Coach Training Applied to File Management

Maria had a big project on her list for organizing. She told her coach Susan that her house, closets, and office were organized, and now she wanted to organize the files on her computer. Susan asked Maria how she wanted to approach it. Together they brainstormed options including to outline what she had and where she wanted things, and another possibility was for her to do it while they talked it through. Maria decided she wanted to complete it during the coaching session. Susan used screen sharing in her coach training and asked Maria if sharing the screen on the computer was helpful. Maria said yes, she liked that idea.

With both Maria and Susan looking at Maria’s computer screen, Susan asked Maria to explain the different files and documents. Susan applied another vital tool from her coach training and also reflected back some of what Maria had shared about her work flow when they discussed organizing her office. For Maria this was a light-bulb moment. She realized how she wanted to arrange her files to support her work flow and that gave her insight on file folders to create. Susan asked questions and gave Maria the space so she talked through the main file folders and then the file folders within each of those. With her list ready, Maria quickly created her file folders. Once she created the file folders, Maria moved documents into the appropriate folders. As she worked, Susan continued asking her clarifying questions so that Maria thought through how she was organizing everything. By the end of the session Maria’s files were organized and she was excited.

Throughout the process of achieving her goals, Susan supported Maria by asking questions, creating awareness, and co-creating process, techniques, and tools.

Life Coach Training and Self-reflection

Self-reflection is powerful for supporting meaningful change. Sometimes self-reflection occurs naturally during quiet time. Alternatively, directed meditation, probing questions, and assessment tools are options. In life coach training, learning to support self-reflection for the client is essential.

It is significant to note then when a client partners with a coach for self-reflection, they are potentially feeling very vulnerable. It is incumbent on the coach to be respectful and completely supportive of the client.

Techniques that evolve in life coach training for self-reflection include exploring values and then exploring congruency between choices and values. For example, many clients cite family as something they value highly. At the same time, many clients go home to their families depleted from their work day and so invest minimal energy in their family. Many people have such full schedules they fail to make time for family. Bottom line, the incongruence between the value and the lifestyle is stressful. When the coach asks the client about their values, and then asks them about their realities now, the client becomes aware of incongruences and is thereby empowered to make different choices and plan appropriately.

In addition to life coach training, tools for self-reflection include assessments. Sometimes the assessments focus on values, other times on personalities, and still others assess specific skills. A 360 assessment provides feedback from others. Each of these tools is enhanced by coaching. The coach works with the client to reflect and understand the information. Next the coach asks the client what they want to change. From there, the coaching focuses on client strategy and action planning.

Executive Coaching Certification and Career Coach Certification for Coaching on Prioritization

Prioritizing work tasks, lifestyle choices, and activities is something we all do each day. Sometimes we do it intentionally, and sometimes we just do resulting in being derailed from priorities. Executive coachingcertification and career coach certification teach coaches to use several techniques to support clients prioritizing intentionally. These range from exploring values to ranking competing priorities. Sometimes this is done in conversations and other times with visuals. Because coaches learn to co-create the process with clients in executive coaching certification and career coach certification, coaches both know different techniques and tools, and they also co-create techniques or tools in the moment with their client.

Consider this scenario: The coaching client, Alice, owns a business. She currently has 75 people working for her company. She is struggling with prioritizing clients, level of involvement in different aspects of her business, and personal time. Alice’s coach, Liz, cuts out circles from a piece of paper sets them in front of Alice. She asks Alice to label each on one side with a category of activities such as clients, accounting, employee management, exercise, relaxation, etc. Next Liz asks Alice to list the activities for the category on the other side of the circle. Then she has Alice list what percentage of her time she spends on each circle. Liz then asked Alice to list the percentage of time she wants to spend on each category. Liz cuts the circles to different sizes representing how much time Alice is spending on each category. On a large piece of paper, Liz draws circles of different sizes relative to the percentage of time Alice wants to spend on each category. She then has Alice place the cut-out circles onto the circles on the large paper. The visual differences in sizes created awareness for Alice.

After co-creating the visualization, Alice was motivated to take action and ensure she prioritized her time intentionally.

Coaching Certification through Life Coach Training or Business Coach Training for Co-creating the Coaching Relationship

In a quality life coach training or business coaching training, coaches learn to identify different personalities in the moment and learn to identify different learning styles. This is then further developed in the coaching certification process with specifics on how to work with each person differently based on what they are thinking and feeling in the moment, and how they are learning, processing, and focusing.

For example, sometimes people are more logical in their thinking and deciding and other times it is driven by emotion. Prior to completing coaching certification, a coach learns to be aware of how the client is thinking and adjust to that. Sometimes people think inside their head and other times they think out loud. Some people consider others first and others prioritize themselves. A graduate of life coach training is aware of how their client is thinking in the moment and adjusts accordingly. Some people learn visually, others are auditory learners, and others learn kinesthetically. While completing coaching certification, a coach recognizes which it is and applies the awareness by exploring possibilities in a way that works best for the individual.

Additionally, in defining goals, some focus on what they don’t want and the coach shifts their focus to what they do want. If a client is motivated by external considerations the coach explores the internal motivation too. If a client is reactive, a coach asks about proactive options.

Ultimately, co-creating the coaching relationship starts with a coach recognizing what is happening for the client, and then adjusting to it so that the client is comfortable with the coach and with exploring in depth during coaching sessions.