Your client is avoiding crucial growth topics. How do you help them confront the uncomfortable?
Helping clients face difficult growth discussions requires a blend of empathy, strategy, and direct communication. Here’s how to ease them into these critical conversations:
What techniques have worked for you in similar situations? Share your thoughts.
Your client is avoiding crucial growth topics. How do you help them confront the uncomfortable?
Helping clients face difficult growth discussions requires a blend of empathy, strategy, and direct communication. Here’s how to ease them into these critical conversations:
What techniques have worked for you in similar situations? Share your thoughts.
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If a client is avoiding crucial growth topics, I’d create a safe, non-judgmental space for them to explore their discomfort. I’d gently ask open-ended questions to help them uncover why they’re avoiding it and reassure them that facing these topics is a key part of their growth. Together, we’d take it one step at a time, focusing on progress rather than perfection.
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This article subtly leans into judgment and consulting, which diverges from the essence of coaching. Coaches are not here to impose an agenda or assume what's best for our clients. The core of coaching is about a partnership—not driving the client toward what we think they should address. If you sense that a client avoiding crucial growth topics, the best approach is NOT to lead with assumptions or guiding questions. Instead, invite the client into your thoughts. Direct communication is key. You might say, “I have a sense that you might be avoiding [specific topic]. What do you think about that?” This allows the client to explore their perspective. It requires trust in the client—avoiding the pitfall of becoming a “camouflaged consultant.”
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Build trust through empathetic listening and a focus on shared goals. Present growth topics as opportunities, supported by data and clear benefits. Facilitate open discussions that inspire confidence in addressing challenges constructively.
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