Why Coaching Is Effective

Trained coaches utilize four dynamic skills to unlock the client's potential: active listening, powerful questioning, collaborative brainstorming, and supportive planning.
These skills, rarely encountered in everyday conversation, can make the difference in
finding clarity, setting goals, overcoming barriers, and sustaining change.

#1 – Active Listening

Hearing is passive; listening is active. A coach's listening is a deep listening that picks up on what is said and what is left unsaid. It's listening for the meaning, the emotion, the reason. As an aid to listening, the coach takes careful notes to help the client stay on track, always moving the conversation toward insight and action.

#2 – Powerful Questioning

Not all questions are created equal. Coaching questions are big and open-ended. They are never leading questions wherein a question mark is used to disguise advice ("Don't you think you should...?" "Have you considered...?" etc.). Rather, coaching questions blow the lid off the conversation, opening up exploration and discovery.

#3 – Collaborative Brainstorming

In coaching, brainstorming is a synergistic exercise in which the coach and the client together vocalize a swirl of ideas, clearing out the old ones to make room for new ones. It's a high-energy process in which no judgment is allowed until all the ideas are out on the table to be sifted through. This dynamic process often results in breakthrough!

#4 – Supportive Planning

Herein lies the true power of coaching to promote forward progress; every session concludes with the client choosing action steps to take before the next session. It is through this cycle of discover  ->  plan  ->  act that the client tastes success, gains confidence, and builds momentum.