interested in your opinion. Explain that as a coach you
do not give advice. Help the client explore resources by
partnering in a brainstorming conversation to generate
a list of possible ways to proceed and kinds of people
who can offer what is needed. This list might also include
you, either as a layperson or as an expert. If you agree
to give your opinion as a layperson or expert, have this
conversation in a different location and at a different
time from that of the coaching meeting. Be very clear
that you are responding as an individual person, not in
your role as a professional coach.
Example: Sophia
Sophia, a public administrator, told her coach that she
had a very important meeting that would decide the
fate of her program. She knew her coach had been
a manager and taught a course in strategic meeting
management, so she asked for a few strategic tips.
Sophia’s coach proposed these three steps:
1) First, she would coach her regarding this situation.
2) A week later, in a separate meeting, she would serve
as a consultant and provide tips. This consulting
meeting would be governed by a new contract,
separate from the coaching agreement.
It may not be part of our job to give advice, yet it is
part of the misconception and the myth that a coach
is also a consultant. If you give advice or your opinion,
be sure to explore how it fits with your client’s values,
assumptions and perspectives. Don’t just state your
advice. Reflect on whether your motive for giving advice
is your need to give it or the client’s need to hear it.
Ensure that if the client chooses to act, the gut and
heart have been included in the considerations, not just
the head.
A Note on Liability
Even though you might do your best to be clear
when you are not responding as a coach, the client’s
memories and perceptions can still become distorted.
Be aware that when you respond as a professional,
you assume liability. Even if a client perceives that you
gave advice—regardless of whether you did or not—he
might hold you liable for any action he takes. Your job is
to help the client increase awareness and responsibility.
So the next time your client says, “What do you think I
should do?” pause and reflect before you reply.
3) She would ask Sophia to evaluate the difference
between the two meetings in terms of value and
effectiveness in the short and long term.
Sophia agreed to take these steps, and she reported
that the most useful time was when she was coached.
She said, “I learned how to think for myself about issues
that were important to me. I learned the importance
of including others in my dilemmas. In the long term,
coaching was definitely more helpful than consulting.”
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12
Coaching World
Dilemma: Marcella
Marcella, a financial planner and credentialed coach,
was coaching Anne, who had been focusing on
assuming responsibility for her financial management.
The conversation turned to the feasibility of socially
responsible investing. Anne asked Marcella which
company was a solid one for socially responsible
investments. A few weeks later, Marcella and Anne met
with the purpose of exchanging financial investment
information. After Marcella shared her suggestions,
Anne followed her investment advice and lost money.
Will Anne remember that Marcella, the coach, gave her
the information, or Marcella, the financial planner?
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34
CCEs