TCL071 - I am a coach, I know nothing

The Coaching Leader - by IntelliCoach

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Coaching is sometime quite a paradoxical thing. Here is one example...a wisdom piece about coaching: "The most experienced coaches know the least!" It's a powerful truth and possibly the opposite of what you expect! Should masterful coaches not know the most? Well, let's dive in!

1. A beginner's coach knows a lot.

2. An experienced coach knows a little.

3. A masterful coach knows nothing.

1. A beginner's coach knows a lot.

When coaches start out, they often rely on their functional, topical knowledge to help others. We bring in ideas, concepts, solutions and offer them, in order to help. Our identity is built on that knowledge. However, coaching predominantly with your own knowledge as a coach can only be the starting point. Why? It actually does not display our coaching mindset. When we feel compelled to help others with our knowledge, it also shows a lack of belief in their resourcefulness.

2. An experienced coach knows a little.

An an experienced level, we rely a lot less on our knowledge and background to help others. Our starting point is the clients/coachee's resourcefulness and only when they are stuck, we may support them by sharing an own experience or even a framework that the client can apply.

3. A masterful coach knows nothing.

On this level, we operate differently. We have full trust. We trust our client to figure things out. We trust ourselves and our skill as a coach. And we trust the process of coaching to deliver results. It's one of the clearest expressions of a core competency of professional coaching: 'The coach is comfortable in the space of not knowing.' That means that I am not only just ok with not knowing all details of my client's problems and solutions. No, I am comfortable with the idea. I even embrace it. This very idea makes a lot of people uncomfortable, as you give yourself in the hands of the client. And that's the very idea. Our role as coach is to provide a process. The client brings the problem and the solution. It's that simple. Right? :)

In summary, this is a paradox...but only when we look at it through the lens of conventional wisdom.

Hope this was an insightful little snippet and you enjoyed the new, shorter format!
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