Coaching Biz Tips

Perfectionism leads to creative constipation

"May I ask if/how your clients get bogged down or might struggle to complete some aspects of their signature coaching program?"

Probably the biggest obstacle to creativity that I've seen is perfectionism. People can get positively paralyzed when they think that they need to do, be or have MORE _______________ in order to ______________.

Perfectionism leads to creative constipation. You keep working on something, refining it and honing it, but it isn't going anywhere; it's not fulfilling it's purpose out in the world.  When you make your gift so precious that it can't be shared, that's a problem, because it kills the gift. It's kind of like being pregnant and trying not to give birth until the baby is all grown up!

At one time, I thought it was because people were afraid of being judged by others; but I've come to suspect that it's really our own judgment that we can't tolerate. The gremlin voice is whispering that what you're creating isn't finished, it's not good enough yet--YOU'RE not good enough yet.

The answer is to turn down the volume on your gremlin, and let things happen naturally--stop holding back. No one is ever going to benefit from your gift if you keep it to yourself, right?

Having said that, I also feel that it's healthy to strive for excellence. I'm always looking for ways to improve my offerings; the key is to get whatever it is OUT THERE in the world AND keep working on it; let it continue to evolve. I think there's much more grace in that approach than in holding it back until it's "perfect".

10 Coachable Goals (and 3 That are Not)

 

In this article, I want to share ten examples of coachable goals, along with 3 examples that are not coachable.

Knowing what your client's agenda is and identifying whether it's a coachable goal or not is critical if you want your clients to get the results they're looking for. If you don't take time to identify a coachable goal, you could end up with a generic, light-weight coaching program that misses the mark with your target market, or worse – you could find yourself spinning your wheels trying to coach when what the client actually needs is counseling or therapy.

First, I should explain what I mean by "coachable goal." A coachable goal is a life or business objective that a customer is ready, willing and motivated to accomplish, but which he or she perceives to be beyond his/her current level of experience or ability. In short, they want to do or be something new.

Some keys to keep in mind about coachable goals:

• The client should be able to see himself/herself succeeding. It may feel like it's going to be a stretch, but they should feel they have the potential to achieve the goal with encouragement, skilled facilitation and the right tools and resources.
• Coachable goals are accomplished through the client, not through the coach or anyone else.  If the goal is beyond the client's control or if they feel powerless in the face of it, it's not a coachable issue.
• The issue must be emotionally charged for the client right now. Idle interest isn't enough; they must feel urgently compelled to change the status quo: "I can't keep on going this way much longer! I have to figure this out NOW." If they aren't emotionally invested, or if you find yourself trying to persuade them that they should want to go for the goal, the issue probably hasn't reached a coachable point yet.

10 Coachable Goals…

OK, so without further ado, here are ten coachable goals (not in any particular order):

1. Making and/or saving money
2. Saving time
3. Making their work easier or better
4. Improving themselves/their relationships
5. Overcoming a major life challenge
6. Reducing stress or learning how to handle it better
7. Feeling healthier or younger
8. Communicating better
9. Making a transition
10. Finding more joy, meaning and purpose in life

…Plus 3 that are NOT

These are the types of goals that are beyond the scope of coaching:

• Changing someone else's behavior or thinking (other than the client's). Coaching can help the client change their own perspective ABOUT how someone else behaves or thinks, but the coachable goal must be about the client's beliefs and behaviors, not a third party's.
• Overcoming compulsive or addictive behavior. If the client feels powerless in the face of the issue, therapy or counseling would probably be more appropriate than coaching.
• Healing painful memories.  Again, therapy or counseling might be more effective than coaching.

Ideally, you would target a market segment that shares a common agenda and/or have similar coachable goals—it makes finding clients SO much easier! It also makes it a snap to put together a signature coaching program and products when you use the client's coachable goal as the unifying theme. Everything just kind of falls into place.                              

If you've been working with clients for any length of time, you may be able to discover a pattern of coachable goals by going back over your coaching notes. See if you can pick out a theme or common agenda to build your marketing materials and products around.

What's your secret ingredient?

McDonald's has their special sauce.

The Colonel uses a special recipe.

Your mother slipped a secret ingredient into her chocolate chip cookies.

What about you? What's the special ingredient that makes your signature coaching program uniquely yours?

Creating a signature coaching program is a lot like baking cookies. You have to know what kind of cookie you're baking, and you have to go to the market to get the right ingredients, measure out the right amounts and then combine them in just the right way if you want the cookies to come out right.

You need flour and eggs and sugar, but you don't necessarily need to grow your own wheat, raise chickens or own a sugar cane farm. You don't even need to come up with an original recipe.

When your mom makes her cookies, she just uses a special technique or a secret ingredient, right?

(I still haven't figured out my mom's trick for making the world's best Toll House cookies; I've followed her recipe to a "T", but mine never taste as good.)

It's the same with your signature coaching process; you don't have to create a process from scratch. You just need some basic ingredients, plus a "twist" to make it yours. Here are the basics:

   1. A specific target market. (You wouldn't go to a fish market for cookie ingredients, would you?!)

   2. The #1 coachable issue/problem for your target market. (What kind of cookie are you baking?)

   3. The solution to the problem. 99.99999% of the time, it’s already been figured out by someone else! (Find a good recipe.)

Here comes the twist:

   4.  A customized, step-by-step process that facilitates the solution. What makes it ‘yours’? Things like your approach; your knowledge, skills and expertise; your track record with other clients; your materials; your guarantee; your packaging; your quality of service, etc.

One more thing about my mom's cookies: Whenever I begged her to tell me the special ingredient, she always said, "Must be the Love!"

Now that I think about it, maybe that's all it ever is -- the Love.

Happy baking,
Kathy M.

What comes first, the research or the hunch?

Recent questions from a Success Circle participant about how to create a signature coaching program:

Does research build on your hunches or create the "starter" for your hunches about a useful process?

"I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun." -- Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice

That quote pretty much says it all. I can't say what came first--whether I had a hunch first or whether I saw something out in the world that gave me the idea for Get With the Program. I’ve learned to just be awake and accepting of inspiration, no matter which direction it seems to come from.

I know some coaches have been trained to have a bias for going 'inside' (intuition, inner wisdom, Divine Inspiration, etc.). There's nothing wrong with that, but unfortunately, some end up with a bias against going 'outside' for information. They may distrust or even discount outside input all together, which doesn't serve their business or their customers.

When you’re trying to operate a business, you have to be in touch with what’s going on in the outer world; that’s what makes it possible to meet your clients where they ARE, rather than where you’d like them to be.

Discern the difference between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ input, yes – but don’t discriminate against one or the other.

The trick is to strike a balance between keeping one ear on your heart, and the other ear (and both eyes, a keyboard and your mouse) trained on what’s true in the world around you. You have to bridge the gap between the inner and outer world, because business is transacted in the mundane (outer) world. It's important to do your research.

Your business brings you the hearts of those that you’re supposed to work with, but the hearts are wrapped in human beings with ego identities.  It’s the ego identity that does the shopping; hopefully, the customer listens to their heart when it comes time to buy. (I learned this from Mark Silver, the master of heart-centered marketing).

---

You don't have to be a Success Circle member to ask a question! Send me an email or post a comment here on the blog and I'll do my best to find you an answer or at least get you pointed in the right direction.