The third question the coaches were asked, having to do with the coaching process, was if they believed intuition to be an important element to coaching. All of them agreed that it is a fundamental element. One of them said that there have been so many times where, had he not listened to his intuition and asked the deep questions, his clients would have lost opportunities to have great breakthroughs. Another one called intuition the pillar of authentic and successful coaching.
Case Studies
When asked to name an instance where using their intuition made a difference in their coaching, all the coaches named powerful examples. These are examples of how coaches access their intuition and trust their inner knowing.
I had a client who always felt small and my intuition guided me to remind him of his greatness in life so far. This bit of intuition moved him forward to see his accomplishments and be grateful. In his gratitude he found space to move into a new direction with his goals.
I was working with one of my clients who was struggling with very destructive, negative self-talk. Coaching him from significance into lightness was a wonderful process, but at the end of the session I realized that I actually was not doing the talking and questioning. It felt as if I “woke up” at the end of the session and that my intuition had led the way beautifully and very effectively.
Conclusion
Accessing the intuition, trusting one’s inner knowing and “going with the gut” are very important elements to coaching. They are in fact among the International Coach Federation Core Competencies. Therefore it is extremely important for coaches to be able to access their intuition to be competent as coaches.
Ten coaches answered questions about intuition and how they access their intuition in order to strengthen the coaching process. Many of the coaches claimed that by defining their intuition and placing it visually in the body, it became easier to gain access to. Awareness and active listening were identified as key elements when it comes to being connected to the intuition in coaching.
When turning the mirror 180 degrees, to the client, it is also important for the client to be connected to his intuition. The role of the coach is to be aware of and identify the messages the client’s intuition is sending him.