The above quote is from the band The Feeling. It was a comment said during an interview following a small live show where they had “tried out” some new songs in front of a live audience. They went on to explain that with the live feedback from the audience they can make immediate adjustments to how and what they are playing – feedback that is just not available within the rehearsal room.

So why am I including such a quote on a blog about coaching? To me, there are a couple of similarities with what I have observed successful & skilled coaches do and the sentiments in that 6 word quote.

• They don’t just “rehearse” they actual go out and coach people.

Yes, I know that, for some, this is a really scary prospect. It may feel safer to just do another course, “rehearse” another batch of questions you could ask or study a new technique. Don’t get me wrong they are all one of a number of fantastic development approaches and things that many successful and skills coaches also do, however none of it is of any use to your potential clients if you don’t actually go and put it into practice!

There is so much value to be got from actually working with an individual, normally you’ll find you get a boost in confidence because it turns out to be far less scary than any story you may tell yourself in advance. (To my knowledge, there have been no reported fatalities because a coach didn’t immediately know “the right” question in a coaching session – if you know different by all means let me know 😉 )

While some may think that they have to be “perfect” before they work with “real clients”, I’d disagree. I have a belief that as a working coach there is so much potential to keep learning, developing skills and creating new approaches.

You’ll also find that you learn a lot from working practically instead of theoretically.

• They are flexible enough to use feedback and observation to make immediate adjustments to how and what they are doing.

In a coaching training/skills development situation you may well have been asked specifically to use a particular technique or approach for an exercise. This is because the main focus of the experience is developing your skills as a coach.

When working with a “real life” client (as opposed to one on a training exercise) their focus is about getting a result, they don’t care if you adjusted a question or a technique if it made a positive difference for them. It really isn’t important to them that you only did 5 steps of a 6-step technique etc, if they got something out of the session!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with starting with one technique or approach and being flexible enough to alter that approach by the real time feedback your client is giving you. Personally I think it’s actually a sign of a coach who is really listening and paying attention to their client that they are capable and prepared to easily change their approach.

Word of caution: I’m conscious that using this quote may suggest that a coaching session is a performance and that you “play the part” of a coach. While “acting as if” is an approach some may take, personally I would suggest that this does have a potential downside. When you “act as if” you are someone else, rather than yourself, you can feel like a fraud – which makes sense when you consider logically you are playing a part.

If you find yourself in the situation where you are just waiting to … before you actually start working with a real life client I invite you to go and do a coaching session anyway. You don’t have to ask for an exchange of money, or even set the expectations high about what a client will get from the session but go and experience what it’s like to work with a “real life” client. Oh and you may want to consider having fun while you do it 😉

Do you agree or disagree with any of the above? Perhaps you want to make a public commitment to do some coaching of your own. Feel free to leave your thoughts below and click submit comment.