July 06, 2022

295: Coaching Past Ambivalence with Meg Rentschler

43 minutes

How can you engage with a coaching client who is caught in a place of ambivalence about making changes? In addition to the coaching space, this topic is relevant in the workplace both in the employer/employee relationship and in coworker relationships. We are taking a deep dive in this solo episode about how we partner with our clients to help them move past ambivalence. We’ll talk about how our human nature sets us up for a battle with ambivalence, why this is important in the coaching arena, and what we can do as a coach in this space. Join us for a closer look!

Show Highlights:

How ambivalence is manifested through conflicting reactions, beliefs, and feelings
Why Motivational Interviewing (from the work of William Miller and Steven Rollnick) is the most helpful framework I’ve found for engaging with ambivalence
How Motivational Interviewing initially was developed to help those with addictive disorders–but has great coaching applications!
How you can learn much more about Motivational Interviewing through various resources that are readily available
Why the coaching process, at its essence, is all about CHANGE!
Why most people respond to change with ambivalence and resistance because our equilibrium is impacted
Why it’s important to notice how a client’s habits are engaging or resisting change
How a coach should listen for “change talk” from the client but not push for change
Four categories of change talk (and what to listen for in the client’s language):
Recognizing the disadvantages of the status quo
Recognizing the advantages of change
Expressing optimism about change
Expressing intention to change
How to use OARS: open-ended questions, affirmation, reflection, and summarization
The value of using open-ended questions with the client to elicit and evoke awareness
Suggestions for evoking methods to get the client to see what you want them to see and imagine future possibilities
Examples of statements of affirmation to use with clients to help them feel heard
How to use reflective listening to help the client clarify what they mean to say
How to use summarization to highlight the reasons for change and emphasize the client’s commitment to change
Why we need to understand that ambivalence is part of human nature

Resources:

If you are interested in doing mentoring with Meg, visit www.starcoachshow.com/mentor

Mentioned in this episode:

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By Meg Rentschler

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