The majority of professional coaches follow similar best practices to help their clients achieve their goals. But the coaching process can vary significantly from coach to coach, and even from client to client. Yet there’s another key aspect to coaching that can’t be replicated: intuition.
What does it take for a coach to rely on their process to take their clients where they want to go? How do you tap into — and trust — your intuition as a coach? How do you know when it’s the right time to follow your coaching instincts instead of your coaching process?
In many ways, the coaching process is like the carefully planned path you and your clients follow, while coaching intuition is similar to using your senses — seeing, hearing, balance, etc. — to keep you moving forward on the right path. In this article, we’ll explore the importance of both, with practical tips for how to develop them and integrate them into your coaching practice.
Why Following a Coaching Process AND Your Intuition Is Important
A well-defined process provides a framework that guides the coach and client through a meaningful and productive experience. Cultivating intuition allows you to connect with clients on a deeper level and identify subtle clues about how your client can hone their skills and reach their goals.
When clients trust their coach’s process and intuition, they are more likely to:
- Be open and honest. Your clients will be willing to share their vulnerabilities, fears, and deepest desires because they believe you have their best interests in mind.
- Take risks and step outside their comfort zones. Clients will embrace new challenges and experiment with new behaviors when they understand how your expertise and intuition are guiding your questions, comments, and recommendations.
- Implement action plans and achieve their goals. Your clients will feel empowered to take ownership of their growth and make lasting changes as they see your process unfold.
The Coaching Process: A Structured Path to Success
The coaching process steps provide a structured framework for guiding clients towards their goals. While there are many variations to the methods, most effective steps for coaching involve the following key elements:
Initial Assessment
This stage should be mandatory for every new coach/client relationship. It involves understanding the client’s current situation, their desired outcomes, and the challenges they are facing. Successful coaches understand that this step requires active listening, empathetic inquiry, and careful observation of the client’s communication style and body language.
Goal and Objective Identification and Setting
Together with the client, you will clarify their goals to ensure they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). This stage involves helping the client articulate their vision, identify potential obstacles, and establish a clear roadmap for achieving their desired outcomes.
Action Plans
Develop and implement concrete action plans that move the client closer to their goals. It can involve brainstorming solutions, setting deadlines, identifying accountability measures, and creating a support system.
Support and Accountability
As the process unfolds, the coach must provide ongoing support and accountability to their clients. This includes regular check-ins, offering encouragement and feedback, addressing challenges, and making necessary course corrections. Perhaps more than any other stage, this is where a coach proves their true worth to the client.
Reflection and Growth
Regularly review progress, assess successes, and identify areas for improvement. Encourage clients to reflect on their experiences, learn from their challenges, and refine their strategies. Your clients are far more likely to understand the value of your coaching when they understand how far they’ve come.
How to Follow Your Coaching Process
Many professional coaches will admit that breaking from their proven process usually turns out to be a mistake. While there may be occasional circumstances where you might make an exception, most of the time it’s a wise move to “stick to the plan.” Follow these steps to stay committed to your coaching process:
Stay Grounded in Your Process
When you adhere to a structured coaching process — while remaining flexible and adaptable — you’ll provide a consistent framework for your sessions while allowing for individual client needs.
Reinforce Short and Long-term Goals
Regularly reviewing and reinforcing your client’s goals throughout the coaching journey helps maintain focus and motivation and ensures that the client stays on track.
Remember the Techniques and Tools You’ve Learned
Draw upon the coaching skills and frameworks you’ve acquired through your training. This way, you’ll have a solid foundation for your coaching practice and be better able to navigate challenging situations with confidence.
Embrace Flexibility
While a structured process is important, recognize that every client is unique. Be willing to adjust your approach based on the client’s individual needs, preferences, and learning style.
Celebrate Small Wins
Acknowledge and celebrate the client’s successes, no matter how small. By doing so, you’ll reinforce their progress, build their confidence, and motivate them to continue moving forward.
Revisit Your Core Purpose
By consistently connecting with your values and the purpose of your coaching work, you’ll stay grounded and maintain a strong sense of purpose in your practice.
Document Your Sessions/Progress
Keep detailed records of your coaching sessions, including client goals, progress notes, and action plans to track client progress, identify areas for improvement, and refine your coaching approach.
What Is Intuition? How to Develop This Hidden Superpower
When people talk about intuition, they’re describing an inner knowledge or gut feeling. In the context of coaching, it involves tapping into your inner wisdom and insights to guide your interactions with clients. It’s about sensing what the client needs beyond the words they are speaking, recognizing underlying emotions, and anticipating potential challenges.
Any professional coach needs to be intentional about developing — and learning to trust — their coaching intuition practices. It comes with many benefits, including:
- A deeper connection with your clients. Intuition coaching allows you to connect with clients on a deeper, more human level, fostering a stronger rapport and trust.
- Enhanced awareness. It enables you to be more present and aware of the subtle nuances in the client’s communication.
- Greater flexibility and responsiveness. Intuition practices allow you to adapt your approach as you go, responding to the client’s changing needs and emotions.
- Increased creativity and innovation. Well-developed intuition can also spark new ideas and approaches to coaching challenges. When you sense an opportunity to try a certain tactic or a chance to help your client grow outside of your normal process, you’ll be ready to take advantage of it.
How to Develop Intuition
For many people, intuition can feel kind of mushy. True, our instincts can be guided by feelings more often than not, but a highly experienced coach will know when it’s worth trusting their gut. If you want to understand how to develop your intuition practices, follow the tips below:
Practice Mindfulness
Regular mindfulness or meditation practices can help you become more attuned to your inner wisdom and increase your awareness of subtle cues. If it works for you, set aside time every day — at least a few minutes — to practice mindfulness.
