Elaboration of the action plan

Once the objectives have been defined in a concrete, specific and realistic manner, it is time to set a time frame for them and draw up an action plan.

The action plan must refer to the future, therefore, it is important to define the time frame and indicate concrete tasks that will make it a reality and are also temporary.

An action plan should be drawn up for each final goal, and if the development goals are very broad, then specific actions should be proposed for each of them.

The first thing to do is to draw up a roadmap showing where you are and where you want to get to, as well as what you need to do to get there.

Some questions to ask at this stage are

• What are you going to do? It signals to the client that it is decision time, questions such as "What could you do?" or "Which of these options would you prefer?" do not imply a firm decision. Later, the client may be asked: "On the basis of which alternatives are you going to act?" Usually the actions combine several alternatives or part of them.
• When are you going to do it? To carry out any project, a specific time goal must be established. If the plan calls for a single action, a start and end date and time is often needed. Example: "At eleven o'clock in the morning on the 6th day". If the task is repetitive, then intervals should be established. Example: "We will meet at 10 o'clock on the first Friday of each month".
• Does this action really lead you to your goal? When establishing the action or actions and the deadline to accomplish them, before moving forward, we must check if that action actually leads us to achieve the performance goal we are pursuing and also the final goal. In case that action indicates that it is not close to achieving the proposed goal, it is important to change it before fully verifying it, as it will be an unproductive act.
• What obstacles might we encounter along the way? This allows us to foresee possible difficulties that may prevent us from completing the action, a fact that should not cause the coachee to back down or become discouraged, since they mean that they are possible, not that they are very likely. As difficulties arise, coaching is used to intervene.
• Who needs to be informed? A plan needs to be developed to keep everyone involved informed. In companies it is very common for plans to change, and some of those involved find out later and indirectly.
• What support do you need? Support can be received in different ways, by bringing in new staff, requesting external resources or simply discussing the plan with a colleague and asking them to remind you of the purpose. Sometimes sharing the action plan has the effect of getting them to undertake it.
• How and when will you get that support? If we expect support, we must take steps to get it. These steps should be made explicit and should be clear and determined.
• When will we know that the proposed objective has been achieved? Establishing with the coachee some indicators of success that allow us to know if the objective has been met.
• What other considerations can you make? The purpose is to ensure that nothing is left in the air and that the coachee cannot complain about having omitted something important.

Steps to make an action plan

Establish the client's objective and its corresponding value. Ask the client to establish a timeline:

• Where is your present?

• Where is your future?

• When do you want to reach your goal?

• How far in the future do you think it will be?

Place a piece of paper on the timeline with the goal written on it. It will represent the point in time when the client reaches the end goal. Ask your client to stand on this piece of paper in the "future" and help him/her feel really associated with that future moment:

• You're there, you've really made it!

Go and feel your accomplishment. What does it look like? You are enjoying all those things that your goal brings you. You have everything you had planned for.

When the client is really associated with the moment he reaches his goals, watch his reactions, make sure he enjoys that feeling of accomplishment, then you can use the following tool:

• When your client is ready, ask him to take a step back from the desired future.

• When he has taken this step back in that action immediately before his goal, associate him with that moment: "What are you doing there? See and feel exactly what this step is like. Make it real."

• Check that the client is fully partnered and paying attention to the language he is using. For example, he should speak in the first person singular present ("I am writing a letter," not "I will write a letter" or "I have been writing a letter").

• When you are sure the client is associated ask, "What did you do immediately before that moment to make it possible?" The client will say. Make a note.

• Ask the client to take a step back.

• Repeat the same process until the client reaches the present moment.

• Make sure there are at least five action steps (to ensure they are accurate), each described with a present tense, first-person verb: "I do such-and-such."

In this way the client develops an accurate action plan from the present to the future, but telling it backwards.

When the client returns to the present moment, ask him what he thinks about the plan. Then ask him to stand next to his timeline. What does he think of the plan from this detached position? This provides the client with two forms of evaluation. One is to be in the present moment, looking forward at the plan. The other is a more detached view, being somewhat on the side of time and being able to evaluate the steps in a more critical way. Both perspectives are necessar