Self-care plays a very important role before, during and after coaching sessions to ensure that you are at a peak state as you lead your clients towards their breakthroughs.
As a coach, it is always expected that you are in tip-top shape whenever you face your clients.
That simply means that you are 100% present, open and totally engaged during your session with your coachee.
However, it’s not always easy to be one’s #bestmeever at all times especially if there are a whole lot of things going on in your life that go beyond your coaching practice. And at times, it cannot be avoided that a coaching session turns heavy due to your client’s present concern, something that you must deal with, whether you like it or not.
This is where self-care plays an important role in ensuring that you get to recalibrate yourself accordingly, before, during and after a coaching session so that you don’t end up shortchanging yourself and your client in the process.
Allow me to share with you the 5 self-care tips perfect for coaches like yourself:
1. Ground yourself before a coaching session
It’s very important that you are 100% present during your session so take some time before that to step back, take deep breaths, reflect and visualize your intended outcome of today’s session. Make sure to declutter your mind and find yourself in a genuinely happy space because trust me, your clients will know if you’re merely faking it as you try to pull yourself through. If you feel in the process that you’re not your best and could not function well, be humble to ask the client to reschedule and just give a complimentary session rather than compromise the quality of your service.
2. Separate your personal issues
Always be mindful to not put yourself on centerstage as you listen to your clients. It’s not about you. Every time you are triggered by your client’s story that’s similar to yours, allow yourself to mentally step back and remind yourself that this session is not about you or your issues. It’s all about how you can help your clients deal with theirs without your own struggles getting in the way. You can deal with yours separately, with your own coach.
3. Pause
You are not paid by the number of questions you ask, but rather, on the quality of each. So allow yourself to pause in between as you listen intently to your coachees so you can ask strategic questions after. That also allows you to relax a bit as you listen to your breathing and your inner thoughts. Again, silence in between is beautiful, especially if it allows you (and your coachee) to reflect fully, so pause if you must and give yourself (and your coachee) enough time to recalibrate. The same goes when scheduling your coachees accordingly: make sure you have enough time in between sessions and only accept appointments that you can manage per day, based on your skills, with humility intact.
4. Change your space after the coaching session
You must know when to take your coaching hat off and allow yourself to change the space you’re in. Do something that breaks the cycle after each coaching session: Take a short walk, watch Netflix, grab a quick bite, chat with another friend or whatever it is that allows you to just let yourself be.
5. Journal your thoughts
Do a quick mental dump after. Like just pour everything in and don’t edit your thoughts. Be honest with your emotions. I keep a journal where I write down things that struck me during our coaching session so that I don’t burden myself with them and helps me remember to address them thereafter. What I do after all my sessions is that I read that I have written in my journal again before I close my day so that I have a new perspective about them.
I hope these tips help you become 100% more efficient and effective in your practice as you give yourself the kind of love and care that you deserve each and every time you coach.
