Reasons  vs  Results  and  

R.E.S.U.L.T.S  Coaching  Model  
By  Wayne  Farrell  
 

Contents  
Reasons  ..................................................................................................................................................  2  
Results  ....................................................................................................................................................  4  
R.E.S.U.L.T.S  Coaching  model  ................................................................................................................  5  
Reason  for  being  there  ......................................................................................................................  6  
Establish  .............................................................................................................................................  7  
Self-­‐Awareness  ..................................................................................................................................  9  
Understanding  .................................................................................................................................  10  
Learning  ...........................................................................................................................................  11  
Time  to  reflect  .................................................................................................................................  12  
Success  .............................................................................................................................................  13  
Reflections  ...........................................................................................................................................  14  
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1  
 
  

Reasons  
 
Twenty  years  from  now  you  will  be  more  disappointed  by  the  things  you  didn't  
do  than  by  the  ones  you  did  do.  So  throw  off  the  bowlines.  Sail  away  from  the  
safe  harbor.  Catch  the  trade  winds  in  your  sails.  Explore.  Dream.  -­‐  Mark  Twain  
 
Where  are  you  in  the  following  reasons  vs  results  equation?    
 
No  matter  where  we  are  in  our  lives  or  careers,  we  either  have  the  results  we  
want,  or  we  have  reasons  as  to  why  we  have  not  yet  achieved  what  we  want.  
The  fact  is  that  most  people  will  give  you  reasons  for  not  yet  having  achieved  
what  they  want.  Whether  it  is  a  bad  economy,  being  laid  off,  illness  or  
whatever  is  going  on  in  their  life.  There  are  reasons  that  they  are  not  satisfied  
in  that  area  of  their  being  and  reasons  for  things  not  being  the  way  they  want  
them  to  be.  
 
Now  imagine  if  you  knew  the  day  you  were  going  to  move  on  from  this  life.  
Imagine  lying  down  5  minutes  before  it  was  time  to  pass  on  and  you  think  to  
yourself,  “I  would  have,”  “I  could  have”  or  “I  should  have.”  How  many  people  
do  you  know  have  uttered  those  words  or  something  along  those  lines?    “I  
could  have  been  a  contender,  but  that  thing  happened  to  me  and  it  ruined  
everything.”  These  are  reasons  and  for  not  having  had  it  all.  Now  very  
importantly,  I  want  to  be  very  clear  at  this  point  and  say  that  this  does  not  
mean  the  person  is  to  blame  or  at  fault.  Please  bear  this  in  mind  as  you  read  
the  rest  of  this  article.  The  idea  of  finding  the  reasons  is  not  to  say  the  client  is  
at  fault  or  to  blame.  It  is  not  to  beat  the  client  up  with.    
 
Now  as  we  imagine  that  moment  before  passing  on  and  think  about  the  things  
we  had  not  achieved  and  the  reasons  for  not  doing  so,  I  am  sure  you  can  agree  
that  would  not  be  very  satisfying.  It  would  not  be  liberating  to  think  and  
certainly  not  empowering.  In  fact,  you  could  almost  imagine  feeling  cheated.        
   
I  appreciate  that  there  is  no  evidence  that  you  are  always  totally  responsible  
for  what  happens  to  you  all  of  the  time.  I  do  however  suggest  that  in  many  
cases,  having  a  very  good  plan  and  implementing  the  plan  by  taking  the  right  
actions,  that  results  can  be  achieved.    
 
Furthermore,  any  feedback  and  learnings  we  get  from  not  achieving  the  
intended  goal,  serves  to  empower  us  and  help  us  to  hone  the  action  plan  into  
one  that  may  lead  us  to  success.  Thomas  Edison  famously  replied  that  he  did  

2  
 
  

not  fail  10,000  times,  but  rather  found  10,000  ways  not  to  do  it,  when  he  was  
asked  about  all  the  previous  failures  in  creating  the  light  bulb.    
   
