A helpful image for new coaches is to think of coaching like flying an airplane. It allows them to frame the session as three separate but equally important parts:
1) You takeoff
Before coaching even begins, you want to be ready. There are many steps to readying a plane for takeoff, and also ways to prepare its passengers. Similarly, coaches must spend time training new clients on what to expect. For example, that coaching is about the client, not the coach; and that coaches hold confidentiality and other ethical practices to the highest importance.
In subsequent sessions, there is still prep work that happens before coaching begins. You might begin by asking the client, “What are we talking about today?” From there, you might ask the client to tell you more, or about another time they’ve dealt with something similar.
In keeping with ICF’s third competency, this is also about establishing and maintaining an agreement between coach and client for every single conversation. To do that, you can ask the client, “How will we know we’re making progress on this issue? When we’re done our conversation, what do you want to have, that you don’t have now?”
This all takes a bit of time—this plane has got some height to attain. Takeoff could be 8–10 minutes of a 30-minute session.
2) You fly
In the second stage, you level off and fly to your destination. “So where do we begin? What do we talk about first?” We want them to discuss not only where we go from here, but also how they are viewing this situation.
What is their belief, or the story being told? How are they thinking about it, and how else could they look at this? What have they tried in the past, or dismissed without even trying?
This part of the session is typically a good 15 minutes of brainstorming to flesh out options and ideas. This might also be when you challenge them a bit.
3) You land
Sometimes you can be coaching and you realize a session is about to end and you’ve left too little time for your final approach . Ending a session too abruptly can leave the client feeling unsupported and the coach feeling unsure of their effectiveness.
Instead, begin your descent about 5–8 minutes before the end. You want ample time to go down nice and calmly. Write down and practice a few closing questions that help you both feel closure and end the session on time, for example:
- What’s the plan going forward?
- What are some next steps?
- Who can help you with this?
- What’s the a-ha you’re taking away from this session?
Which of these three stages would you most like to improve? Is it the initial takeoff where you establish trust and set the direction? Or perhaps the flight portion where you guide your client through the core work and challenges? Or maybe the landing is where you could improve, ensuring a smooth conclusion and next steps.
By embracing the power of this analogy, you can take flight with confidence, knowing that the three-part airplane journey can be your key to a well-rounded coaching session.
The Support Vs Challenge Matrix