What are key skills Clients learn in a coaching journey? Interesting question right? Let’s first be clear that a coach doesn’t teach anything to anyone – this is unethical and against what coaching stands for.

However, during the coaching journey, insights and learning are an integral and crucial part of what enables change and these come from within the Client’s existing context. Together with this, the process of coaching inadvertently enables experiential learning around Awareness of Self (in thought, emotion and somatic expression), awareness of others, awareness of resources, awareness of the present.

In the future I will publish an article that outlines the persistent connections between coaching experiences, awareness, change and the inadvertent development of the benefits of mindfulness as part of the coaching journey.
But safe to say, awareness is something that coachees tend to learn during their journey.

Another skill is trusting self (own decisions, intuition, capabilities, needs, boundaries, their integrity and character, courage and authenticity) – although true for some more than others, the experience of coaching seems to bring experiences of realisation on how much they can trust themselves, and the benefits and changes that come from when they do. With this comes the learning to accept reality and accepting self (with all the reactions, emotions and strategies we have employed to get us this far).

There are several others, but in my practice and research, these two (or three) are the most prevalent in individual coaching journeys. It may be due to my specific approach, but I seem to find these evidenced in literature as well. So, what the skills coachees tend to learn in coaching?
– Awareness
– Trust self
– which goes hand in hand with acceptance

What have you learned in your coaching journey?