The joy of remote coaching

I have been asked a few times about my thoughts on coaching remotely so thought I’d try and articulate them…

When Covid-19 mayhem properly kicked off in March 2020 and the world as we knew it was turned upside down, like a lot of other people I didn’t think it would have the impact that it did.  I had my place secured on a Coaching course and my accommodation with friends was arranged – I’d been looking forward to doing the training for ages and fully anticipated being able to attend the course the following month.  I’d chosen the organisation to train with for many reasons, one main one being the face-to-face contact and in person coaching practice that it offered.

Fast forward a few months and I have completed my training, and yet I have never met any of my classmates or tutors in person.  I have no idea how tall they are, what shoes they wear or even whether they spent their training sessions wearing pyjamas.

And does it matter?

If you’d asked me back in March I would have said hell yes, of course it matters.  Now however, my opinion has completed shifted.

Since finishing my training I have had many clients – none of whom I have ever physically met during our coaching sessions.  I have my office at home, and their sessions have been conducted in various places; one whilst they sat in their attic at home in France surrounded by Lego, one from my local town sitting at their desk at home, clients in NZ in their bedrooms and living rooms and from the UK, in home offices, lounges - most recently in front of their Christmas tree, and one whilst they went for a walk.

And it really does work. 

The ability to coach remotely means that my clients can choose to have coaching wherever they feel most comfortable and secure.  They can use their phone, laptop or tablet.  They don’t have to contend with traffic to get to a pre-arranged meeting venue, they don’t need to be concerned about bumping into people (and for some people that is a concern), and they aren’t distracted by their surroundings.  They can choose a time and place that works for them (and wear their pj’s if that’s what they want!).

Importantly too, because they choose the scene, they feel safe.  As one client told me, just today, she feels relaxed and because there is a screen between us she feels that allows her to be ever so slightly more open than she would be if I were there in person. 

So, in answer to the question does remote coaching work?  From me it is a resounding yes, it does.

Photo by Sven Brandsma on Unsplash