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ATD Blog

Coach’s Corner: Victor’s Journal

Wednesday, July 17, 2013
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Years ago, when I first began pursuing a coaching career, I had a goal to provide outstanding coaching each time I had a call with a client. I knew that to achieve this goal, I would have to get into the minds and hearts of clients, and truly understand who they were. I started asking my clients to journal online daily, and was quickly blown away by the incredible amount of data I was receiving. Not only could I constantly stay connected with my clients and thus speed up the coaching process, but I also could access their thoughts, beliefs, and perspectives.

Today I ask every client I coach to journal. Each day, I respond to their journal with questions and prompts, to help the coaching process to progress.

I’d love for you to experience this journaling-coaching experience for yourself. Here’s an exercise that you can try. Below is an excerpt from a client’s journal. Read the entry and decide where you will take the conversation. You can use the questions below to guide you. I would love to hear about your approach—please respond in the comments!

“I really don't consider myself a very exciting person. I'm happy with who I am. It just seems like people expect something else. I suppose it's easier if people have a handle to immediately identify you by. Everyone I know seems to have something that identifies them, something that makes them stand out. But I'm not sure what my interesting thing is.”

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Some questions to get you started:

What is the struggle that this client is experiencing?

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Do you believe this client when he says that he is happy with who he is?

How does this client see himself?

About the Author

President and Founder, Frame of Mind Coaching Kim Ades is president and founder of Frame of Mind Coaching and JournalEngine Software. Author, speaker, entrepreneur, coach, and mother of five, she is one of North America's foremost experts on performance through thought mastery and mental focus. By using her unique process of integrating online journaling into her coaching, Kim works with clients who are intelligent, driven, and ambitious, and helps them examine and shift their thinking in order to yield extraordinary results. Kim has been a featured speaker for dozens of organizations, including the Entrepreneurs' Organization, the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, RISMedia, the International Coach Federation, the Association for Talent Development, the Society for Human Resource Management, the National Association of Realtors, the World Business and Executive Coach Summit, the National Speakers Association, and the International Association of Coaches. She also trains hundreds of coaches and leaders annually in the art of incorporating journals into their coaching process, with a focus on the study of how thoughts and beliefs affect results. For an inside look at Kim’s unique coaching approach, go to www.frameofmindcoaching.com.