Reflective Learning Practices
Regularly review past coaching sessions, reflecting on your interactions with clients, the insights you gained, and the impact of your interventions. Many coaches find it helpful to keep a journal of their thoughts, any actions based on those hunches, and the resulting consequences. Many also make dedicated time to meet with a coaching group to discuss their experiences with other coaches.
Understand Body and Physical Experience
Pay attention to your physical sensations during coaching sessions. For example, a tightening in your chest might indicate that the client is feeling anxious. Many of these experiences can be quite subtle, so it may take practice to be fully in tune with what your body is communicating.
Stay Present During Sessions
Give your full attention to the client, minimizing distractions and truly listening to what they are saying (both verbally and nonverbally).
Trust the Process of Intuition
Begin by trusting small intuitive nudges. Gradually increase your reliance on your intuition coaching as you gain more experience and confidence. Acknowledge and appreciate your intuitive insights.
Balancing Intuition With an Evidence-Based Coaching Process
While intuition plays a crucial role in coaching, it’s important to balance it with evidence-based coaching principles and methodologies. Follow the six steps below:
1. Integrate Both Approaches
Use Intuition to Inform Coaching Strategies
For example, if your intuition suggests that a client is struggling with self-doubt, you can use this insight to guide your questioning and explore this issue further.
Rely on Established Methodologies for Structure
Use proven coaching frameworks (such as the Co-Active Model or the GROW model) to provide a structured foundation for your sessions.
Strive for More Personalized and Effective Outcomes
By integrating intuition with evidence-based practices, you can create a more customized and meaningful coaching experience for your clients. It often takes both to be successful.
2. Learn and Grow as a Coach
Learn About Evidence-Based Coaching Techniques
Stay current with the latest research and best practices in the field of coaching. Many resources are available for this, including those found in Co-Active’s Coaching Toolkit.
Improve Intuitive Skills
Continuously refine your intuitive skills through ongoing learning, reflection, and practice. Like any skill, developing and trusting your intuition, coach, takes plenty of practice.
Default to Your Structured Plan
You’ll strengthen your confidence as a coach using a structured approach alongside your intuitive insights. Building a strong foundation in evidence-based coaching provides a solid base for integrating your intuitive insights effectively.
3. Test Intuitive Insights
Validate Your Intuitive Thoughts
Check your intuitive insights with the client. Ask questions like, “Does this resonate with you?” or “Is this something you’d like to explore further?”
Align Them With the Client’s Goals and Responses
Be sure your intuitive insights align with the client’s stated goals and their responses to your questions. Remember, it’s all about them and their path, not you and yours.
Underline What Works and What Doesn’t
Reflect on your use of intuition in past sessions, identifying what worked well and what could be improved.
4. Use Data to Validate Your Intuition
Gather Info From Assessments, Feedback, and Client Progress
Track your client’s journey through regular check-ins, client feedback surveys, and other relevant data points. It’s important to keep clear records of all your data for each client.
Confirm or Challenge Your Intuitive Insights
Analyze the collected data to confirm or challenge your initial intuitive insights. For example, if your intuition suggested a particular approach, did it lead to the desired outcomes for the client?
Refine Your Intuition
Use the data to refine your understanding of your intuition and how it can best be applied in your coaching practice.
5. Adapt and Be Flexible
Adjust your coaching style based on intuition for your client’s needs. For example, if your intuition suggests that a client is feeling overwhelmed, you might adjust your pace, offer more support, or shift the focus to building resilience. If a client seems resistant to a particular approach, trust your intuition to explore alternative strategies.
6. Create a Framework
Create a personal framework that integrates your intuition with evidence-based coaching principles. This framework can serve as a guide for your coaching practice, outlining how you will utilize both intuition and structured methodologies in your sessions.
Also, consider outlining when to prioritize your intuition (such as when assessing a client’s emotional state) and when to rely more heavily on structured approaches (like during goal setting and action planning).
Learn More About the Coaching Process With Co-Active
At Co-Active Training Institute, we’ve been at the forefront of coaching education for over 30 years. We empower individuals like you to become exceptional coaches through programs grounded in the Co-Active Model — a transformative approach that emphasizes partnership, presence, power, and possibility.
Here’s how Co-Active can support your coaching journey:
World-Class Training
Our ICF-accredited programs provide comprehensive training in coaching skills, ethics, and business development.
A Supportive Learning Environment
You’ll learn from experienced faculty and connect with a vibrant community of fellow coaches.
Develop Your Unique Coaching Style
Explore your own coaching philosophy and develop a practice that reflects your values and strengths.
Build a Thriving Coaching Practice
Gain the knowledge and skills to build a successful and fulfilling coaching business. Co-Active offers a range of resources to support your coaching process development, including:
- The Co-Active Coaching Toolkit: A free, downloadable resource with coaching questions, exercises, and articles.
- Free webinars: Explore our upcoming webinars to learn more about coaching principles, gain valuable insights, and connect with other aspiring coaches.
- Co-Active blog: Access a wealth of knowledge and insights through our blog, featuring articles on various coaching topics, industry trends, and best practices.
- Courses and programs: We offer a comprehensive range of programs, from introductory courses to advanced certifications.
We believe that coaching has the power to transform lives. By investing in your coaching education with Co-Active, you’re not only investing in your own growth but also in the positive impact you can make on the world.
Take the next step in your coaching journey today. Sign up for our free demo webinar to learn more about Co-Active Training Institute and how we can help you achieve your coaching goals.