What’s a coaching session like?
Deciding to work with a coach can be intimidating or scary because of the unknown. What’s a session like? What if I don’t have anything to talk about? This is a quick rundown of what a normal coaching session is like. Sessions normally run about an hour:
We both hop on Zoom and I pin your image so I’m focused on you.
We quickly check in on designing the coaching alliance (AKA coaching relationship). In the first session, we spend a bit more time here but in subsequent sessions it’s a quick reminder that I hold everything said confidentially and any tweaks needed on how we work together.
We get started with a brief update of what’s been going on for you and if you did work outside of the session, what did you learn?
From there, we dive into what the topic you are bringing to coaching is. I might ask a question like, “so what would you like coaching on?” or “What would you like to focus on today?” (It’s ok if this is fuzzy to you or you aren’t sure)
I ask some clarifying questions and help you see facets of the issue that might not have been immediately present. I might ask things like, “What do you sense about X?”
As we hone in on the topic, we’ll cover what would success look like at the end of the session. This may be wildly off from where we end up, but it’s a target.
Then we dive deeper into the topic. If you digress or tangent, I may bring you back and hold the focus. I might interrupt if there is a point I want to underline or if you are starting to go in circles. About 80% of the call will be spent here.
Towards the end of the call, I will ask what stuck out or did you learn? What are you taking away? Is there anything you want to experiment with? Often coaching sessions include the coach and client co-creating an inquiry (something you might think or journal about) or a request/challenge: some kind of activity that will move you toward a goal. A challenge is often a BIG request that is outside of your comfort zone.
And then we wrap up and you go on with your day! In between sessions, I often hear from clients about wins or things they tried.
I hope this helps take away some of the mystery. The client and coach co-create the relationship. The client brings the topic and drives the agenda. The entire process is in service of the client’s agenda, so if something doesn’t work we have designed the relationship in a way that the client feels safe to push back.
If you are curious about coaching, you can set up a free, 30 min exploratory call with me to see if we are a good fit. Even setting this call up can be intimidating. Know you are taking a brave step towards a life and career you love and whatever happens is learning and more information towards that vision.