We can all probably attest to how quickly markets change, and how much quicker businesses have to flex their offerings (or invent new ones) to stay competitive. What if there was a similar (and more “human”) approach or mentality we could leverage for ourselves in terms of coaching?
As our team pondered this question for a bit, we began to start finding parallels between the “as-a-Service” model many organizations offer their clients and coaching. Yes, there are several well-known coaching platforms and services where you are able to bill time for a coach on a monthly basis; an interesting model for sure. However, despite what you may think, the reflection was less about the details of a transactional subscription model and more about emphasizing the proven levers available from a repeatable coaching model to help clients reinvent themselves over time and more than once.
That said, the catalyst here was simply starting to contemplate some of the pillars of “as-a-Service” models, which aspects were beneficial from said models, and where there was overlap with a traditional coaching model. To be clear, we’re not referencing subscription-based coaching platforms, but the idea of an individual client taking advantage of coaching services in a customized way for themselves during coaching engagements. If we focus more on the non-monetary/payment aspects of a subscription model and focus more on the objective of the service, there are some fascinating points that emerge about Reinvention:
- Flexibility – Engaging in coaching services can be 100% flexible because the client gets to decide what to work on and which areas are of higher priority; their goals are the focus after all. With coaching, the client and coach can anchor to flexibility and still accomplish progress. NB: Too much flexibility might mean not accomplishing much, so be careful!
- Iterative Approach – While Reinvention sounds daunting, it doesn’t have to be a “boulder obstacle.” You can chip away large endeavors (or even not so large ones) by simply prioritizing smaller, bite-sized chunks of goals. Then, you add a touch of iteration/reiteration to improve your goals over time. All of a sudden, you’re building a solid coach-client regiment with your coach that allows for the same flexibility mentioned above, together with an approach that places focus and continued improvement at its center.
- Analytical & Metrics based – Curiosity is an asset to place at the heart of a competent coach’s approach. While actively driving accountability is important, yes, a constant focus on performance against the goals/tasks that have been developed between the coach and client is critical. This mindset allows the coach to practice the flexibility and iterative approaches mentioned earlier. Moreover, the having a focus on performance can help the client to more easily internalize and adopt flexibility and iteration/reiteration during the engagement.
While there are most likely points to add, this article is simply about connecting proven tactics to new ways of thinking. Our hope is that this article gets you thinking in a different way about coaching and potentially opens doors for you as a coach or client/coachee in the near (or more distant) future.
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