I said in an earlier post, the traditional wisdom that you cannot change other people, only yourself, is not right. In fact all relationships influence in some way, its just that the choice of how we are influenced belongs to us. In coaching, your client must, by choosing coaching, be choosing change, and finding it hard.
So change is inevitable, your job is to help them find the resources they need to change more positively, perhaps to challenge their goal, and also to get there more quickly.
It is crucial to the coaching process that my client achieves some desired change. An early assessment of this is therefore really an essential component, in my mind, of accepting a coaching relationship. There has got to be a good reason for the work. If there isn't one it's not really good for the coach and it's a waste of time for the client. So how to assess it?
Change is natural, change is almost the same as saying "time". As time passes we change. The question is are we consciously and positively influencing it in the way we want?
The coach doesn't achieve change - the client does. The client has to do the work and it's the role of the coach to listen, facilitate, teach and guide around the issues in the way or that may help.
I look for four things to assess the potential for change:
Clear goals
Motivation to achieve them
A Plan: A to F and all the steps between
Time and space to act
Each one has to be strong for the change potential to be high. One way to use this is simply to ask questions around each aspect.
Clear goal questions:
What is your goal here? What do you need? What do you want? How do you see yourself changing through this programme? What do you feel is missing from your career/life etc? On a scale of 1 to 10, how clear is your goal?
If the answer is less than an 8, you need to do more work on goals first.
Motivation:
At the root, either desire or fear are the core motivators. Some clients want to get out of a situation that makes them uncomfortable or stressed. With these it is a good idea to help them find a new goal to move towards, to help the intention become more positive. Others simply want something new; they have a goal in mind. If the goal is clear or the current situation is very unpleasant, motivation should be high. On a scale of 1 to 10, how strong is your motivation for the goal.
If you have a score less than 8, your client's goal or fear are not really that compelling, and change is unlikely.
Planning questions:
Do you know how to do this? What are the little steps you need to take? What resources do you need? How do you need other people to change or help to make this possible? Can you see/sense how you will do this?
Score the planning on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is brilliant planning and 1 is no plan at all.
Time and space to act:
In my experience, the first three items are not enough to get clear action. What is also needed is time and space for action towards the new goal. Sometimes this means that other things must be finished off before the process of building towards the new goal can start. With clients, issues in the way of starting, but nothing to do with the new goal, have been all over the place, from major private life distractions (affairs, illness, children, financial problems, other changes in relations lives, general busy-ness), to work needs (their diary is full of other junk and the first issue is to deal with priorities and change roles).
Get a score on this one too.
The next step is a bit analytical, but kind of works. Multiply the scores and express the result and divide by 1000, express this as a percentage. Have a go. Anything less than 60% is too low for quick change. The beauty of the division of issues is it shows you, as coach, where to help the client focus.
I don't think any client has ever come in and told me what their real issues or goals are at the first meeting. Finding these only comes after the relationship has built, rapport is good and trust has developed. And after I have asked quite a lot of questions.
Life is messy, and simple analysis will only take you so far as a coach.
More on goals next time around, in the meantime I hope you enjoyed this and try out the scoring on yourself. Pick a meaningful issue or you will get a meaningless answer! Do you even tell yourself the real issues? I dare you to.
Best wishes
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