In  many  cases  people  will  actually  blame  everything  and  everybody  around  
them  as  to  why  they  have  not  succeeded.  Many  people  are  professional  
victims  and  love  to  blame  the  victim  or  blame  game.  
 
Having  these  reasons  for  not  having  achieved  the  goal  is  not  all  bad  though.  It  
is  merely  a  matter  of  perception.  The  opposite  of  having  all  the  reasons  as  to  
why  the  client  has  not  achieved  their  goal  can  also  be  very  encouraging  and  
beneficial.  Once  we  understand  what  the  reasons  are,  we  can  change  our  focus  
and  create  a  proper  action  plan  to  achieve  the  results  we  desire.  This  can  be  
achieved  by  coaching  and  helping  the  client  to  overcome  or  navigate  the  
stumbling  blocks  on  the  path  to  success  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3  
 
  

Results  
 
Destiny  is  not  a  matter  of  chance.  It  is  a  matter  of  choice.  It  is  not  something  to  
be  waited  for,  But  rather  something  to  be  achieved.  -­‐  William  Jennings  Bryan  
 
Now  let’s  focus  on  the  results  side  of  the  dichotomy.  Let’s  pretend  we  were  at  
the  cause  for  wherever  we  are  in  our  life.  You  may  argue  and  say  something  
like  “I  did  not  ask  to  be  in  a  car  accident,”  or  “I  did  not  ask  to  be  shot,”  or  
whatever  bad  thing  could  have  happened  in  our  lives.  I  only  ask  that  we  
IMAGINE  that  we  were  at  cause  for  everything  that  has  happened  and  where  
we  may  be  in  our  lives.  That  the  rest  are  merely  reasons  and  now  we  want  to  
focus  on  the  result.    
 
The  fact  is  that  we  are  where  we  are  based  on  our  conscious  and  unconscious  
decisions  that  have  led  up  to  that  point.    Here  is  an  example.  Let’s  imagine  a  
client  has  been  involved  in  a  bank  robbery  and  they  were  held  up  at  armed  gun  
point.  So  now  they  suffer  with  PTSD.  I  know  that  sounds  a  little  extreme  and  I  
can  assure  you  that  there  are  many  worse  things  that  have  happened  to  
clients.  The  fact  is  that  the  client  was  at  that  particular  bank  at  that  particular  
point  of  time,  based  on  their  conscious  and  unconscious  decisions.  Now  please  
remember,  we  mentioned  before  that  this  does  not  suggest  that  the  person  is  
at  fault  or  to  blame.  It  merely  points  out  that  we  are  where  we  are  based  on  
our  conscious  and  unconscious  decisions.  This  is  one  of  the  fundamental  things  
I  discuss  with  my  clients  and  once  they  accept  that  fact,  they  are  empowered  
to  take  the  right  action  to  achieve  the  results  they  want.  
 
Now  we  can  take  the  learning  from  the  experience  to  help  us  in  the  future.  I  
realise  this  may  be  uncomfortable  for  some  people  to  accept.  Again  there  is  no  
evidence  to  suggest  that  we  can  always  control  what  happens  to  us.  What  it  
does  do  is  to  free  us  up  from  the  blame  and  victimhood  mentality  to  focus  on  
the  results  we  truly  want.  This  is  a  much  more  empowering  position  to  be  in  
and  is  a  springboard  to  achieving  the  results  we  want.  
   
There  is  one  very  important  thing  to  remember  here  and  that  the  action  plan  
and  goal  need  to  be  SMART.  It  is  not  feasible  to  think  that  one  can  become  a  
fighter  pilot  in  a  week  when  you  have  never  flown  a  plane  before  and  have  no  
aptitude  for  navigation  or  maths.  We  need  to  have  a  clear  goal,  with  the  right  
knowledge  and  steps  necessary  to  achieve  the  result  we  want.  
 
This  is  where  the  R.E.S.U.L.T.S  coaching  model  comes  in  to  play.        

