Friday I did a 90 minute session with a corporate manager. She sent me the following email afterwards as she had summarized a lot of learnings for herself at the end of the call and realized the value to her.
Again a big thank you for the great session.
You are so good at capturing and putting words on what I want to express in my lengthy sentences!
All the tips have been real eyes-opener and extremely helpful.
You really helped me feel better!
Here’s a little explanation of the various comments:
- I start every session asking clients to celebrate themselves – what are the qualities or characteristics of themselves they are proud of since we last talked/met. It gets them in the habit of seeing and acknowledging the good in themselves and those around them.
- The idea of capturing a client’s word and succinctly articulating them is called bottom-lining. A coach role models and teaches a client to get to the essence of their communication rather than long stories.
- With reference to the helpful tips – I always find this interesting, clients thank me for tips. What is actually happening is that I brainstorm with them ideas and resources for the topic we are discussing. I then ask them which they’d like to pursue and they pick but often I get the credit.
- Her comment about feeling better refers to the time since our last session as well as during the session. She’s been working on being herself more, with skill, so feels better in her day-to-day work as she’s more authentic. And during the session clients often feel better as I acknowledge them – stating their positive qualities that allowed them to accomplish something – and I champion the client – standing up for them when they question themselves.
- This was one session of a series of phone sessions – phone coaching works!
I am always grateful to support clients in living their fullest lives and then to get verbal and written feedback afterwards, lucky me!!
What would you like to feel better about?
