Coaching practices for Should I See a Therapist or Get a Coach or Both

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Should I See a Therapist or Get a Coach or Both, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• I think I’m asking questions, but they’re really suggestions in disguise
• Someone comes to me with "it’s a disaster, he doesn’t respect me," and I just take their version at face value and start fixing
• When I replay my coaching conversations I’m talking way more than the other person
• When someone I’m coaching brings me a topic, we just end up circling it and venting
• The moment the person I’m coaching names a couple of ideas, I jump in with "have you considered" and basically hand them my answer

Practices that may help

1. Powerful open questions at every stage
   Ask questions that invite thinking, not ones that suggest answers — and ask more than you tell.
   The GROW Coaching Model, Made Practical
2. Explore Reality — establish an honest assessment of the current situation
   Help the person see their current situation clearly and specifically, without judgment or premature solutions.
   The GROW Model: Coaching Conversations That Actually Move People
3. Maintain a high question-to-statement ratio throughout GROW
   Ask questions far more often than you offer statements — the coachee’s thinking is the product.
   The GROW Model: Coaching Conversations That Actually Move People
4. Clarify the Goal with precision
   Establish exactly what the person wants to achieve — not the presenting topic, but the specific, owned outcome.
   The GROW Coaching Model, Made Practical
5. Generate Options before evaluating any
   Brainstorm all possible paths before judging — then the coachee, not the coach, narrows them.
   The GROW Coaching Model, Made Practical
6. Coach the person, not just the problem
   The most important thing a manager can work on is the person’s capacity to handle future problems, not just today’s.
   The Leader as Coach: A New Management Paradigm
7. Set the Goal — establish what the conversation is for
   Begin every coaching conversation by clarifying what the person wants to achieve in this session.
   The GROW Model: Coaching Conversations That Actually Move People
8. Ask "How can I help?" instead of assuming
   Telling people how you’ll help before finding out what kind of help they want is one of the most common management errors.
   The Coaching Habit: Seven Questions to Be More Coach-Like
9. Raise awareness and build responsibility simultaneously
   Help the person see their situation more clearly while also connecting them to their ownership of it.
   The GROW Model: Coaching Conversations That Actually Move People
10. Obstacle anticipation before close
    Before ending, ask "what could get in the way?" and pre-plan the response.
    The GROW Coaching Model, Made Practical

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