Techniques to Improve Coachee Receptivity to Coach

Transcription Techniques to Improve Coachee Receptivity to Coaching

Addressing Lack of Receptivity

Even when a coachee initially seems ready for coaching, moments or issues may arise that generate resistance or lack of receptivity.

The coachee's ability to receive and process feedback, suggestions or new perspectives is crucial to moving the process forward.

When this receptivity decreases, the coach should not simply ignore it or force progress, but can employ a number of specific techniques to try to improve it.

These strategies seek to create an environment more conducive to openness and to facilitate the client's more constructive engagement.

Adapting the Communication Style

A first line of action is to adapt communication to the client's preferences. This involves:

Communicating in a style (more direct, softer, more formal, etc.) that is appealing and comfortable to that particular coachee.
Using the means of communication (face-to-face, video call, email for follow-up) that best suits the client's preferences and availability.
Employ the learning techniques and methods that best match the client's behavioral styles and tendencies (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.).
By adjusting the approach to the coachee's characteristics, friction is reduced and message reception is facilitated.

Framing Receptivity as a Catalyst for Success

It is helpful to explicitly talk about coachability as a catalyst for personal and professional success.

When a coachee understands that being receptive (being open to feedback, to new ideas, to self-exploration) is important to achieving his or her own goals, he or she will tend to be more aware of the elements that foster that capacity (such as active listening, suspension of judgment, etc.) and, consequently, will be more open to the coaching process itself. It is a matter of showing him the direct benefit that openness has for him.

Time and Environment Management

Sometimes, lack of receptivity is not due to the content, but to the context. It is important to consider:

Asking the coachee if he/she would prefer to schedule the session for another time. If the coachee is stressed, tired or preoccupied with other matters, his or her ability to receive coaching will be impaired. A simple schedule change can make a big difference.
Schedule coaching conversations at times and in environments that are conducive to your ability to receive coaching. Seeking quiet times and private, safe, uninterrupted environments is critical.

Open Dialogue about Triggers.

Rather than avoiding the topic, it can be very productive to talk openly about the elements that may be triggering the inability to receive coaching at any given time.

Asking directly what is hindering openness ("I'm noticing some resistance today, is there something that is preventing you from connecting with this?") can bring underlying concerns or misunderstandings to light.

To facilitate this conversation, the coach must be open himself or herself to listening and understanding the elements that trigger this lack of receptivity in the client.