Perhaps you don’t want any tips to coaching the uncoachable; perhaps you would prefer they just go away. However, most coaches are persistent and enjoy the challenge. Besides, they also enjoy the income that comes in when they finally figure out how to coach the uncoachable.

Like it or not – a sometimes neglected segment of the market are people who want coaching but don’t want coaching. Make sense?

However, if you neglect them, you will be neglecting the money they want to spend on coaching – possibly your coaching.

Why do the Uncoachable Hire Coaches?

There are plenty of people with a burning desire to succeed at something – they hire coaches to help them lose weight, find a job, figure out a career, make their small business a success, or find true happiness and contentment in life. However, some of those people tend to resist all coaching efforts – even though they hired a coach! Go figure!

So – the first tip to coaching the uncoachable is to coach them – don’t ignore them. You won’t need the rest of the tips to coaching the uncoachable if you neglect their needs…and their money!

5 More Tips to Coaching the Uncoachable

• Remember that coaching is not something you do to your clients, it is something you do with your clients. They may be resisting because you are telling. You need to work with them as a partner, not as a strict old-school professor. This is one of the most important tips to coaching anyone about anything.
• For every client who seems to resist coaching, try to determine the cause. Is it them? Is it you? Is it your style? Is it the type of sessions? Every client is different and you may need to adjust and adapt your style to fit their individual needs. Talk to the client about the problem and ask for feedback about your coaching. The answer is usually in finding a balance between their fears of being coached and the way you are being perceived as a coach.
• Create some rules. Even if you are one of the most casual coaches on the planet, it never hurts to have some basic rules about how the sessions will be conducted. Tips for coaches- be organized and have a few basic rules to frame your sessions. Goals are easier to achieve – for you and the client – when there is a balance between rules and freedom.
• Talk to your clients about the benefits of sticking with your coaching and the consequences of giving up. They came to you for a reason – they may need to be reminded of that reason. Show them where they can be if your coach/client relationship develops to its fullest, and show them where they will be if they go back to where they were when they walked through your door for the first time.
• No list of tips to coaching the uncoachable would be complete without the possibility that you and a particular client just don’t have the right chemistry. If may not be anyone’s fault – it just may be the way it is. You should definitely give it everything you have to make it work, but if it’s just not working…you should consider referring your client to a trusted colleague.

Hope you took some great value out of this post today! I’d love to hear your feedback, so make sure you leave a comment with your thoughts or questions. And also, you can click on the Twitter button below to retweet this article…Thank you!

Fred Philips
Business Coach
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