A coach needs to adopt the right mindset in order to help their clients face new challenges and grow from them. If you’re thinking about starting a coaching business, the first step is to assess your mindset and figure out what you need to work on.
People Can Grow and Change
Coaches help their clients to transform themselves and change. In order to facilitate this, you need to possess this growth mindset yourself. A growth mindset says that people change and grow throughout their lives. It holds that anything is possible if you’re willing to do the work. You have to be able to see not just where someone is now, but the potential they can achieve, and truly believe it.
Focus on Success
You may work with a client on things that happened to them in the past, and the past offers valuable learning experiences. But the focus should be on the future and the client’s success. Keep things positive and focus on strengths and victories rather than dwelling on past mistakes.
Empathy
Your ability to put yourself in the shoes of another person is a major factor in the success of your coaching. You need to listen deeply and understand where your client is right now. You need to take on their part and authentically feel for them so you can build rapport. Your clients will experience some vulnerable moments with you, so you need to be deeply empathetic.
Love of Challenges
Since you’re going to be facing challenges together, you need to have a positive attitude toward challenges. The difficulties we face are opportunities for growth. Even in failure, we grow. But the excitement of a challenge is that once you overcome it, you reach a new level in your business and life.
Focus on the Client
A good coach is generous. They are only there to serve the client. They can put aside their own problems and needs while they work with a client to face theirs. Your time with a client is devoted solely to helping them achieve their potential.
There’s No One-Size-Fits-All
Flexibility is essential for coaching. There are multiple ways to tackle any challenge and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for everyone. During sessions, you’ll need to be flexible in order to understand and meet new needs and challenges as they arise.
The Big Picture View
While your client is lost in the everyday management of their life/business, you’ll need to take the long view and keep the big picture in mind. Think about where they’d like to be in a year, five years, or ten years. If you’re not used to thinking in these terms, it’s an easy habit to cultivate.
Learning the Coaching Mindset
Just like coaching skills, anyone can learn the right coaching mindset. Now that you know where you’re strong or weak, you can make a plan for what you need to improve.
Want to learn more about what it takes to be a coach? Join me for International Coaching Week, May 17th – May 21st inside my Master Your Coaching Biz Facebook group HERE. We’ll have coaching demonstrations, free training, and much more!