What's a Discovery Call?

How do you find the right coach for you?

 

With your coach, you’ll work together to identify what's important to you and how you show up in the world to better support your values - you'll work to unpick behaviour patterns, to understand what drives them, helping gain a deeper understanding of yourself. So, it’s important that you trust the coach and feel safe and listened to.  

 

As with life, coaching is not a linear process, so it may not reap benefits instantly (although it might).  That said, you want to feel as if you’re making progress (or could do) with your coach, whatever progress might mean to you.

How do I choose a coach?

With coaching a lot of the research suggests that the relationship between the coach and client is the most important factor for positive outcomes. So, you really need to consider carefully who you’d like to work with. This means your free discovery call is really important.

During the call the coach will want to hear a bit about why you’ve come to them and explain to you a little more around the process they follow to coach you.
If it’s your first time choosing a coach, it’s always worth talking to a few people before you make your decision - I'd suggest at least three. And you should be wary of committing to a set number of sessions if there isn’t a get-out clause. 

Coaching is a very personal thing, and if it’s not working for you, you need to be able to stop doing it. If you have, or suspect you have ADHD you may be impulsive and make decisions without much thought (especially when purchasing goods and services – this includes coaching). If you realise after your first few sessions that the coach’s approach isn’t what you’re looking for, then you’ll be glad you made sure before you committed, that you won’t be charged for sessions if you choose to work with someone else. 

Having said that, change is unlikely to be instant, so, unless your reservations are very strong it may be worth giving it a second chance before you decide to move on.

 

What happens if I'm late or miss an appointment?

For those with ADHD, we can experience challenges with being late, forgetting appointments and not remembering to do homework or follow up on work you’ve done together in-session, it’s important to understand the coach’s cancellation policy and how that will work if you simply forget to turn up.

The below isn’t exhaustive, but you might want to ask the following questions (if they haven’t been answered by the end of the call): 

 

• What approach do you take?  There are lots of different approaches to coaching, so ask what theirs is, and if their response doesn't clarify, ask for more details.

• What happens if I forget to attend a session?

• What is your cancellation policy?

• What training and qualifications do you have?

• Do you have regular supervision?

 

It's also worth asking some questions of yourself during / after your discovery call (and be really honest with yourself). 

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• Do you feel listened to?

• How does the coach's energy suit you? 

• Do you think you could feel safe enough with this person to open up to them?

• Did the coach allow you time to speak as well as provide you with information about their approach? 

• Was the conversation more about you and the process you’ll follow or did they focus a lot on themselves? (don’t forget, coaching is about you)

• Did the coach help contain the call, so that it had structure but there was still space for you to speak?

• Did you feel as if you needed to put on a performance for them, or did you feel safe to unmask and be yourself?

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If you don’t feel that they’ve provided or will be able to provide you with a safe and comfortable space for you to explore, then keep looking.

 

The right coach is worth their weight in gold.
 

If you’d like to explore working with me, book a discovery call below.