Session 4

Session Four Zoom Link

Pre-Session Prep:

1. Have our space prepared to spend the full session in practice
2. Have physical or digital copies of the following exercises to aid in coaching your practice client
   • Wheel of Life
   • Money Wheel
   • Heart of Your Financial Goal Worksheet
3. Have your APFC Toolkit available for quick reference

Post-Session Growth Work:

1. Complete FOUR practice coaching sessions
2. Complete FOUR journal entries related to those sessions

Instructions:

Refining your coaching skills takes practice. Now that you have experienced coaching (as both the coach and the client) we will turn our attention to using what we have learned in a REAL coaching engagement.

There are a few things you can do to facilitate a successful engagement:

Identify your practice client as soon as possible. If you follow this guidance, you will likely find someone who is a good fit and the engagement will benefit you both. Keep in mind that the coaching engagement is a partnership and both parties agree to work together to achieve a specific outcome. This OUTCOME is set by the CLIENT, but the COACH holds the PROCESS.

It is okay to let your practice client know how much your service would normally cost. This shows them the value and opportunity you are providing for both of you. 

Here are some criteria to help you locate the right practice client:

Do:

• Engage a client who might not otherwise be able to afford your services (nonprofit agency staff are often a GREAT choice).
• Engage a client who knows you (family friend, extended family, friend of a friend).
• Identify (at least) two people in case the first choice is not willing.

Don’t: 

• Ask your immediate family or a coworker (coaching requires that you are an objective observer).
• Ask someone who works closely with or for you.
• Ask someone who must be coerced or convinced. Coaching is a mutual commitment.

Once you have identified your client, discuss the engagement with them and ask them to commit to 4 sessions with you (in person or virtually) and agree to recording the sessions. Explain that the recording is for the purpose of assessing your skills and will not be used for any other purpose. They can remain anonymous and even if the session is on camera, you will be sharing ONLY the audio with your mentor coach and reviewer.

Explain just enough to let them know you will be talking to them about their financial goals and supporting them in developing a roadmap and plan to achieve their goal. Avoid falling into the trap of OVER explaining what coaching is, remember the value you found in seeing the demo as opposed to listening to me talk about coaching.

In the event that your practicum coaching client is unable to finish all four sessions with you, you will need to find a new volunteer to begin the coaching engagement with. You will not need to resubmit journal entries for the steps of the coaching engagement that you have already logged with your previous client but you will need to start from the beginning with your new client in order to reach the remaining steps of the engagement and to journal about these steps. Do not rush this process, this is where you will really grow and learn to connect with your clients.

After EACH session, complete this journal to record your observations on how the session went.

Journal Prompts:

• Which steps of the Coaching Engagement did you focus on during this session?
• Thinking about your session as a whole, which of the Four Core skills did you use?
• What powerful questions did you ask?
• Describe your self-awareness during this session.
• What did you do really well during your session?
• What would you do differently?
• Do you have any other comments about this coaching session?