Open Menu

Fundamentals of a good business coaching relationship

LeadershipWork-Life Balance

2 min read

Building a Coaching Relationship with Integrity


I have been a fan of The Who for 38 years. I love their music and their powerful contribution to rock and roll, but above all, I love the strength of their message. To me, the music of The Who is about integrity and being true to yourself.

As Director of Coaching, I’m in a unique position to peer deeply at what makes a coach-client relationship tick. Over the years, I’ve learned what it is about EMyth Coaches that makes them so great at helping people and businesses get on track. Here’s the big secret: integrity.

Integrity is a big word. But in my world of coaches and coaching, it boils down to taking that brilliant lyric, “Who are you,” and turning it around. Coaches have the most success when they look at themselves first and ask: “Who am I?”—and then ask their clients: “Who are You?” Those coaches are most likely to create the lives they want, and help their clients create the lives that they want. Asking those questions also creates the space needed to shed the baggage (fear, arrogance, uncertainty) that so often stands between what we have and what we really want.

When EMyth Coaches approach a relationship with integrity, it tends to lead to big transformations, both for themselves and for their clients. And when our coaches embody what they’re doing, they tend to unlock these traits as well:


Care
Any great coaching relationship starts with care. Our coaches care about their clients. When they ask questions, they really listen. They are present and invested. They are human and they can empathize with clients and challenge them appropriately.

Openness
People who are actually willing to look deeply and work on themselves make the best coaches. It takes courage to ask tough questions and sit with tough answers—it’s even harder sometimes to admit that they don’t have the answers. But when our coaches model transparency, our clients benefit from an honest relationship and learn how they can model it in their own lives. What’s more, this leads to the next key ingredient:

Trust
Without trust, a relationship falls flat. One of the key building blocks of that trust in an EMyth Coaching relationship is the ability to be open. Clients who can’t see the kinks in their coach's armor tend to be hesitant to reveal their own weak spots. What’s more, coaches who are able to trust themselves and trust the strength of the EMyth Perspective are able to lift their head and truly invest in the coaching relationship. Trust is built over time, but it is also what leads to the biggest breakthroughs and lasting change.
 

There are so many elements to a great coaching relationship—the ability to ask the right questions in the right moments, a complete set of tools and curriculum, and a people-first approach. It takes a combination of all of them to be successful—but most importantly, it comes down to how much they care. Our coaches are committed to having an open, honest relationship with themselves, which gives them the ability to inspire that openness in others—and in turn build a trusting coaching relationship. What matters most to you?
Adam Traub

Written by Adam Traub

Adam Traub is a senior member of the EMyth Coaching Team and an expert in the EMyth Approach. In his nearly 20 years with the company, his experience has included program development, coach training, customer satisfaction and success, and personally coaching hundreds of business owners through the joys and challenges of redesigning their businesses. Adam’s dedication to helping business owners and leaders comes from his own interest in culture and people dynamics, as well as personal experience working through the EMyth Program as a client, where he saw the possibility for all leaders to transform their companies, create a better culture, and achieve their vision.

Comments