I was reminded recently of a question the group was asked on a coaching course I attended many years ago. The question was a version of “As a coach, how do you prepare for a coaching session?”

There were a number of individuals in the room with varying amounts of coaching experience in different contexts both face-to-face and via the phone. This lead to a number of different answers as several coaches shared routines that they always performed.

Answers included:

• Activities to ensure the coaches physical comfort throughout the session.

Sometimes this involved the physical set up of the room/phone area e.g. making sure that tissues and a drink are within easy reach. Other things meant ensuring that basic needs such as needing to go to the toilet or hunger would not cause a distraction during the session.

• Checks that the coach had everything they expected to use.

Commonly this included being able to see a clock to monitor the time, paper & pen and a diary to schedule the next session. Specific “worksheets” or other equipment were also mentioned if a coach planned a specific activity.

• Checks to ensure that the client would be physically comfortable throughout the session

This normally applied to face-to-face coaching sessions. While tissues and refreshments were mentioned by some the physical layout of the room was the thing most often checked. Thought and consideration appeared to be made to how seats were being arranged and the possibility of the need of a table etc.

• Something based around energy or ensuring that the coach was in the “right” state to coach.

This was often something personal. For some it involved doing something energetically, others chose to meditate or listen to a particular piece of music. Others had other rituals that they choose to perform.

• Time specifically set aside to review any previous sessions and any coaching preparation the client had already provided the coach with prior to the start of the session

Different coaches gave different reasons for what they reviewed. Some liked to have a reminder of what the client had committed to during the last session. Some coaches wanted a general reminder of the session to ensure continuity from where the last session finished.

Others were more focused on any preparation they had been sent because the way they worked concentrated upon where a client is in that moment – rather than where they were at the last session.

The message I left that particular part of the training with was that it was important to create a routine that was always done before any coaching session. I’ve no idea if that was the intention of the trainer on that particular day or not but it was what I personally took away.

As time has passed there are still things that I do before a scheduled coaching session that I wrote on my list all those years ago. However, it’s not because it’s part of any specific routine but because it’s the answer to a question I now ask myself:

“What can I do to ensure that I show up brilliantly?”

Do you have anything specific you do before a coaching session?

Perhaps you’d like to share the answer you get when you ask yourself today “what can I do to ensure that I show up brilliantly?”

If so then feel free to answer below and click submit comment.