Is there a perfect recipe for coaching?

For starters:

• What’s your (coaching) secret sauce? 
• What special ingredients do you mix into your coaching? 
• How do you nourish your clients? 
• How do you know when to add some spice, or sweetness onto the plate?

These are all questions Fede and I have been chewing over for a while now i.e. Is there a perfect combination of skills that would create an ideal coaching session? Could it be possible to create a balanced ‘meal’ for clients to consume during our time together?

To explore this further we posed the question in the February Creative Playground for Coaches and had a blast using this metaphor to explore the idea. What did we learn? Loads! So let’s explore our Main takeaways…

• Every coach has their own set of favourite ingredients that come naturally, or have been ascertained over time
• We tend to use the same things each time to repeat a familiar recipe
• Some ingredients go well together (like Listening and Patience), but others are consumed better when kept apart (like Provocation and Sweetness)
• Clients will be hungry for different things in different sessions, so, if we don’t have a range of dishes to offer them then we’re probably offering a crappy quality of service (think MacD’s vs The Ritz)…
• Some ingredients are optional (Playfulness), some are not (Authenticity)

So how to end this with some sweet treats? Well, for dessert consider…

• Building the menu with the client – or mixing together a single specific recipe. 
• Or is it a special occasion that requires particular flavour?
• Let your client choose!
• We can’t just eat meat all the time 

Of course there is not a perfect recipe for coaching. We need to partner with out clients to figure out what they need. But, everything we do is nourishing.

That’s probably enough to put on your plate for today, so we’ll leave you to digest these ideas over coffee. Please add your comments below to share the ingredients or recipes that you offer your clients. 

Maybe you would like to visit us at the Creative Playground for Coaches for some sustenance in the future? There will definitely be a seat at the table waiting for you.