Managing a Coaching Programme

What happens at the start of a coaching programme?

• Finding clients: marketing yourself
• Setting up a chemistry call with client – 45 mins (variable)
  • Building trust / relationship / psychological safety
  • Explaining about what coaching is it is not
  • Understand how committed the client and other parties are to the process
    • Do they believe that coaching can help them?
    • Do they believe you can help them?
  • Contracting
    • Confidentiality
    • Duration – of the programme and the sessions, expiry
  • Outcome / Goal setting
    • Clarifying the expectations of the various stakeholders
    • Working with the client to get to a Well-Formed Programme Goal

What are the risks?

• A coach may be tempted to work with every client they meet, but the choice goes two ways
• A focus on logistics at the start may take away from building rapport – the relationship is not built yet
• Without a thorough contract, there can be a lack of clarity on expectations
  • Having an open-ended number of sessions paid for on a session-by-session basis may risk you losing the client. Give them number of sessions at first – and then re‐contract
• Without a Well-Formed Programme Goal, there can be a lack of accountability and direction in the Coaching Programme – there is no measure of success on the outcome

What happens in the middle of a coaching programme?

• Movement towards the Programme Goal – ideally each Session Goal should be related
• Regular check in with progress – are we in service of the Programme Goal?
• Mid‐point Review
  • May result in re‐contracting around the process of the coaching
  • May identify some obstacles that have not come up yet
  • May result in re-contracting the Programme Goal

What are the risks?

• ‘Putting out fires’ / short-term goals that are not linked to Programme Goal
• Expectation of change not meeting reality
• Keeping engagement and not losing momentum – for example not always using the same tools
• Client relying on coach for accountability – not sustainable

What happens at the end of a coaching programme?

• A sense of achievement / personal satisfaction
• A sense of completion / closure
• End point review
  • Clear takeaways and next steps to take
  • Reflecting on other insights and learnings that have been a byproduct of working towards the goal
• Sustainable change – motivation is present to continue their journey, client feels resourceful
• Support coach development – feedback, testimonials, referrals

What are the risks?

• Risk of not achieving intended goal within the time frame
• Client not sufficiently resourced to be self-sufficient / not clear on their ongoing journey
• Either coach or client struggling to disengage emotionally from the relationship
• Coach feels like they could’ve done better

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