How can we as coaches understand our client’s context? Assessments can definitely help, particularly 360º assessments so as to gather the critical perspectives of key stakeholders. Tools that provide insight into the alignment of key stakeholders, such as the Business Assessment Gauge, are particularly useful. Qualitative interviews with key partners, functional leaders, and others can also be very helpful in surfacing what’s most important for a client to address/develop at a particular point in time. And of course, in depth discuss with the client herself about business context and personal context are critical. Depth and breadth of input is key, because we cannot rely on simple single-input personality-based tools will not shine light on what’s most important.
So, context matters. A lot, in my experience. We need to be open to a variety of inputs to assess what really matters to a client and her organization at a particular point in time. Doing so will help us drive organizational results as well as personal effectiveness and satisfaction.
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