Is coaching for me?
I believe that in life, we have all the answers we need at the moment in which we need them (whether that be in relationships, business, career…).
What we sometimes need help with is in letting those answers come out, we are missing the key to unlock our answers. That key is the right question to ask which exposes the answer we need.
There are only 3 reasons for not being able to unlock our answers.
- The most common, in my experience, is that actually we do know the answer, but we are not brave enough to ask ourselves the question -because then we would have to acknowledge the answer and act upon it. We’d have to say it out loud and hear it for ourselves.
- We are simply too close to the woods to see the trees, that is, we need someone else to help us with the question because we’re too involved, too deep in the situation or we’ve been struggling with it for a while. The answer could be staring us in the face, and it needs a changed perspective before we see it.
- We are not yet experienced enough in that aspect of our life to be able to phrase the question properly and let the answer out. We need someone further along the journey to ask the right question.
This is, in my experience, the most difficult one for senior level business people to admit, yet that is where consultants and coaches can offer the most help.
The ‘trick’ is to find someone to help us with the questions, while making sure it’s our answers that come out, not theirs (advice) which may not be appropriate for us. Becoming more aware of our own situation helps with identifying that we need help, and whether it’s 1, 2, or 3.. or sometimes even a bit of a mixture of all these. .For example, 1 can often just be NOT realising “I need help” and admitting that. It takes someone to ask “do you need help with that?” before we realise it and can admit the answer.
Which one of these do you struggle most with? Who do you call on? Is this true for you?
Credit to Tao of Clive.
