IT’S ALL A NEGOTIATION

To coach is to negotiate. That’s why when it comes to coaching, you cannot fully anticipate what your client is going to bring up, where your client will go, or what will happen in the coaching session. That makes coaching as a profession much more difficult than say a trainer or public speaker. When you make a public speech or prepare for a training—you are the one setting the agenda. You know what you want to say and where you want to go. You know the results that you are aiming for with your audience. And while that can be challenging especially when an audience you are not familiar with, it is not near as challenging as coaching.

And why would it not be as challenging? Because in coaching, you never know what agenda your client is going to present. Ah yes, in coaching, the client sets the agenda—not you. So no matter how prepared you are for the coaching conversation, whatever idea you have about the possible content of the session, at any moment, it can change, and so much you. This is where the coaching state and skill of flexibility comes in. You have to be flexible.