"Dear Master Coach" (Patty's monthly column for ICF Washington State--each audio answer is about three minutes long)
"Dear Master Coach" has just migrated to a blog. Find it here.
October 2015 Dear Master Coach: I am up against a wall here! Every time I meet with my client and we begin our coaching session, she says "I don't know" to virtually every question. I have tried role playing, asking her to describe various events in her workplace that are related to her overall coaching goal and other tactics, but consistently hit a wall with her. Do I need a bulldozer or is a gentle hammer better? Thanks, Potential Wall Buster
August/September 2015 Dear Master Coach: When a client’s agenda is to explore his or her life purpose, perfect career or personal brand, what tools do you use? Challenged
July 2015 Dear Master Coach: I have a client who seems ready to work, yet is never prepared for our coaching sessions. We seem to play "catch up" every time we meet which consumes valuable coaching time. How do I get my client to prepare before meetings or should I assume this lack of being prepared is the coaching issue? Help! Frustrated Franny
May 2015 Dear Master Coach: How do you recommend to a client that they make a change when that’s an area of life where you, as coach, struggle as well? Have you ever had a client ask, “Do you do that?” and you’ve had to answer “No?” Yours Truly, Not Perfect Yet
February 2015 Dear Master Coach: I keep hearing that I should specialize and find my "niche." Do you agree? Do you have any thoughts about how I should go about specializing as a coach? Eagerly, Ambitious
November 2014 Dear Master Coach: How do I market my coaching business in order to attract my ideal clients? There are so many pushy sales and marketing tactics out there and I don't want to approach my potential clients that way, it's not who I am as a coach. How do I present myself authentically and still get the steady stream of clients I need to make my business financially sustainable? Yours truly, Certified & Self-Effacing
October 2014 Dear Master Coach: I have been told by an employee in a coaching session that she is on the verge of leaving the company that hired me for coaching. I have a very good, open working relationship with the human resource department and her confidence has presented me with a moral dilemma: do I share the information and risk losing the trust of the employee or do I retain the information and risk losing the trust of the human resource department? Please help! Yours truly, Ethical Dilemma