Every week, people ask me about my coaching process. No matter who you are, every engagement with me begins with an assessment…or two or three. Sometimes it’s a 360-degree assessment, drawing on data from bosses, peers, and direct reports. Sometimes it’s a personality and aptitude assessment. Sometimes it’s one of two leadership assessments I’ve developed over the years. We start with the data. We create the roadmap for our work together, then we dive in and do the deep work. I’ve been in business for 19 years, and I believe in data-driven work. If we don’t know what your challenges are before we begin, then we’re simply throwing darts at a wall with no dartboard.
The assessments provide a clear, structured framework that allows us to proceed with a clear target and a plan. Often, clients can certainly speak for themselves and tell me about their challenges. The assessments tell me *where those challenges come from* and that is what allows us to get to the heart of the work very quickly. This data makes intentional, deep, transformative work possible, and at a much faster pace than if we didn’t have it. The assessments tell me a lot about how you think and let me get to know you much faster than any other means. And they tell me how your brain works, too. I speak with creative clients very differently from how I speak with highly analytical clients.
Having assessment data allows me to tailor our conversations specifically to you and how you think. The work of coaching is, at times, an art. It can also be science. We can base our work on more than instinct, gut feelings, and being good at listening, although these are all important parts of coaching. That’s why we base our work on data that provides a framework for truthful, deep-level coaching.
