I recently attended a Panel Discussion at my local Performing Arts Center. The title of the discussion was, “Do the Arts Make Us Better People?” The moderator started out by saying that we need to define what ‘better’ means. She...
Blog
Go for Your Personal Best
The Winter Olympics are currently on in Sochi, Russia and I’m enthralled as usual with high performing athletes. These amazing athletes have a lot to teach us coaches, and our clients. One thing that always strikes me is the concept...
Listening and Coaching Presence
The way a coach listens to their client plays a huge role in the direction, and success, of a coaching session. Two of the ICF Core Competencies are particularly involved in listening. The first is core competency #4, Coaching Presence,...
Coach the Client not their Content
Coaches are usually passionate about learning, and that includes learning about their client. Sometimes coaches can become so interested in what the client presents as the topic they want to focus on, that the coach gets bogged down in the...
When a Question is not a Question – precision in coaching language
One of the most powerful coaching skills we have available to us as coaches is asking a question that has the potential to be powerful for the client. This may seem strange, but not every coach seems to know what...
Are you missing an ethical issue?
After listening to hundreds of coaching sessions in my roles as an active ICF Assessor, and as mentor to coaches preparing for their MCC, PCC or ACC credential, I am constantly surprised by how many times a coach misses an...
Why a Coach Cannot Create Awareness for the Client
I was delighted to be invited by the International Coach Federation (ICF) to write an article for the November 2013 issue of Coaching World. That article came out today, so I thought I'd share it with you! "In my years...
Who is Holding Who Accountable?
The purpose of any coaching session is to support a client to find their way to closing a gap between where they are now and where they want to be. The natural output of the coaching process is discovery, which...
What Bikram Yoga Teaches Me About Coaching
Since early 2008, I’ve been a regular participant in Bikram Yoga classes which is a series of 26 yoga postures practiced in a room heated to a minimum of 105F with 40% humidity. Each class is 90 minutes. It’s not...
Coaching Presence is a Way of Being
As a mentor coach I’m often asked by coaches if there are some clients who aren’t ready to be coached on a deeper level or the “Who.” My response is that it isn’t even a question for me to consider....