Imagine that somebody has asked you to be their coach. There are many different approaches to helping them to reach their goals. This ‘3 tips’ piece shows how you can facilitate a session based on strengths coaching. You will start by creating an encouraging environment and then provide practical tools the person can use: 1) To build on their strengths. 2) To set specific goals. 3) To achieve success. Before beginning the coaching, however, it is vital to set-up the sessions to succeed. Let’s explore how to make this happen – then go onto running the actual session on strengths coaching.

* Start by setting the scene.

Before the first session have an informal conversation with the person, either face-to-face or by phone. Clarify the general topics they want to cover and outline your approach to coaching. Providing you both feel there is the basis for working together, schedule the first session. Prepare properly before that meeting. Take time-out to consider the person’s possible agenda - always leaving room for surprises - and how you can help them to reach their goals. Mentally rehearse the session - then give yourself time to relax.

Start the actual first session by setting the scene. Create a stimulating sanctuary and clarify the topics the person wants to explore in the sessions. Some people may wish to simply concentrate on short-term goals; others may wish to explore their longer-term personal and professional goals. Good coaches respect the person’s agenda. So you may ask questions like:

“What topics would you like to explore in the session? What for you would make it a useful session? Exploring the wider picture for a moment, is it okay to look at your medium and long-term goals? What are your professional goals? What do you want to achieve in your life and work? Everybody has different pictures of success: What is your picture? Imagine you are 80 and looking back on your life. What for you will mean your life has been successful? Returning to the present day: What are the key challenges you face? Would it be helpful to explore any of these challenges? Bearing in mind the various topics we have mentioned, which would be the most helpful to tackle? What would you like to take away from the session?”

Bearing in mind their goals, explain what you can and can’t offer and, if there is a basis for working together, make clear working contracts. You can then focus on the person’s strengths, specific goals and success. Let’s explore these steps.

1) You can help the person to build on their strengths.

Certainly you can immediately move into exploring how the person can achieve their first goal. Before doing this, however, it can be extremely useful to clarify the person’s strengths and successful style. There are two reasons for taking this route. First, it is good to know what the person does best and use these resources to reach their goals. Second, it is good to know how they work best. Everybody has a positive history - a pattern of success. Perhaps the person does great work on a certain kind of ‘project’, with certain kinds of people and in a certain kind of place. Combining their strengths and successful style is the key to peak performance. So you may ask the person questions like:

“What are you strengths? What are the activities in which you consistently deliver ‘As’? If you were a Managing Director, what would you hire yourself to deliver? When do you feel at ease and yet also excel? Where do you quickly see patterns? What are the activities in which you quickly see the destination - the picture of perfection? When do you go ‘a, b, ____ then leap to z’? Let’s explore your successful style. Looking back on your life, what for you have been 3 satisfying ‘projects’? What made them satisfying? Looking at each example in turn, what did you do right to achieve success? Do these examples give any pointers to your successful style - the way you work best? Looking at the kinds of activities that you find stimulating, are there any in which you have the ability to become a class act?”

After clarifying the person’s strengths and successful style, it is time to move onto the next step.

2) You can help the person to set specific goals.

Tackle the first topic the person wants to explore. Agree with them on the results they want to achieve - their picture of perfection. Be crystal clear on the ‘What’ before moving to the ‘How’. One key thing is worth bearing in mind at this point. Clarifying the person’s strengths can sometimes lead to revisiting and revising their specific goals. For example, if an ambitious leader finds they feel most alive when running ‘pilot projects’ - rather than general management - this may change their aims. They may realise that freedom and fulfilment - as well as getting well paid - are the key drivers. Climbing the corporate ladder may have been their original goal, but sitting in meetings removes them from what gives positive energy. This does not mean giving-up on promotion. But the goal may change to doing fulfilling and well-funded work, whilst also creating their successful niche in the business. Considering a person’s strengths can reaffirm their original aims - but sometimes can lead to re-clarifying their targets. Let’s imagine, however, that the person has returned to their original agenda and aims. You may want to say something like:

“Let’s look at the first topic you want to explore. What is your specific goal? What is your picture of success? What are the real results you want to achieve? What are the actual words you want people to be saying? What will be happening that will show you have reached your goal? What is your picture of perfection? Try to be as specific as possible.”

