That first coaching meeting is so important. So many things to cover and it can be really important to have a proper, well-founded set up. Here’s my checklist:
- What are their expectations
- Previous experience of coaching
- What are you expecting, hoping for from coaching?
- Explain and reassure on confidentiality
- How the coaching process works
- It’s their agenda
- Raising awareness
- Keeping responsibility with them
- Their role:
- To be open to change, learning and growth
- To be willing to try new things, different ways of working
- To be honest – with themselves and with the coach
- Coach’s role:
- To provide a safe place to discuss any topic without judging
- To support and challenge, probe and clarify
- To provide feedback (if wanted)
- To be direct and honest
- To encourage action
- To promote learning and growth
- What coach will not be doing
- Counselling, therapy
- Life coaching
- Providing all the answers / solving all their problems for them
- Areas of primary focus
- What’s got them this far – background, choices, etc?
- What’s important to them – values?
- How would they like things to be different?
- What do they specifically want to work on?
- What will success look like in practice? (measures & timeframes)
- What might get in the way?
- Handling inner doubts
- Dealing with failure
- Realism about time frames
- Finalise logistical arrangements
- Format (face-to-face, phone, VC)
- Place
- Frequency
- Policy on cancellations, timeliness
Have I missed anything?
Tony Reiss 