Coach the Person Not the Problem: A Simple Guide to Coaching for Transformation

by Chad Hall

where the coach focuses his or her attention determines the power of the coaching conversation

coach the person, not the problem.

This kind of coaching is almost exactly what a consultant is hired to do. A consultant asks enough of the right kinds of questions to get the client to share information relevant to the problem so the consultant can form an opinion and perhaps offer a solution.

A consultant asks question to gather informatiin

Here’s some of what you can expect from this kind of coaching: Client gets a thinking partner Client gets an outside perspective Client gets some suggestions from the coach Coach might improve or upgrade the client’s ideas by adding his own ideas to what the client already came up with The problem might very well get solved

Coachw way to ask questios

“coaching the problem through the person.” In this type of coaching the coach coaches the person with the intention of solving the problem.

This level of coaching often has the following characteristics: The coach focuses on the client, who is focused on the problem The coach invites the client to describe the problem to herself (not to the coach) The coach invites the client to see the problem more clearly The coach invites the client to find a fresh perspective on the problem, perhaps even trying on several different perspectives in order to find the most helpful one The coach creates space for the client to come up with her own solution to the problem By seeing the problem more clearly and from a fresh perspective, the client is able to generate new options and develop a great solution

Here’s some of what you can expect from this level of coaching: The client’s thinking gets a boost The client experiences a shift in perspective The client formulates new and better options for solving the problem The client unleashes her best thinking on the problem The problem gets solved by the client The client grows in her ability to solve problems

the goal of coaching isn’t just to solve a problem but to help the client grow, develop, and even transform.

Internal shifts could be: A change of attitude Dropping an old belief Picking up a new belief Seeing oneself differently Adopting a new identity Developing new forms of self-talk Establishing new boundaries Recognizing and dealing with tolerations (those distractions and destructions the client has just put up with instead of dealing with) Recognizing true values and giving them the attention they deserve Stirring up the motivation to make change stick

Let me offer a quick word of warning. Not every coaching conversation is the right time for transformation and if all you do as a coach is try to foster transformation, your clients are likely going to fire you.

Be sure to help the client live her life out of the transformation she’s experienced.

we need to cover two aspects of coaching that are crucial for transformational coaching: coaching emotions and creativity in coaching.

Creativity starts with the coach believing in the client’s creativity and resourcefulness.

Creativity builds on solid, nuts-and-bolts coaching; it does not replace it.

Creativity always requires some element of risk.

A problem-solving mindset is kryptonite for creativity.

The client’s emotions are part of how they experience life, including the problem at hand. Clients have thoughts and feelings, so to coach the whole person we need to not only be okay with emotions, we need to help the client explore them.

The client’s emotions can reveal very important information related to deeply held values, attitudes, preferences, expectations, etc.

If you, as the coach, interpret client emotions as an indicator that “something’s wrong” with the client, then you’ll prevent the client from doing the tough and meaningful work of actually interpreting their emotional response for what it is.

Emotion is a normal response to stimuli, so if the coaching topic is stimulating the client, you can expect some emotion and let the client learn from that emotion.

emotions are needed for change. More on this at the end of this chapter.

clients can experience strong emotions in response to something in their past, something that is unresolved and co...

Your clients are real people and real people feel things, sometimes strongly.

Making more space for emotions in your coaching can facilitate a whole new level of change, growth and progress for your clients.

In fact, real and lasting change requires getting the client’s emotions involved. Behavioral psychologist Jonathan Haidt uses the metaphor of a rider on an elephant to describe the necessary elements for creating lasting change.

According to the model, the rider is rational and can plan ahead, while the elephant is irrational and driven by emotion and instinct.

The rider is logic and willpower. The elephant is emotion and motivation.

The bottom line is that if you only coach your client’s rider (the rational, logical, thoughtful part of who they are) and not their elephant (the emotional, motivational, and core values part of who they are), your client won’t get very far.

Get the client to clearly name the problem early in the session so you aren’t busy trying to figure out what the problem is. The more you try to figure out what the problem is, the more likely you are to try to figure out the solution.

Assume the client is going to figure out the problem and allow time and space for client growth and internal shifts alongside problem-solving.

Remember, internal shifts are invited, not forced. Some clients can benefit from transformational coaching and others just need to solve a problem. Don’t force it.