4  
 
  

R.E.S.U.L.T.S  Coaching  model  

 
"A  journey  of  a  thousand  miles  begins  with  a  single  step."—Chinese  Proverb    
 
Result  is  an  acronym  for:    
R-­‐  Reason  for  being  there  
E-­‐  Establish  
S-­‐  Self  awareness  
U-­‐  Understanding  
L-­‐  Learning  
T-­‐  Time  to  reflect  
S-­‐  Success  
 
As  a  coach  it  is  important  to  have  an  attitude  of  curiosity  and  to  use  powerful  
questions  to  get  to  the  deep  structure  of  what  is  going  on  in  the  client’s  life.  So  
the  questions  we  ask  as  a  coach  serve  a  purpose,  and  need  to  be  well  thought  
out.  The  questions  will  depend  on  the  client  and  the  situation,  so  you  may  
have  some  standard  type  of  questions,  but  it  is  important  not  to  limit  yourself  
as  a  coach  by  only  having  a  set  of  questions  set  in  stone.  Your  curiosity  as  a  
coach  will  also  help  guide  you  as  to  which  questions  may  be  pertinent  to  the  
situation.        
In  using  these  powerful,  probing,  thought  provoking  questions  it  is  very  
important  for  the  coach  to  be  actively  listening  and  to  be  present.  Being  totally  
there  with  the  client  and  not  being  lost  in  other  thoughts  not  relating  to  the  
client.  That  does  not  serve  the  client  and  will  also  not  endear  you  to  them  as  it  
will  become  obvious  to  the  client  that  you  are  not  fully  there  for  them.    An  
easy  to  read  book  which  demonstrates  very  well  the  importance  of  being  
present  is  called  “Fish  Tales”  by  Stephen  C.  Lundin,  Harry  Paul  &  John  
Christensen.  
 
       
So  bearing  this  in  mind,  let’s  look  at  what  we  mean  by  each  of  the  parts  of  this  
model.    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

5  
 
  

Reason  for  being  there  

 
Reduce  your  plan  to  writing.  The  moment  you  complete  this,  you  will  have  
given  concrete  form  to  the  intangible  desire.  -­‐  Napoleon  Hill  
 
I  have  experienced  people  calling  to  start  a  potential  coaching  relationship  and  
at  the  first  meeting  it  is  evident  that  they  don’t  actually  want  to  be  there.  They  
have  either  been  told  by  their  boss  or  by  the  significant  other  person  in  their  
life  that  they  need  coaching.  It  may  even  be  a  young  person  that  has  been  told  
by  a  parent  to  have  coaching.  They  had  no  intention  of  actually  taking  up  the  
services  of  a  coach  as  it  never  crossed  their  mind  that  they  needed  one.  In  
their  model  of  the  world  they  were  doing  great.  
 
What  is  the  potential  problem  with  somebody  being  told  to  go  for  coaching?  
For  one,  if  somebody  does  not  want  to  be  there  or  in  a  “coaching  relationship”,  
they  will  make  you  suffer  for  it.  They  will  not  do  their  homework,  be  late  for  
sessions  or  do  something  that  is  going  to  make  it  extremely  hard  work  to  coach  
them.  They  may  deliberately  sabotage  the  coaching  sessions.  
 
In  a  coach-­‐  client  relationship,  the  client  needs  to  ask  to  be  coached  and  they  
need  to  want  to  achieve  results.  They  need  to  have  a  vested  interest  in  making  
it  work.  Thus  it  is  very  important  to  understand  the  client’s  motivation  for  
actually  meeting  with  you  or  being  there.  
 
