Val: I would definitely echo Klaus’ thought. What my clients seem to appreciate most is the push back. I specialize in strategy development and my clients come to expect the push back. You’ve got to be able to say, “I don’t see how that’s going to work. Walk me through how that’s going to work or how do you think people are going to react to that.” So, that would be one client expectation–the push back. The second one that has surprised me over the years is that they want a place where they can admit their weaknesses, their vulnerabilities and their limitations in a way where it’s not evaluative because there is no place else to discuss such a topic. If they can admit it with a coach, they are very good at working on it with you, but it’s got to be in that safe place. I actually have had a very high level person say to me, “I’m concerned that I’m stupid.” Now who are they going to say that to? With a trusted executive coach, they can say that to get it off their chest. Do I then respond, “Why no I think you’re smart?” No. I say, “Tell me, why do you think you’re stupid?” You can have a very frank conversation without the client getting upset about it.
Bill: One of the things that strikes me is the role of sanctuaries—which is what I think we’re talking about here. In a complex post-modem environment, there are not many safe places for people who have to make difficult decisions–executives. And what is interesting is that coaching is a place where we can in some sense promote forgiveness and understanding. The whole issue of learning from our mistakes is lovely, but one of the first things we have to do is to say, “I made a mistake and I’m really feeling lousy about it and somewhere along the line I have to forgive myself.” This often needs a coach who can say, “Yeah you know that’s kind of understandable what you’ve just been through.”
Jeannine: There’s an interesting client expectation that is based around learning. It’s being able to admit that you don’t know or haven’t been updated about a major issue in your field. Occasionally, we’ll actually get into a learning program. I often point them to information about leadership in their own industry or field. They need to be students of leadership and they haven’t done that. They’ve been so busy leading, they don’t know the distinction of being a role-model or being able to be mentor a succession plan. So, it’s a valuable education and learning time.
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