Lessons from the Certifiers

 

Coaching the Client
by Natalie Tucker Miller, MMC

One of the common misunderstandings the certifiers notice when scoring recordings for certification, is the tendency to coach around a specific situation the client presents, thus missing opportunities to advance the client’s self knowledge, which can lead to more organic and sustainable, transformation.

The most logical place to include this, I had thought, was Mastery #2: Perceiving, affirming and expanding the client’s potential. Yet in a recent session of the IAC Masteries Licensees and the IAC Certifiers, Certifier Karen Van Cleve also pointed out how Mastery #9, Helping the client create and use supportive systems and structures, also benefits from the distinction of “client vs. the situation”.
This took me on a journey through the Masteries, and I began to see how this absolutely applies to every Mastery! So I pondered, is this a Mastery in and of itself?
Mastery #10: Coaches the client, not the situation.

What constitutes coaching mastery is routinely assessed within the IAC through a variety of means. From the commitment to cutting-edge coaching approaches, to available research, as well as the IAC research committee embarking on their own projects, to the input from the global coaching community, the IAC continually reviews ways to refine the definition of masterful coaching. A common observation that arises time and again is this: when clients are included in the equation, as opposed to the situation being the objective, transformation is more forthcoming and more meaningful.

So here are some possibilities of how this distinction could apply in other masteries, noted within the parenthesis:
#1, from effect: The client is open to sharing and receiving (insights about their perceptions)
#2, from distinctions, an addition might be: (Client’s potential vs. Solving the problem)
#3, from effects: The coach listens beyond what the client articulates (as a way to bring awareness to the client’s unique perspective)

#5, from effective behaviors: Invites the client’s input, self-disclosure and expression of feelings (as it applies to the situation and beyond)
#6, from effective behaviors: Identifies patterns (in the client’s reactions and outcomes)
#9, from distinctions: (Indivuation vs. Conventional)

Here are some ways the Masteries already do embody this crucial point:
#4, from distinctions: Here and now vs. past and future
#7, from effective behaviors: Perceives what matters to the client
#8, from key elements: Identify “internal” possibilities, (e.g,, personal greatness, higher purpose while identifying “external” possibilities, e.g., resources, memes)

What do you think? Is it its own Mastery, or is it already inherently part of the Masteries?
Won’t you join us, by sharing how you approach coaching the client vs. the situation?
We’d love to hear your ideas!

Do you have a question that you’d like to ask the certifiers? Submit your questions here: http://certifiedcoachblog.typepad.com/blog/ask-the-certifiers.html.

Natalie Tucker Miller, MMC, is the Lead Certifier and a certifying examiner at the IAC, as well as Past-President. Natalie is founder of Ageless-Sages.com Publishing (www.ageless-sages.com), and creator of the literary genre, Picture Books for Elders™.  
 

Please send your questions on the IAC Coaching Masteries^® and the certification process to certification@certifiedcoach.org.