Habits of an Effective Coach: Habit 1- Be Proactive

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Confucius quoted, “a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” You can never get to where you need to be unless you make the figurative first step. And as a coach, you take on a challenging task of guiding someone do that first important stride, and make other decisions leading up to his goal. But this is easier said than done. There are clients that can easily make an initial move, but then eventually give up or go back to the startling line.

However, there is way to effectively deal with it, which was highlighted in Stephen Covey’s book titled Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. He explained in the book that a habit is the convergence of knowledge, skill, and desire, and that in order to make a habit we need all three. He had deduced that there are seven habits successful people have that make them highly effective in what they do, and one of them is be proactive.

What does this mean?

He emphasized that the first habit, calls for you to take responsibility for your choices and the consequences that follow. These choices include how you view things, how you act upon things, and how you feel about them. Also, the decisions you make should and always be aligned to life’s principles, which cannot be based on your personal views, but rather to the unbreakable and natural laws that govern our lives.

How does this translate to coaching?

When you choose to agree to a responsibility of coaching someone, you have to be prepared to address all his needs. Your preparations should include a better perception of the human psychology, and behavior. Basing your actions on the concrete truths of humanity, you can then shape goals that will not only work for you, but also for your client.

Whether helping someone lose weight or get him to have a better perspective of who he is, there is a rather big possibility that he would fall back to his old habits. But, it is okay because that is all too-normal phenomena.

However, with that understanding, you can create a plan ahead of time on how set them back on course.

Evaluating the factors that led to it can give you the opportunity to make a better plan of action. In the article Five Reasons We Give Up, it was explained that “change takes longer than we thought, and the process is harder”, and that with the acknowledgement of that reality, we can have a better chance of staying on course with our plans.

It was also discussed that elements such as difficulty and distractions contribute to a person’s failure to push through with any undertaking. Is it possible that exercises were just too much for his stage, and that they had to be tailor-fitted to his level? Are the people around him supportive or do they contribute to his lack of self-esteem?

Moreover, in the coaching business, the person coached is not the only one that needs coaching, but also the coach.

You need to check with your motivations from time to time. Why do I want to become effective with what I do? Why do I want to help this person change? These are just some of the questions you are going to have to ask yourself every now and then.

Therefore, you can only continue to grow as a coach when you own up to your responsibilities, and learn from them.

There are things that are just beyond our control, and the only thing we can do is to take it as it is, and use it to develop ourselves. Once my thoughts and attitude changed, my actions changed, and so did my result, says Robert Kiyosaki, author of the book Rich dad Poor dad, which showcases life-changing financial concepts. You can only invoke change on people if you accept to change as well.

Create a powerful day!

Cherry A. Collier, Ph.D., MCC, CNLPMC, RCC, CPCC
Chief Collaboration Officer, Master Certified Executive Coach & Inclusion Strategist

Personality Matters Incorporated provides many services including coaching, leadership, and organizational development. It is Personality Matters, Inc.’s goal to help facilitate the necessary resources and tools to help individuals and organizations grow to achieve their goals.

919. 4. PEOPLE or 919.473.6753
Email: mypersonalitymatters@gmail.com
Blog: https://drcherrycoaching.com/myblog/
Web Personality Matters: www.pmatters.org
Web Dr. Cherry: https://drcherrycoaching.com/

Sources:

https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits.php

Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Free Press: 1989

Image: Shutterstock paid subscription all rights reserved

Dr. Cherry

Cherry A. Collier, Ph.D. is an Organizational Psychologist, Strategist, Executive Coach, and Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging Consultant for Personality Matters, Inc. Her science-based approach and brain-based techniques, propel people, teams, and organizations to build bridges and work from the inside out to achieve their goals. Dr. Cherry specializes in emotional intelligence, neuroscience, leadership development, and DEI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She received her Doctorate and Master of Science in Applied Social/Organizational Psychology from the University of Georgia and Graduated Magna Cum Laude from Spelman College. She is the author of more than twenty-five Human Behavior related books for leaders, executives, and coaches. Dr. Cherry is often called the DEI Whisperer because she has a unique ability to fiercely “hold the space” and be totally present which creates a psychologically safe environment that allows others all the space they need to fully express themselves. She listens to others with head, heart and hands approach so that they are heard, seen and understood.