How to track your progress whilst working with a coach

One of the first questions to consider when working with a coach is “what results do I want?” You are committing time and money, so you want to ensure you get a return on investment. The journey of coaching itself means that an ideal outcome can change whilst you work with your coach; through the self-reflection process, where you identify what is really important, you may find that your definition of success may change. However, the best way to start is to have an end in mind. So today, I’m going to share how to track your progress whilst working with a coach.

Most coaches will offer you a range of ways to keep track of your time working with them. For people that work with me, you receive a range of questions that not only help me to get to know you, but it is also a catalyst to the self-reflection that works wonders in a coaching relationship. It includes unpicking your expectations of coaching, as well as focusing on how you feel about certain areas of your life, such as confidence at work and (unsurprisingly) work-life balance. Clients also have access to my tried and tested “Progress Reflection Questions” which offer a chance to review the impact of the insights and actions agreed upon during each session. However, you only get full access to that wealth of information when you become one of my 1:1 clients!

However, I will still give you some insight that can help, regardless of who you work with or how you work on your personal development I will give you questions that, when used regularly, can help you track your progress. They are simple but very effective.

Are you ready? Then let us begin! How to track your progress whilst working with a coach.

It begins, unsurprisingly, with questions:

What do I want to BE?

This could be feelings based (such as relaxed, engaged and balanced) or more specific (based on job titles!). Don’t overthink, just respond. 

What do I want to DO?

Have a concrete response to this, based on your senses; imagine what you can feel, see, hear and touch when your career is as balanced as you want it to be.

What do I want to HAVE?

This could be taken literally – where you list things you can physically touch – or it could more philosophical, where you consider the elements of your life you with have (such as more time!)

 

Now, these three questions alone are not enough, as you need to ask yourself another to help you understand where you are on a spectrum of progress. That question is:

 

How close am I to my end goal? 

 

If you imagine the answers to your “what” questions are a 10 – which is the result – then you want to give yourself a number for your current position. You would expect that each time you work on the required areas of your life, the “dial” will have nudged a little closer to the number 10; your end goal. You could even turbo boost your motivation by asking yourself what you could do to move closer to the next number; a chance for you to continue the momentum in between your sessions with your coach.

 

Whilst lots of work can happen during each coaching session,  you can increase your pace of change by taking time during the “in-between” to self-coach using these questions. Clients have mentioned in the past they imagine that I’m on their shoulder or in their ear asking these questions; maybe you will find this approach helpful too?  Coaching conversations, and personal development plans are fantastic, but they need to have an end goal in mind. Help keep yourself on track with a regular check-in.  If you would like to find some more ways to create a career to enjoy, don’t forget to read the other articles on this blog! 

 

If you would like to find out more about how I can help you create a Career to Enjoy, then feel free to book a time for us to chat further. You’ll also find me hanging around, virtually, within my Facebook Group, handily called “ Creating Careers to Enjoy”.