AC110 The Challenging Client-Relection on this course

Moderator- Sherry Read

The day before yesterday, Feb. 09, I attended the ICA Course AC110 The Challenging Client and I would like to share what I have learned during the session: Just like our reading material said: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all our clients were always excited, willing and able to take action? What a perfect world it would be if all we had to do was create a space for them to be their best so they could just step right into action and wow, be on their way.

I would like to share what I have learned from this teleclass into the followings:

Not everyone is coachable, I am so impressed about this sentence. As a coach, be ready to support your clients to discover what would be the best idea for them right now; even if that means that you need to stop the coaching sessions.

Not every client is going to be the right client for you, if you are coaching someone who simply is not a good fit, support him or her to find another coach. Coaching someone who is not a good fit for your style of coaching can be draining.

Putting policies up front! Make sure that you go over each policy and procedure to clarify any questions or misunderstandings ahead of time. This will save a lot of time. When we are done reviewing the business structure with our clients, they should know what is expected of them as well as understand how we manage our coaching practice.

When something is not right:
When something happens in the coaching session that doesn’t feel right, address it immediately. It doesn’t matter if you cannot exactly identify what happened. Instead, just share with the client what you perceive and communicate that something doesn’t feel right.

High needs clients
If this client becomes too demanding, talk to them. Make a time outside the coaching sessions to discuss how the coaching relationship is going and to re-emphasize the boundaries that you have set.

Using the Introductory Session

Remember that the trial session is a two way street. It is a time when the client decides whether the coach is the best fit for them but it is also a time when the coach decides whether the client is someone they want to work with.

What I have thought a lot for the following questions:

1. Think of one situation where you are being challenged right now. How can you manage this situation to make a positive experience for all involved?
2. None of us are perfect, think of a time when you have been the challenging client or person. How did you feel and why did you react the way you did? What insight did you learn from this experience?

This is a really helpful session while we are coaching someone who is a challenging client.