There’s Always Another Lesson to Learn
Most days, I read from a variety of books stacked on the side table next to me. The lessons I learn, or relearn, are mostly uplifting and often sobering. Acknowledging that I’m fairly hardheaded (my husband would agree to that!) this discipline forces me to push away some of the rocks in my brain and pay attention to the words on the page.
As coaches, we’re called to listen and observe with an open mind and with every intention to understand fully what a client is trying to communicate.
Christine Loeffler. Brand strategy Coach
This morning, I was enjoying Barbara Taylor Brown’s book, “Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others”. Sure enough, I received one of those sobering lessons before I finished my first cup of coffee.
She was paraphrasing a theoretical physicist who said to her, after reading one of her essays (that she personally thought was quite profound). He said, “it is not enough to think you know what someone means when they say something. You need to know what they think they mean when they say it.”
This was a welcome reminder of what lies at the heart of our profession. We live in a culture full of multiple interpretations of common words and common behaviors. In the course of any day, deciphering what people really mean, particularly in casual conversation, can be a big challenge.
It’s easy to draw inaccurate conclusions from the singular conversations we have with others. If I’m not careful to understand more about my client in a broader sense; for instance, his worldview, her dreams and goals, their fears and challenges, I’m likely to do little to help them as a professional coach.
That’s why we, as coaches, are motivated to ask lots of questions that “help us understand what clients think they mean when they say something”, rather than what we think they mean.
This is noble work. I applaud all of the coaches out there who are asking the right questions, rather than shortcutting the process by delivering what they think are the right answers.
Christine Loeffler has helped people of influence imagine and achieve their biggest goals since founding Sinclair Loeffler in 1995. Christine's Brand System Design model integrates her extensive experience in executive coaching, brand strategy, and visual design to create timeless, unique and compelling brands for growth and success-minded clients.
