Like any relationship, coaching is a two-way street. It’s only as successful as your commitment to your coach and your coach’s commitment to you. But how do you ensure you and your coach stay on the same page?
In our work with clients, we’ve found that explicit, spoken, co-created agreements set the foundation for successful relationships. They depersonalize any potential upcoming challenges and help you avoid inaccurate expectations of one another. They empower you to take responsibility for your own energy levels and success rather than blame others. This is powerful.
In our upcoming book, How to Get the Most Out of Coaching: A Client’s Guide for Optimizing the Coaching Experience, we’ve outlined some topics you can discuss with your coach to create successful agreements, free of expectations. Here’s a sneak peek into those topics. For a deeper dive, don’t miss our book, coming September 21.
- Intensity Level: Think about the level of intensity that works best for you. It’s important to speak up about what you want because it makes a difference in whether you leave your sessions feeling inspired, underwhelmed, or like you just got yelled at by the principal.
- Confidentiality: To truly open up in your sessions, let your guard down, and progress toward your goals, you’ll need to share information with your coach that you wouldn’t feel comfortable telling the whole world. It’s wise to ask about confidentiality practices and agree on the best approach in order to ensure that you’re both in agreement.
- Time Commitment Boundaries: You know your coach will be available for you during your scheduled sessions, but what about outside of those time frames? Some coaches are available 24/7, almost like an on-call doctor. Others may prefer not to be contacted outside of scheduled sessions unless there is a genuine emergency. Instead of making assumptions, it’s best to understand specifics.
- Guidelines on Rescheduling Since we are all human, it’s important to anticipate scheduling issues and agree on how they should be handled. Make sure you understand your coach’s preferences for rescheduling, take your sessions seriously, and don’t compromise your health or well-being in the process.
Agreements are the most important aspect of building a successful, long-term relationship with your coach. We have found that, by discussing the topics above, clients and coaches preempt many disagreements and challenges. Certainly, setting ground rules isn’t something anyone will ever consider “fun.” But it will empower the two of you to always treat each other with respect.
Plus, it’s your ticket to always hitting the ground running.
For more tips and tricks on how to get the most out of coaching, including a sample chapter of our book and a free guide, visit our book website!