Coaching Your Heroes and Idols: A Coaching Tactic That Does Not Work
At some point, every coach has had the thought of having a dream client. That dream client might be a celebrity or a top mind in the industry.
At some point every coach has had the thought, wouldn’t it be great if I could get Mr. x as my client. Who Ms. X is, is different for each person. For some people it’s a celebrity, for others it’s a top mind in their industry.
What’s behind it:
The impetus behind this desire is twofold
A) You think that if you coach this person it will mean something about you or your coaching. You think if you coach this person you’ll be recognized and be able to use that reference as a way to attract others into your practice.
B) You think that working with this person will change who you are as a coach. You’ll be effortlessly inspired, motivated to do things differently, and walk on air.
The problem:
Most people in positions of power are very sensitive to these kinds of requests. They can feel people who want to get something from them and it usually turns them off. It’s why the most common response to the outreaches is to politely decline.
In addition, even if you do sign these clients it doesn’t really change who you are or how you show up as a coach. It might inspire a bit, but even if you do coach your idol it won’t matter as much as the commitment you make to your own practice, working with your own coach, and your own deep spiritual work.
What a master coach does instead:
A master coach spends time around people that challenge his thinking, he works to connect with people that are interesting and talented. YES she tries to get into a room with people who do interesting work, are up to big things, and are motivated to change, but they don’t obsess over any one person. They understand that being in a space and connecting deeply with people matters more than one trophy client on their wall.
