Coach Readiness | Owen Graduate School of Management

Are You Ready?

Depending on where you are in your journey, coaching may or may not be the right next step.

Before you commit, take an honest read on your own readiness. Some questions worth sitting with:

Are you genuinely open to feedback, including feedback that surprises or stings?
Are you willing to put in the work between sessions, not just during them?
Do you have at least one concrete area, even if you cannot yet articulate it precisely, where you want to grow?
Do you have the time on your calendar to make this a priority for the duration of the engagement?

If the answer to any of those is "not yet," that is useful information. Coaching is most productive when you walk in ready to do the work.

Take inventory of where you are and what you would like to achieve.
A general direction is fine. Try to summarize it on paper. If the result feels muddled, that is normal; your coach will help you clarify as you go. Having something on paper gives you and your coach a starting place.
Visualize the outcome.
Imagine, in as much detail as you can, what it looks and feels like when you achieve what you are after. The clearer the picture, the easier it is to stay committed when the work gets hard.
Summarize the problem or challenge.
Write it down. Then ask yourself:
- What needs to change or shift for me to reach those goals?
- What might be holding me back?
- How am I currently seeing this situation?
- How am I contributing to it, positively and negatively?
Study your calendar.
Honestly calculate the time you are willing to commit. Block the sessions themselves and the homework time around them. Build a reflection point into the rhythm.
Then relax.
Coaching is a process. Resolve ahead of time to stay open. It may challenge you and exhilarate you in ways you cannot yet picture. Enjoy the ride.

Your initial session is mostly about getting acquainted. A few things will likely happen:

Get to know each other. Expect questions about what fuels your enthusiasm and what you fear. Let your sense of humor show. Be honest about both. That is how trust starts.
Plan the engagement. Review your calendars together and decide how often you will meet and how long each session will run. Put the dates on the calendar in the moment so you can plan the rest of your work around them.
Start defining goals. It is fine if you do not yet have a precise goal. Your coach can help you sort out short- and long-term aims.
Discuss tools. Your coach may recommend the Hogan Assessment or another instrument they use with clients. They may also suggest talking with people in your work environment as part of the engagement; if so, you will agree together on who.

Any coaching engagement is a learning journey. The relationship and the insights take time. Be patient with yourself and with your coach.

How you show up shapes the outcome more than which coach you pick. A few things that consistently distinguish the engagements that work:

Keep an open mind. Your coach may suggest new behaviors or approaches that feel awkward. Try them anyway. The results may surprise you.
Be receptive. You will hear positive things about yourself; save them. You will also hear things that are less flattering. Both are invaluable, and your coach is right there with you on either side.
Collaborate. Treat your coach as a trusted advisor and sounding board. Expect that the answer will not always come in the first conversation; some things take a few sessions to surface.
Trust. Even when feedback is hard, your coach is on your side. Some insights only land later. That is normal.
Bring a sense of humor. You will not get everything right the first time. Some of the things you try will land badly. Laugh about them with your coach and keep going.
Commit to the process. State your goals. Make your plan. Stay the course. When work gets busy and you are tempted to skip a session, recommit. The dividends often come later than you expect.

Head to the link below to see how the engagement works.