Where is the perfect location to Coach?
- Coach Chez
- Jul 26, 2017
- 3 min read
Location location location .... Where is the perfect coaching location?
This is a question that is really close to my heart, and I can openly say that it is for me is that is it one of the most important parts of my coaching experience!
Starting from one extreme to the other; I appreciate that sitting outside a cafe whilst its raining on a cold frosty day might not be the ideal location to create the environment for an open comfortable dialogue, or is it?
I am a great believer in meeting people where they are, and I mean this psychologically and physically in a coaching sense. For example this may mean that the coachee may want to be outside the cafe. and this is OK! I certainly would wrap up warm though!
As a coach how can I ensure I suggest the right location for the coachee? I suppose the answer is; I can't! But your coachee can.
It has to be right for them physically and psychologically, in other words somewhere where they feel safe.
So as a coach how can I suggest the right location if the coachee is struggling for ideas?
Now I have a number of locations that I like to offer that I know are safe but are also reflective, metaphorical and sense provoking, and I choose these very selectively. I appreciate that not all of my coachees like to walk for one! But being in a location that can test their perception and senses is an important factor for me in choosing the best location.
Here are a few examples of the locations I love to coach.
The Coaching Cabin: Northampton NN4
My go to location is my coaching cabin. It is actually a wooden cabin with 2 windows and a double door and yes it freezing in winter! But it is safe. I can close the doors, and I close the curtains and I can fire up the oil radiator to make it as cosy as any warm comfortable space within a home from home. It also has lots of stuff in it. This isn't because its a dumping ground from the house I promise, but it is my stuff. Stuff that means something to me, that makes me take another perspective on life. It also is my office, which is important to me and it is safe and it is inviting and where I am writing this blog from right now!
So it is real and also a little quirky, who wouldn't want to be here! It also has its very own coaching chair!
Castle Ashby Gardens: Castle Ashby Northamptonshire
A hidden metaphorical gem in the heart of Northamptonshire. The gardens and landscapes have endless paths that lead you on a journey through the ages of architecture, flowers and trees.
You feel that you are literally walking through the historical footsteps of people visions of the past.
If you ever have the pleasure of going, I recommend the Arboury, the terracotta bridge and the Orangery. Not forgetting popping in the menagerie to compare the meerkats!
So I suppose it doesn't really matter where you coach or where your coachee wants to be coached as long as it is safe for you and the coachee. Having your own suggestions is always a good starting point as it will be places that you feel you are at your best, and that to me is the greatest place you can be.
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