Planning and goal setting

When coaching your client it is important to know how to develop and maintain an effective coaching plan with them. To be able to do this you will need to collect information about your client's goals and motivations so that when appropriate you can address their concerns and help them develop the main areas of their learning. Key skills are questioning and listening. At Tri-Coaching Partnership we help our clients develop these essential coaching skills - without them it really can become difficult to help your client achieve their goals.
It is your job as the coach to facilitate their goal and help them plan towards their success by making sure that it is attainable in the time frame that has been agreed and is specific and also measurable so that success can be celebrated. You are also there to help your client negotiate their chosen path and guide them when there are adjustments to be made and their own situation changes. You also should be aware of the best learning resources to help your client by recommending reading and also, where necessary, other professionals in the industry, if you don't have the knowledge and skill to help them directly.
During the process of coaching your client to achieve their goal it helps to celebrate and identify the successes that are important to the client as this will help fuel their motivation. For some people their final destination of independence can seem too far away and not possible, it can be helpful when they are struggling to remind them that learning takes time - I particularly like this analogy, 'Q. How do you eat an Elephant? A. One bite at a time.
In my next email I will look at tracking progress and keeping the responsibility for the learning with the client.