I’ve had a lot of first sessions recently. Meeting someone for the first time, exploring working together, and asking lots of questions about what’s needed for us to get set up well.
Alongside the purpose of the coaching (the what), is the partnership and the practicalities (the how).
This is such rich territory! Each of us has our own recipe of things that help us work at our best - and we’re all different.
How do you feel about owning your “I”?
Sharing your perspective, your preferences, your priorities?
Communicating what you need in the moment - or what you’re looking for in the longer term?
Or are you hoping that your expressions, actions or work will speak for you, and the other person will figure it out for themselves?
I love a simple framework.
The best ones can help put structure around anything that feels overwhelming or scattered - a way to get everything out, group and organise what’s there, and find a way to see the wood for the trees.
They can be especially useful for the content of our heads, when it feels like we have so much we want to say, but don’t know how to say it.
One of my favourites is this one - the SCQuARE process.
Feedback is one of my favourite topics to coach around. There’s so much to unpack and explore, and a lot we can reframe in a short amount of time.
While most often we’re working through how to give and receive it, there can also be times when we want more than we’re getting - because how can we improve if we don’t know where we are?
We just need to remember to ask a useful question, so that we get some useful information in response - instead of defaulting to “Could you give me some feedback?”.
One simple question has made an enormous difference to my life, my relationships, my choices - and a lot of conversations with my husband: “Can I talk at you for a bit?”
I know now that when I’m stuck or need to work through something, I do my best thinking and feeling when the words come out of my head.
Often, I really don’t know how I feel about something until I say it out loud, and it can take me by surprise.
I’m so glad that I know this now, because it’s not a neat process.
It can take some time and lots of verbal circles - creating a messy first draft and then revising in real time. I need to follow the thread without worrying about it making sense.
And for that, I need a patient witness to listen and let me talk it out. To be OK with me talking AT them for a bit, rather than WITH them.
Standing up and speaking in front of an audience - whether sharing a story, giving a speech, or presenting your work - can be a wonderful experience.
It’s an opportunity to have an impact on people who matter to you, personally or professionally.
And it can also be completely nerve wracking.
Our minds can go wild - the doubt can creep in and the ‘what ifs’ start - and our body can get in the mix too.
My tells? My heart begins to pound and my legs start to shake - a winning combination!
And I know I’m not alone.
I’ve done a lot of coaching sessions recently around communication.
How do we understand what someone else is saying?
How do we make ourselves understood?
There can be a lot of emotion when it feels like it isn’t working - frustration, anger, disappointment, bitterness...
Both people are trying their best. But often the conversation doesn’t bring out the best in either of them.
“How do they prefer to communicate?” is a great question to move past the challenge and find a way forward.
Over lunch the other day my husband asked me this question and it was brilliant.
Because I couldn’t answer it.
I had been bemoaning the lack of a perfect solution in a few areas of my life - not big challenges, more small niggles that didn’t feel quite right.
I really had to stop and think.
And it turns out that was exactly what I needed to do :-)
