When you become a relationship coach, you willingly and knowingly step into the middle of situations that most people avoid like the plague. Imagine how much trust you will have right from the start, if you can describe your client’s problems and conflicts before you even hear them from your client. Whether you are working with a husband and wife, with a parent and child, or with a family group, when you gain their confidence immediately, you will be more effective at improving communication between them and helping them build new bridges. Assessments allow you to do this. The DISC assessment is one of two that are particularly helpful in making you seem clairvoyant.

Assessments are the tool of choice when you become a relationship coach

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Assessments are a shortcut when you begin coaching your clients on their relationship. With your client’s DISC assessments in hand, you immediately have an insight into each person’s natural behavioral inclinations and communication styles. That let’s you predict some of the problems your clients are most likely to have. Perhaps both partners are high D (the dominance factor). That probably made for great passion and sparks when they first got together, but maybe now they butt heads all the time. Perhaps the woman is a high C (the compliance characteristic) who is cautious with money and needs to evaluate all the options before making a choice, while the man is a high I (the influencing characteristic) who makes quick decisions without thinking them through. When you become a relationship coach, using the DISC profiles as a tool means you know a lot of what you are going to hear from your clients before you hear it!

Your job as a relationship coach

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Your job may not be what you think when you become a relationship coach. Your job is not to tell people what to do. It is to shine a light on the similarities and differences in what they want from the relationship and in what they are getting. You clarify how each of them would like to relate to each other, and how they actually do. The DISC gives you an objective explanation about how they talk to each other, how they work together (or not), and how they differ in their approach to situations that come up. You tell them what you see, ask them how they want to proceed, and support them in moving forward however they choose.

Obviously, the DISC assessment is not the only thing you look at when you become a relationship coach. The PIAV assessment also will boost your apparent psychic powers. Then you’ll need to talk extensively with your clients to understand other factors which affect their relationship. Still, seeming like a mind reader is probably a good way to start.

Give this strategy a try and see for yourself that it works. If you liked this coaching tip, leave a comment or use the handy bookmark buttons below to share it with others on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, etc. Thanks!

Dorine G. Kramer
JTS Advisors Certified Strategy and Accountability Coach