Cathy Liska For a coaching relationship to be effective, the three Cs of confidence are essential:
- Confidence in the Coach – both the coach and the client must be confident in the abilities of the coach to serve in their role.
- Confidence in the Coaching Process – both the client and the coach must be confident in the efficacy of the coaching process.
- Confidence in the Client – both the client and the coach must be confident in the client’s ability to move forward and achieve what they want.
How is this confidence developed? 
When the coach completes their coaching certification, clearly explains coaching and ethics, and establishes an agreement with a client, client confidence in the coach is established. The client will feel confident in the coach when they learn about their coach training and have an agreement defining the relationship. For the coach, they develop confidence in what they offer through training, practice, and refining their approach.
Confidence in the coaching process starts with the coach being coached during coach training and experiencing the power of the process. For the client experiencing the start of a coaching relationship and moving into co-creating the process with their coach demonstrates the power of the process.
Additionally, during the Certified Professional Coach program the coach gains a tool (more on this in the next blog) that supports their confidence in both themselves and the coaching process. This tool is then created for the client in the opening of the coaching relationship.
Confidence in the client is supported for the client by the coach providing the tool at the start of the coaching relationship and through how the coach communicates. Specifically, using language that demonstrates confidence in the client has a significant impact. This brings the 3 Cs full circle because the language used is learned in coach training and re-enforced with the tool created at the start of the relationship. The next blog will explain more!
