The 4 stages of coaching
Coaching has developed and matured over the past few years and many people find fulfilment because they appreciate the motivational life changes and increase in personal and professional outlook that it produces.
While coaching styles vary and differ, the foundation of coaching is often built from the same structures: Preparing, Contracting, Coaching, and Evaluating.
Preparing - When a new prospective client contacts a coach or a coaching organization, the appropriate first step the coach needs to is to determine the appropriate intervention needed. Most (not all) coaches also provide clinical services (counseling) in addition to coaching services which enables them to address a full spectrum of problems presented by the client. It should be noted that if a coach is not a licensed counseling professional, they should refer that client to someone who is. Once the coach has determined whether or not the client can be coached, the next step is to discuss what outcomes the client is looking for and their expectations of the coach. Gathering information in this initial phase enables the coach to establish rapport which will be built upon as the coaching sessions move forward. At this time, some coaches will discuss contract fees & payment expectations, schedules, and confidentiality and will ask if the client is ready to move forward with their coaching sessions. (For counseling in addition to/or in conjunction with coaching, these topics are discussed together). If counseling will be provided additional documents will be discussed and presented to the client before any sessions will begin.
Contracting - It is important that the client and coach are on the same page about what coaching is for, boundaries and expectations, duration of sessions, and how the clients success will be measured. It is important that the client communicates clearly what they want to focus on in their coaching sessions and for the coach to support their process. Both the coach and client will discuss the expected, measurable outcomes which will be discussed midway through the coaching contract and can be revised as needed in conjunction with the client. During the contracting phase it is very important for the coach to communicate clearly confidentiality and boundaries. Coaching conversations (like counseling) are confidential between the coach and the client. If a coach is also a counseling professional they are also mandated reporters and must inform their client on the stipulations in which their confidentiality can be broken without their consent. Contract logistics (duration of sessions and contract length) are finalized at this time and the client is always provided with copies.
Coaching - Now that all the legalities are out of the way, the real work can begin and the coaching sessions are underway. The coaching sessions will vary and are based upon the agreed upon duration and timeframes from the contract. Provisions can be made in the event a coachee requires sessions outside of the scheduled times (which is agreed upon after discussion with the coach is held and based on the nature of the need to detour from the agreed upon schedule). In the age of technology, many coaching sessions are now held via zoom, skype, phone, or teleconference. It is preferred that meetings are conducted face to face, however, having the ability to hold meetings through alternative means enables the coach to have a broader client base. Coaching assignments vary depending on what type of coaching is required, however, the typical coaching assignment is usually between 6-8 sessions although this can vary. Somewhere between the 4th or 5th session, the coach should conduct a mid-review to review the clients progress made towards their goals. This enables the opportunity for the client to share what they have learned, acknowledge the progress they’ve made and determine if they are ready to start the discharge process from coaching or recontract for new goals.
Evaluating - As the coaching contract comes to an end, the coach and client will discuss goal achievement (what they learned and how they will apply what they learned). The evaluation process is two-fold with the coach evaluating the clients progress and the client evaluating the coach. If the client has more goals they would like to work on, s/he can either recontract to continue or take a break and then establish a new contract for new services.
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