The Coaching Manual, 4th Edition

Chapter 5

Barriers to coaching

Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.

Steve Jobs

There are a number of potential obstacles to effective coaching which can directly limit the quality of our results. We need to stay aware of both their causes and their consequences, as even the most experienced of us can fall foul of these sometimes. For example, we avoid fatigue as it impairs our concentration. We also need to avoid taking too many notes as it reduces the quality of our listening and our rapport with our coachee. In this chapter, the barriers we’ll look at relate to your environment, your wellbeing and your behaviour, or they combine all three.

Environment: physical and situational barriers

One basic barrier to effective ...