What is the First Rule of Coaching?

​Day 437 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

---

THE FIRST RULE OF COACHING

​Coaching is not a dominant relationship.
The Coach is not in charge.
The Coach is meant to facilitate, encourage
and enable progress to be made.
This means that the Coach is
also part of the coaching process.
 
 In other words, the person being coached,
should also be coaching the Coach.
For example, this can be as simple as
‘What is your key priority this week?’ or
‘What is the one thing you need
to achieve by our next session?’
 
In other words, being accountable
 to your Client makes you real.
 It makes the relationship
more equitable.
It makes the struggle a ‘two-way’
rather than ‘one-way’ process.
It ensures that you are embedded in,
and not detached from the process.
 
So real coaching, is two-way not one.
The coach has to invest in the process.
It has to be a journey for them.
The learning, benefits and outcomes then
are not only for your Client,  but also,
for  you as Coach, and for the journey
that you undertake together

---

​PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. How can you apply the first rule of Coaching at work, with your family,  and  with   your friends and colleagues? 
2. How might we  journey better together?

---