As a coach you know it is important to remain in curiosity. What you may not know is how to observe your curiosity to determine if you are staying connected to the quality of curiosity that best serves the coaching.
In my a recent article, I asked you to notice how you source your curiosity and where you focus it.
To support you with your self-observation and development in this area, here’s a hands-on, self-help way to do this. This is a simplified version of the Coaching Analysis Guides I’ve developed for use with the coaches I mentor and train.
First create a recording of your coaching. If this is new for you, here’s a nuts and bolts article that will walk you through that process, including how to address recording your sessions in your coaching agreements.
Once you have a session recorded, follow the steps below to get a better sense of how your curiosity shows up in your coaching.
A) Listen to the recorded coaching session and list every question you asked your client. For every question you have written, ask yourself:
- What was my thinking behind this question?
- What did I truly want to know?
- How did this question serve the client?
B) Take this a step further and observe what you experience in your body as you review your coaching session.
- Notice whether any of your questions feel lighter/deeper/richer than others, or by contrast, more mechanical or forced.
- Notice how many of your questions spring spontaneously from your listening in the moment, and what percentage seem to be old favorite questions that you use over and over. And over.
Remember: Your effectiveness as a coach is based in the depth of your connection with yourself. You source your deepest wisdom and most expansive curiosity through that connection with You.
Use this exercise to deepen your self awareness, specifically with regard to how your curiosity is accessed and focused during a coaching session. Notice any patterns emerging in how you use your curiosity with your clients, and be sure to work with your mentor coach to transform any patterns that don’t serve you or your client.
If you source your curiosity from an innate sense of wonder and delight in discovery, you’ll be far more likely to focus that same curiosity on areas that best serve your client’s growth and movement.
Next up: How to tell if you are fully plugged into your curiosity – or if you’ve gone “offline.”
