Being Authentically You As A Coach

Far too often coaches become too focused on following the process instead of allowing their inner voice to take the lead, so they struggle to identify their own authentic style. Further repercussions are that they fail to be true to who they are and what their unique selling point is.

Authenticity is about you being true to your own personality, character, beliefs and values without the need for external validation. When you really take the time to explore what this means to you, there will be a shift in how you see things and how others see you too.         

How can you measure self-development and understand the way in which you engage with others?               

To start exploring this can be a harder pursuit than envisaged but if you break it down, this could just be your competitive edge.

1) Start With The End In Mind

It all starts at the first point of contact and connection with a potential client and your ability to ask insightful questions tailored to their needs and expectations to discover their goal.   When you start to pay attention and use this approach, you’ll begin to notice that your internal mind talk of: “What shall I ask next? How am I coming across? Do I sound like I know what I am talking about?” begins to disappear. The richness of the conversation has been established and the foundation of trust instantly develops and helps to form your relationship. Remember a coaching business is all about relationships and trusting the process.     

As Maya Angelou said; “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”    

2) Stay ‘In Love’ With The Process

Coaches have to learn to fall in love, but also learn to stay in love with the process. Invest in being genuinely interested from the very first moment you connect, curious and authentic in the energy you radiate to show who you are, your approach and your strengths.

As a coach, you want to create an experience where your client feels empowered and optimistic that this is the right step for them to take, especially if they have not experienced the profound impact of coaching before. DISC is a superb personality tool to use at the start of your client’s journey to unlock beliefs, invite challenge into the conversation, raise awareness and hold them accountable for taking action.

If you are still struggling to engage with this approach, then think of any coaches, mentors, leaders, family members and friends who have inspired you in some way? They will all share traits that have helped you have a sense of certainty, clarity, awareness of what is possible and motivation to take purposeful action in your next steps.

3) Be Fully Present

A coach’s full presence is pivotal for the client. When a coach creates a safe space for them to be honest, transparent and reflective without distractions, clients feel confident that they are in good hands. 

Learn to be comfortable in silence and allow space to reflect without distractions. Be different…as alluded to earlier, there are so many great coaches but that does not mean you have to do what others do because it worked for them. You are not them and they are not you so have fun with this. 

Try things out, be fearless and be prepared to fail. Failure should be seen as feedback and will help you reframe things and move forward. There is something profoundly liberating about breaking the norm, challenging the status quo and just giving it a go! 

Both new and experienced coaches alike can benefit from taking time to go back to the basics and ask: What do I stand for? 

This will help them to continue to grow, develop and refine their skill. It may just be the spark to reignite their sense of authenticity.

Natalie Potts is one of The Coaching Academy’s award-winning graduate coaches.  She works with business owners and entrepreneurs to achieve their goals and potential to breakthrough their limiting beliefs holding them back. 

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