As Your Client Changes, Do You?

Who Drives Change?

Change is an interesting subject. Change for the better we like, change for the worse, not so much. Sometimes we think we can ignore it and maintain the status quo. To me status quo is that rock band started by Francis Rossi all those years ago. Slightly more cerebrally it’s translation from Latin is ‘existing state of affairs’. Either way, over time whether music or society, things move on.

Society is just us. Those of us that inhabit this earth. Our habits, desires, and aspirations form our society. Sometimes for good, sometimes not. Even if we consider war there is always a winner. By that, I don’t just mean the victor in the conflict. If you consider the wider picture, those in the armaments, transportation and medical supplies industries prosper while others do not during that period.

Conscious Change

If we take the simple form of ‘conscious’ as being aware you could say we choose change. When most of us choose to alter how we are, we might know what we want. Getting there – the how and the what – is not so easy. That’s where the skill and knowledge of a professional coach comes in. We are trained to work with coachees to seek their truth. Sometimes the outcomes can be astounding, sometimes not quite so, but either way, a shift will have happened.

Here’s an interesting thought: Does working with coachees to guide them to make profound shifts impact the coach too?

Regardless of what has happened the coach and coachee have been on a journey together. However, the learning, the experience, the alteration of outlook has the capacity to effect change.

From research that I’ve done I found that each coach in my study had mechanisms to minimise any impact a coachee might have on them. It’s interesting how we as coaches can effect change in others yet minimise that impact on ourselves.

So what’s your experience?