How Do Your Strengths Influence What You Value about Coaching?

Coaching since 1997, I have noticed that we all hire coaches to help us create more fulfilling lives. The wonderful and fascinating thing about consciously creating our lives: there are as many ways to do it as there are people on the planet.

Perhaps that’s why we have so many types of coaching – from business to intimacy, from spiritual to success, from health to grief. Over the years, I myself have worked with 14 different coaches. Each for different reasons.

And I have noticed patterns about why people hire coaches based on their strengths.

Strategic Thinkers hire me as a thinking partner and for accountability.

Executing folks either hire me to help them get even more stuff done or to improve their relationships. People who have the Executing strength of Responsibility in their top 5 usually hire me to learn how to (finally) be responsible to themselves first or to deepen their spiritual practice.

Relationship Builders hire me to create a connection and learn more about themselves through our relationship. They love it when I help them see their blind spots.

Influencers hire me to leverage their reach with people. They are often interested in how to move even more people or how to influence them more deeply.

train tracks
What makes your life fulfilling and meaningful?

So, what about you? Do you know your top 5 strengths? What have you noticed has brought you the greatest value from coaching?

(If you don’t know your StrengthsFinder strengths, I highly recommend that you invest $19.99 and 30 – 40 minutes to learn what makes you one-of-a-kind! That’s me at my Influencing best.)

I would love your thoughts and responses. Post comments and insights below . . .

4 thoughts on “How Do Your Strengths Influence What You Value about Coaching?”

  1. Stephanie,

    I have volumes I could say about teaching what we most need to learn and coaches having it all together.

    The short version:

    – I do not have it all together. What I do have together: my consistent willingness to “do my work.” I often learn my blind spots working with my own coach. I sometimes learn my blind spots working with my clients. Ah, teaching what we most need to learn.

    – I believe the greatest value I bring to my clients has nothing to do with how together I am, and has everything to do with how well I hold space for them to discover and bring into existence more and more of their brilliance, their unique expression and most meaningful contribution.

    I have done that beautifully on days that I recognized and owned my brilliance and I have done it on days that were personally challenging for me. And on a few days that were crazy challenging for me. I prefer keeping those to a minimum. 🙂

    About you: thank you for your reflection on what you noticed you received from working with me – finding the courage to make the impact you’re meant to make on the world while deepening your connection with yourself and others! It’s so heart-warming to hear your beautiful words – you Communicator you!

    Reply
  2. I love this reflection on why people hire you. It is certainly true for why I hired you – I’m primarily an Influencer and Relationship Building and by working with you I found the courage to make the impact I’m meant to make on the world while deepening my connection with myself and others!

    I’ve also found that we often have clients come to us to teach us what we need to learn about ourselves. It is a myth that coaches have it all together and have all of the answers; so often we learn together. Have you noticed that this is true for you?

    Reply
  3. Larry, thanks for taking the time to comment. And, thank you for sharing your strengths. I never get tired of learning people’s unique combination of strengths. Looking at yours, I can only imagine what fantastic new ideas you bring to fruition . . . or a least get the ball rolling on them!

    Reply
  4. Ann,
    I agree with you on this. I have used Strengths Finder both for myself (Strategic/Activator/Learner/Relator/Idiation) and with clients over many years. It is a great tool, and like so many others, provides some interesting insight.
    Larry Wiliamson, Anchored Values

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Ann Strong Cancel reply