren’t ready for coaching.
But if they are ready, coaching could be one of the most empowering things they do.