Which skills really matter to effectively coach? An effective Coach listens well, understands how to work effectively with different personalities, utilizes the power of language, asks questions, and is ethical.
Listening Skills: Human nature is to compare what we are hearing to what we know, which means we often miss much of the message. Listening well requires removing ourselves from the equation and truly focusing on the other person, where they are coming from, their frame of reference, their emotions and thoughts.
Understand Different Clients: Each of us thinks, processes, and decides based on our personality, life experiences, knowledge, and perceived options. This means each of us is truly unique. As a Coach, having a basic understanding of how to identify the client personality, combined with listening skills, means the ability to understand and accept the client for who they are in the moment.
Language: Often without realizing, our language focuses on the problem rather than the solution, the negative rather than what we do want, and even limits open understanding and respect. Learning how to say it, how to ask questions, and how to engage means the Coach enhances the value of coaching sessions.
Questions: It would be so much fun for each of us plus incredibly effective if we could just tell everyone what to do, how and when. Of course this does not work. In Coaching, the purpose of effective questions is to put the client in charge of determining their priorities, values, options, and course of action.
Ethical: Need we say more? Surprisingly, yes. Taking the time to develop and learn a Code of Ethics means considering others and how we treat them. Ethics make the difference for achieving long-term success.