“Let’s take a reality check before going any further. Looking at this situation: What are the controllables? What are the things you can control? What can’t you control? How can you build on what you can control and manage what you can’t? Bearing in mind the controllables, let’s go back to your goals. What are the specific results you want to achieve?”

Clarity is crucial. The more specific you are about the agreed outcomes, the greater the chances of success. You can then move onto the next step.

3) You can help the person to achieve success.

After establishing the person’s strengths and specific goals, you can now apply the approach that will be used in most of the subsequent sessions. You can concentrate on three themes: a) Strategies; b) Solutions; c) Success. Let’s explore these in greater detail.

a) Strategies

Start by clarifying the strategies that will give the person the greatest chance of success. Begin by building on what works. First, what works for that individual person. Second, what we know works for teams and organisations. At this point you can also begin passing-on knowledge and practical tools. When sharing your ideas, watch the person to see which resonate - then follow-up these themes. So you may want to ask the person the following kinds of questions.

“Looking at the specific goals you want to achieve, let’s begin by studying success. What do we know works for you? How can you use your strengths - and follow your successful patterns - to achieve your goals? How would this work in practice? What do we know works for people, teams or organisations in this situation? How could you follow these paths in your way? Let’s consider the different routes you can take towards reaching your goals. Looking at each route, rate the chances of success. Do this on a scale 0 - 10. Which route do you want to take? Looking at your chosen route, what can you do to increase the rating? What are the 3 key things you can do to give yourself the greatest chance of success?”

Having explored all the potential strategies, sometimes it can be appropriate to move onto the next theme - solutions. (This is not always the case, but can be useful if the person wants to tackle particular challenges.)

b) Solutions

Strengths coaches encourage people to do what they do best and do it brilliantly - but this does not mean ignoring difficulties or weaknesses. Somebody who is doing the right things in the right way will still encounter problems. Sometimes it is therefore important to help the person to focus on two areas: a) To find creative solutions to challenges; b) To find creative solutions to managing the consequences of their weaknesses. When tackling any difficulty, however, you can encourage the person to use the 5C creative problem-solving model. This involves working through the following steps.

* Challenges

What is the challenge you want to tackle? Let’s start by establishing clarity. What are the real results you want to achieve? Let’s agree on the ‘What’?

* Choices.

What are your options for tackling the challenge? Option A is: ___ Option B is: ___ Option C is: ___ Option D is: ___ Option E is: ___ What other options have you tried? Keep going until you have outlined all the options.

* Consequences.

What are the consequences of each option? Describe the pluses and minuses of taking each route. Rate the attractiveness of each route on a scale 0 - 10.

* Creative Solutions.

Bearing in mind the results you want to achieve: Are there any possible creative solutions? What are the best parts of each option? Can you combine these into a new road? Have you ever faced a similar situation in the past and managed it successfully? If so, what did you do right then? Can you follow any of these principles in the present situation? Are there any other possible solutions?

* Conclusions.

Let’s go back to the results you want to achieve. Bearing in mind your picture of success, which route - or routes - do you want to take? How can you get an early success?

Sometimes during a session you will use the solutions approach - but sometimes you may simply focus on strengths and strategies. Start the session by clarifying the person’s specific goals. Then focus on the appropriate mixture of strengths, strategies and solutions the person can use to reach their goals - which brings us to the next stage.

c) Success

Time to move onto action. So how can you help the person to achieve success? Strengths coaches are like good educators. They focus on the 3I’s: inspiration, implementation and integration. They create an inspiring environment, provide implementation tools that work and enable people to integrate the learning in their own way. How to make this happen? One approach is to conclude the session by inviting the person to do three things: a) To clarify what they have learned; b) To clarify how they can apply these ideas in their life and work; c) To clarify the future topics they want to explore. You can invite them to take time-out, for example, to reflect on the following questions.

“Let’s return to the beginning. Today’s agenda was to focus on certain specific goals. Bearing these goals in mind, what are your ‘take aways’ from the session? What things have you learned or - more probably - relearned today? How can you apply these ideas in your own way? How can you get an early success? What will be the pluses of taking these steps? Are there any potential minuses? How can you anticipate and manage any setbacks? How can you encourage yourself on the journey? Looking to the future, when would you like us to meet for the next session?”

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This is one approach to facilitating a first session on strengths coaching. During subsequent sessions, however, you may simply focus on the person’s specific goals. Always bearing in mind their strengths, you will then focus on the strategies and solutions they can follow to achieve ongoing success.

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