Trust and Rapport

Coaching isn't just our job, it is a lifestyle. A great coach needs to establish relationships with all types of people, learn from each one, and listen to their specific needs. You (the client)  have a choice of who you will have as a coach, whom you will share your fears, secrets, and victories with. For many, this is a deep and meaningful relationship. Some would even say one they cannot live without. Needless to say, this is not to be taken lightly, or treated as just a "job".

I am going to take a different approach and coach the coaches. Let's just say it's a "friendly reminder" as to why we do what we do! A reminder that the people standing in front of you, taking your guidance, have made the choice to hear it from you, NOT from someone else. The value in that is beyond words, so let's make sure we are damn good at it!

The coaching relationship requires the establishment of strong trust and rapport in order to generate a productive and fulfilling connection. Trust can be defined as, willingness to be vulnerable to another based on the confidence that the other is benevolent, honest, open, reliable, and competent. Understanding the importance of these 5 qualities sets you apart from other coaches. The key is to have unconditional positive regard for each and every client. In other words, being completely accepting, without reservations. Holding such regards for clients will establish rapport and trust. The coaching alliance will be weak and unsuccessful if clients do not believe that their coaches are on their side, accepting them unconditionally.

Showing empathy, a real understanding of anther persons' experience, including his or her feelings, needs, and desires will effectively build a bond between you and your client. When our clients are struggling, it is especially important that we connect with their feelings in a supportive, and understanding way. When clients feel judged, their self-efficicy and readiness to change may be broken. When clients feel a lack of compassion, they may become resistant and isolate themselves from the resources needed for change-that's us-we are the resource for needed change!

Be a humble role model. Coaches should serve as humble role models for optimal health and wellness "walking the talk" without being boastful, arrogant, or rude. Coaching is a not a service profession, it's a modeling profession. We need to model the behavior that we want to see in our clients and our prospective clients. Our humility comes from continually working on our own fulfillment, balance, health, fitness, and well-being. We know quite well that we still have much to learn. The challenge is to be role models without placing ourselves on a pedestal or talking too much about ourselves. The key is to never dominate the conversation in our eagerness to help, but to always remain humble.

Lastly- PAY ATTENTION! Trust and rapport are not built through multitasking. When coaches are distracted, whether physically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, the coaching relationship suffers. Trying to do two things at once may cause us to lose strands of the conversation and degrade the quality of our inquiries. Clients can tell when we are not 100% present. If coaches fail to pay full attention, their energy becomes less focused and engaging. It is up to the coach to take the conversation to a higher level by paying full attention. After all, you must remember…..they choose YOU. Because YOU are an amazing coach, with unwavering abilities to change lives!

" It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else" -Erma Bombeck