Being a Practitioner of Excellence

So, you’ve just finished up a session with a client and maybe you’re making some notes on how it went before your next appointment. This could also be an excellent moment to reflect on how the session went for you. When we ask appreciative questions of ourselves, reflection can easily become a way to connect to our own strengths and help us be a better coach.

Here are some questions we like to ask in the coach training process. While they are useful for coaches new in the field, experienced coaches will continue to grow in accordance with their reflective practice.

Have fun with these questions as a guide to heightening your skills as a coach:

1. Where was the most energy for me as the coach during our session?

2. Reflecting on that now, what was significant about that moment?

3. When did I feel most connected to my client? What do I imagine was happening for them at that moment?

4. When it’s going at its best, what is it that I value most about myself as a coach?

5. What would I like to bring more of (or do) in the next coaching session?

What other reflective questions have you asked yourself after your coaching sessions? Please share your thoughts and ideas with us on the Center for Appreciative Inquiry’s Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn pages.

Enjoy this exercise? If so, please join us for our 5-day Appreciative Inquiry Coaching Training (AICT) where we teach and demonstrate how Appreciative Inquiry can be used to engage in generative conversations with others. This advanced-level certification course will deepen your ability to identify, nurture and sustain the positive core with clients, as well as, within members of a team, department, organization, and community.

Two AICTs scheduled for 2017 – Cape Town, South Africa and San Diego, California.