Develop coaching presence

I am naturally able be present with people but get tripped on the need to provide value/perform. I'm often worried that I'm going to disappoint someone which stresses me out. I can imagine writing on the top of a piece of paper that I look at during coaching something like "All you need to do is BE CURIOUS".



I can imagine that my desire to want to make people happy could lead me to help bring them to a plan, solution, or resolution too early shortchanging them on what the process might offer and the growth that could come from working through something themselves rather than quickly facilitating them to resolution. Again my need to perform may get in the way and I'll need to be mindful of that.

Some of my strategies for maintaining coaching presence are mechanical or environmental:

1. The seating arrangement,

2. My posture,

3. A quiet office or room,

4. Taking a few minutes of silence/prayer before the session begins.



Other strategies are about what's going on in me:

1. Recognizing and setting aside my own struggles and frustrations about the day or what is going on outside the session,

2. Remembering that the client has entrusted to me with his or her life, time, and perhaps money,

3. Being curious, open, and receptive,

4. Valuing the client's life, circumstances, and questions as much as my own,

5. Letting go of my feelings and agendas about the client and his or her situation.



Ironically, I get in the way of a client's growth when I try to be helpful instead of present, give answers instead of asking questions, and take responsibility for the client instead of being responsible to the client.

I think, like many others, my attention span is getting shorter and shorter. I'm easily distracted AND I'm a multi-tasker. My greatest challenge to maintaining a coaching presence is to stay focused and engaged, which takes discipline and self-awareness. I take steps to focus, remove distractions and provide my full attention. When I catch myself wandering away, I note it and refocus. I also need to avoid the trap of advising, solving problems and teaching. That is a natural inclination of mine and it, like my distractability, is another thing I need to check to maintain the coaching presence.

"Being present rather than preoccupied" -- this statement hits me hard! I find that the hardest times for me to be present are when I have another meeting immediately following the one I am in. I get anxious about the time and then have trouble concentrating on the person in front of me. One strategy I use to maintain presence is to leave ample time between meetings. Another is to take a few deep breaths to help me get centered in the space.



I think I can get in the way of a client's growth if I try to problem solve for them. On the other hand, I also wonder if staying neutral when a client is clearly stuck hinders their growth as well? For instance, if the client is stuck and asks for my advice or help ... and I simply turn the question back to them ... I wonder how effective that is.

I try to be fully alert, focusing my eye contact on the other person. I make sure to get to the meeting earlier then the client/person I'm coaching so I can use the restroom, get coffee if needed, and then sit and calm my mind down a bit.



I do find it tempting to offer suggestions/advice giving and I know I will have to work hard not to do that. Another thing is that when folks talk about a situation and it seems to always go downhill because whatever they are doing is not working I find that I am rather judgmental. I want to fix them! I will have to work hard not to pre-judge folks, its their life not mine!

Today was the first opportunity I had to be the 'coach' in a class activity, and it revealed some of the struggles I have with 'maintaining presence' in a coaching session. I struggled with: figuring out my next question, making assumptions about the person's setting/insight, and feeling the need to watch the clock too much for the 20 minutes we had for each session. As a habitual note taker, I felt this push and pull of wanting to both 'look present' by maintaining eye contact but also put pen to paper.

Lessons learned: Be sure to mention I will be making a few notes, but make much fewer than I normally do. Just relax and listen,. Allow the question asking to become more a natural part of our time together; not a particular pattern of questions and responses that weave together a perfect picture.

I also experienced the wisdom and value of trusting the process, and the power of pauses. Both work to empower the client to imagine and verbalize the creation of a plan and a future step towards it.

My strategy for maintaining presence in the coaching relationship would be to focus on the client, and strive to remove myself from the equation. Prior to beginning an engagement I need to find time to center myself and pray about the upcoming meeting. Then during the session remember that it isn't about me. I'm not the expert in the client's life, profession, or industry, nor should I pretend to be.

In order to facilitate growth in my client I need to remain focused on remaining curious about what comes next, to be excited about the growth that is possible, and guide the client through dynamic questioning. If I'm truly curious, then I desire nothing but to hear from my client... not to hear my own voice or focus on my feelings, rather to be present for my client's benefit.

The third point Jim lists above is one I'll need to work on-be free of the need to perform or add value. So tough when our culture is all about 'value-added' and production. The idea of presence for presence sake and knowing that being fully present for the client is 'valuable' but from the client's perspective. My letting go of the need to perform or add value is what creates the space for the client to develop a way forward.

