Depending on your temperament and style, you might want to engage a coach that strictly offers one of the following kinds of relational stances:
Manager
Some coaches take a very directive stance, supplying you with action plans. Your job is to do the work.
Consultant
Other coaches act as consultants, freely offering their expertise to you while also expecting you to help design the work you do together, so any actions you take will be a good fit for your life and style.
Empowerer
Still other coaches act as empowerers. They depend on you to find your own way to expertise, or they assume you have it within you already, which of course you do in some shape or form. This kind of approach can take longer for you to make progress, as you are called upon to develop everything from the inside out. But it can also be exciting, as you find you contain within you the seeds for your own success.
What You Can Expect When You Work With Me
On a scale of Manager to Empowerer, Consultant is the relational stance that is closest to my own, particularly due to my focus on a thematic or vocational “way in.”
I do, however, move between relational stances as feels necessary at any given juncture in the process. This goes to my belief that people are not static beings with constant needs for only one type of relational approach. It requires me to remember to bring strong listening skills, as well as a sense of both confidence and humility. It asks you to bring trust and frankness about your needs.
Regardless of my central relational stance, you will find that people who work with me feel greatly empowered and often go on to do many surprising and wonderful things, as the work is something that sticks with them beyond the time we spend together.