Coaching steps

When I saw these steps to nowhere it started me on a journey of thoughts about life coaching. I thought about the many coaches (not trained by me) who are working with their clients, in all good faith, setting goals with action plans. Only they have not been taught about the importance of discovering each client’s core values before embarking on change work.

Like these beautiful rock steps, all full of promise and leading nowhere, the non-enlightened coach, who does not know his/her client’s core values, will be taking steps to nowhere. As will the coach who has taken the time to

establish the core values and not taken the next critical step of determining the values hierarchy. Just knowing a client’s core values is a great help for the client and coach when deciding if the goals are the right ones; in line with the core values.

The next step, and by far the most important one, is to determine, with your client, the hierarchy of values. Which value has the most power and influence.

I was approached to work with a Sales Director and she came to me saying she was stressed and she only wanted us to concentrate on time management plans and stress relieving strategies. Through questioning I found she was on a commission only contract and she was only paid, if her department reached its monthly targets. Her income was determined by the results of her sales managers and their teams of sales representatives. Her two sons were researching universities to apply for and she was acutely aware of the need to hit her targets every month.

I followed our values elicitation (Lifetime license to all our trained coaches) 3 step process. We established her core values and then using our extremely powerful values comparison system we discovered that her top and therefore the most dominant and influential core value was security. Now think about this in light of her situation.

Her stress levels were directly linked with the results of her team which were, by and largely, out of her direct control. Bingo!

Now I knew the cause of her stress, I needed to question her in such a way she discovered this for herself.

The end result; she negotiated a basic salary with a monthly commission bonus. Hey presto! Stress reduction whilst still maintaining the buzz of hitting sales targets.

If at the beginning of the coaching programme, as do so many uninformed coaches, I had solely coached her on time management plans and stress relieving strategies she would have had some reduction in her stress levels. Only the underlying clash with her core values would still be creating stress which would be compounding and could eventually create serious health problems.

Taking steps to nowhere is easy to do, and it will take you and your clients forward. Combining values elicitation with coaching will lead you to the stairway to heaven; or the stairway to your dreams.