The book, and the movie, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, was about a sixth-grade kid navigating the choppy waters of middle school, not about a leadership coach. But, I borrowed the title to tell you what you should never be as a coach – a wimp!

While the wimpy kid had to face all sorts of cafeteria bullies and hallway Neanderthals, coaches have to face businesspeople, managers, CEOs; and professionals who can sometimes act like bullies.

Why would someone hire a professional and then not listen to their advice? Why would a client bully a coach? Yours is not to ask why, yours is to coach that bully; by using the 3 Cs of coaching, you will never be thought of as a wimpy coach.

The 3 Cs that Will Make You a Great Leadership Coach

Here they are; the keys that a wimpy kid and a wimpy coach need – the three Cs of coaching. The three Cs of coaching can turn a wimpy coach into the stud of the coaching profession!

Confidence

You are the coaching professional and you have the power to change lives. Confidence is noticeable and contagious. The only way to instill confidence in your clients, and confidence is one of the most important traits needed to be a leader, is to exude confidence. Confidence is a necessary trait for a good leadership coach. Leadership begins with confidence. If you lack confidence, you are a wimpy coach!

Capability

When coaching people, you don’t need super powers, but you must be capable. Being capable is comprised of intuition, training, continuing education, and experience. All good coaches have some level of intuition; an ability to understand the client’s needs and desires, the capability to suggest correct choices for your client, and a sixth sense to feel the resistance and hesitation a client may have. Coaches must also receive the proper training and then continue to educate themselves on new coaching theories and techniques.

The last component of a capable leadership coach is experience. This can include your experience in both the business world and the coaching profession. Experience takes time to collect, so new coaches may have to rely on their intuition, training, and continuing education to prevent them from becoming wimps. If you lack the capability, you will come across as a wimpy coach! No one is going to take advice from a wimp!

Chutzopah

Don’t read this the wrong way – this isn’t quite arrogance. Yes, it can sometimes be misread as arrogance, but it is closer to fearlessness. A coach who dares to tread where no one else has gone, will be a coach that gets results (and more clients than he or she can handle!). Chutzpah is one part conceit, one part arrogance, one part confidence, and one part spunk. With chutzpah, the wimpy coach becomes a fearless coach and a fearless coach will move mountains and reach the stars.

Don’t be a flabby coach or a 90-pound weakling coach, be a stud coach. Leadership coaches who master the three Cs, will be in high demand. So, let the wimpy kid have his diary, you start to use the three Cs to become the best damn leadership coach you can be. Coaching is no place for wimps!

Fred Philips
Business Coach
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