I think it is beginning with the end in mind. What do I want my clients to get a sense of when they have a coaching session with me? Do they want somebody who is focused on them; at peace with themselves, and projects care and comfort? To help bring about this type of environment I need to prepare who I am and my space. I need to have a space that looks tidy and is pretty plain so people can focus on what they need to work on and not my messy area. I need to prepare for each session by centering myself and allowing myself to get into a place where i can turn off those things that are going on with me so I can focus on my clients. I need to remind myself that this is a time to listen and that I am not the expert but they are. When all these come into existence then, I will have an environment which will help me project the kind of coaching that will be helpful to the client.

I think for me the challenge is learning to "let go." I often find that I am easily distracted, because something a person says will cause me to think about something else that is running in the back of my mind. Depending on the situation, I also want to seem like the expert, and it can be difficult for me to "let go" of being the expert and allowing the client to guide the conversation. The more I engage with this, the more important it feels to me to develop some sort of preparation ritual that allows me to get into the right space personally. I think maybe jotting down things that are on my mind so I can let go of those until after and then finding some quiet space to do a centering exercise may be what I personally need to prepare to be fully present.

For me to maintain focus in a session begins before the session. I am adopting a ritual of mental and physical cleansing before and after the session by scanning my body for any signs of stress, or a feeling of any emotional attachment I may have picked up in talking to the client or what's going on at the moment in my life. I call it out, (sometimes by writing it down) and visualize placing it in a container that's labeled "not my stuff" or "not right now." When I miss doing the ritual I recognize how vulnerable I am to keeping my attention fully centered in the session and on the client and can miss valuable opportunities in asking focused and powerful questions .

How do I get myself out of the way for the process to work? I think for me it starts with asking myself, what baggage am I bringing into this session. Regardless if it relates to the topic I can't help, but think that if I don't give myself time prior and after the meeting to prepare and process then I will always be thinking about other things in the meeting.

Before I step into meetings I download my brain into a to-do list, both my personal life and professional. This helps me set aside things that might come up or preoccupy and stay focused on the person in front of me. This practice also requires giving myself enough time to tune into my inner voice before a meeting so that I know what I need leave behind.



I can be an idea person in a lot of settings - my favorite question is often "What if we....?" I will be challenged to instead ask clients what their ideas are and stay focused on what they can imagine for themselves, their goals, their next steps.

I am nervous about my ability to be fully present when coaching remotely - especially via zoom/video. In order to do so I need to do a variety of things: turn my phone off, clear off my desk/space. Get myself physically ready (go the bathroom in advance, haven eaten, have a drink readily available).



I think I can get a way of their growth by trying to solve or sugar coat their issues. I am continuously learning how to leave the appropriate amount of space to have them uncover what they need to see,

Some of my strategies for maintaining presence in a coaching relationship will be removing as many distractions as possible. I see mostly using Zoom as a way of connecting with my clients, so I will make sure it is quiet, that my phone is not around to distract me and that I will have within eye sight a few questions that I can.



How will I have the potential to get in the way of my clients growth, I could see me wanting to be more of an archeologist and dig up the past and help them discover the why they do something instead of focusing on building something new in their life. I do see that it will be a balance because sometimes you just need to know the why before you can move forward.

My strategies would be to review coaching principles before each call. I have strong temptations to "provide value" and to teach new information. Those aspirations and tendencies would have to be actively curtailed.

I'm a person who is intensely focused on who is in front of me...whether it's a professor, colleague, my yoga instructor...my eyes are all on that person. It will be most important for me to follow the lead of the coachee and to ask short questions based on what they say and where they go, not where I think they should go.

I can get in the way of a client's growth by speaking too much. I need to talk less, just 20% or less during the whole conversation. "Tell me more" will be a key prompt and to help them unpack where they want to go.

I think I'm naturally good at being present in a conversation...most of the time. But the role of coach does bring up this issue of not trying to solve problems as I think I am wired to start thinking about possible solutions when I see a problem or concern. This will be especially challenging to overcome when I've had a similar experience as what the client is describing.

I feel with my training as a Stephen Minister and Bible Study Fellowship group leader I have developed strong listening skills that will be assist me in remaining present in a coaching relationship. I will also utilize summary of what they have said to make sure I am tracking with them and to help them see I am truly listening.



One of the ways that I can potentially see me getting in the way of a client's grow is being passionate in spiritual matters and my desire to help clients grow in their spiritual lives.