The Mindful Coach: Seven Roles for Facilitating Leader Development: New and Revised Edition

THE MINDFUL CONTRACTOR

As with the Guide, one of the obvious Contractor pitfalls is to identify with the client’s results. In the closing minutes of most coaching conversations, the momentum is toward action. Compensating for a client’s lack of commitment by pushing for one action or another can weaken the client in the long term because the impetus is coming from the outside.

When the Contractor rightfully focuses on exploring client hesitations, there’s a similar danger of pushing the client toward action before doubts and resistances have been adequately addressed. While it is certainly possible to make obstacles seem more daunting than necessary, adequate exploration often yields valuable information. Moving through it too fast can cut ...