After an initial consultation call to see if we agree that we would like to
work together, clients talk with me on the telephone once a week, four
weeks per month.

A key component to the success of a coaching relationship is that both the client and the coach feel comfortable working together and are able to trust each other. My clients quickly discover that they can count on me to be honest with them and hold whatever they say to me in confidence.

Clients generally find that working with a coach becomes a sort of dance in which the coach and client move together around the room and cover various parts of the dance floor, often returning to some while never getting to others. In order to maintain some focus during this "dance," I use the steps of of the Three-Step Coaching Model developed at Coach University by Thomas J. Leonard with Shirley Anderson.

First, we discover exactly "who" the client is as opposed to "what" the client does. This involves investigating values, needs, standards, beliefs, boundaries, integrity, talents, qualities, strengths, weaknesses, views, spirit, and other related topics.

Second, we clarify what the client wants. Clients usually have some ideas about what they want from life, but often those are not clear ideas based on who the client is. It is during this step that we set goals which are specific and personal.

Third, we empower the client to reach the goals. This involves experimenting, making shifts, selecting strategies, putting support
structures in place, giving encouragement, motivating, making distinctions, and evolving.

As the coaching partnership continues, this three-step model becomes circular. Discovery about who the client is leads to setting better goals which leads to achieving them more efficiently which creates changes which help the client expand the "who" part which leads to more goals , etc.