Another  potential  problem  may  be  that  the  client  is  actually  looking  for  a  
therapist,  mentor  or  somebody  other  than  a  coach.  So  it  is  very  clear  to  
understand  why  they  are  there  to  meet  with  you.  Often  people  think  that  a  
coach  is  there  to  tell  them  what  to  do.  I  have  experienced  this  on  a  number  of  
times  with  business  coaching  clients.  Some  business  owners  think  that  it  is  the  
coach’s  responsibility  to  come  in  and  turn  their  business  around.  To  show  them  
how  to  manage  their  staff  or  set  up  contracts  etc.    
In  the  same  vain,  a  coach  is  not  a  therapist  and  although  a  therapist  may  use  
coaching  skills  in  their  interaction  with  their  client,  the  coach  is  not  a  therapist.  
Some  coaches  may  have  a  therapy  back  ground  and  be  in  a  position  to  help  the  
client  and  in  those  instances  it  is  important  to  explain  what  it  is  you  are  going  
to  do  for  the  client  and  what  type  of  relationship  you  are  entering  into.  As  far  
as  the  ICF  is  concerned,  in  a  true  coaching  relationship,  the  coach  does  not  do  
any  therapy,  but  rather  refers  the  client  to  somebody  else  if  the  need  arises.  
The  water  can  become  muddied  if  clear  boundaries  are  not  drawn  up  at  the  
start  of  the  coaching  relationship.  

6  
 
  

Establish  
 
I  never  cease  to  be  amazed  at  the  power  of  the  coaching  process  to  draw  out  
the  skills  or  talent  that  was  previously  hidden  within  an  individual  and  which  
invariable  finds  a  way  to  solve  a  problem  previously  thought  unsolvable.    
–  John  Russell  Managing  director  of  Harley-­‐Davison  Europe      
 
When  we  talk  about  establish  it  serves  to  encompass  a  number  of  things.  
Establishing  a  coaching  agreement,  establishing  rapport  with  the  client,  
establishing  what  the  client’s  goals  are.    
 
As  part  of  the  ICF  requirements  it  is  a  requirement  to  establish  a  coaching  
agreement.  This  will  lay  out  the  terms  of  the  coaching  relationship.  What  both  
the  client  and  coach  can  expect  and  what  the  responsibilities  of  each  will  be.  
Each  client  will  be  unique  and  as  such  the  coaching  agreement  may  differ  
depending  on  the  client  situation.  An  example  of  this  may  be  a  life  coaching  
client  may  have  an  initial  agreement  term  of  6  sessions,  where  as  a  business  
coaching  agreement  may  be  from  6-­‐  12  months.  The  price  you  charge  a  life  
coaching  client  may  be  different  to  what  you  charge  a  business  coaching  client.  
Essentially  the  agreement  will  lay  out  the  terms  and  conditions  etc.  of  the  
coaching  relationship,  so  that  both  parties  know  what  is  expected  of  them  and  
what  each  other’s  role  is.  
 
Establishing  Rapport  is  extremely  important  with  our  clients.  Interesting  prior  
to  NLP,  rapport  was  only  mentioned  in  hypnotherapy  circles  and  it  essentially  
meant,  “The  magical  state  where  in  the  client  hears  only  the  hypnotherapists  
voice  and  accepts  what  the  hypnotherapists  says  to  be  true.”  NLP  turned  the  
Rapport  into  a  process  and  now  we  have  the  ability  to  create  and  break  
Rapport  with  practically  anyone  at  any  time.  This  is  essentially  achieved  by  
matching  and  mirroring  the  client.  There  is  a  whole  lot  more  to  be  said  around  
the  process  of  Rapport,  although  it  is  not  the  aim  of  this  tool  to  explain  that  in  
detail.  
The  reason  for  mentioning  Rapport  here  is  to  say  that  people,  who  are  like  
each  other,  tend  to  like  each  other.  So  utilizing  Rapport  can  help  to  break  
down  barriers  and  is  very  valuable  in  working  with  clients.  It  also  serves  to  
establish  trust  and  intimacy  with  the  client.  Helping  to  create  an  environment  
that  is  conducive  to  the  client  feeling  safe  and  empowered  to  achieve  their  
goal.  
 

7  
 
  

Helping  the  client  to  establish  a  clear  understanding  of  their  goal  is  of  course  
paramount.  Often  clients  will  come  to  a  coaching  session  not  really  knowing  
what  their  actual  goal  is.    
They  may  realise  that  the  goal  they  thought  they  wanted  is  not  really  the  true  
goal.  
Great  questions  to  ask  here  could  be:  
What  would  happen  if  you  got  it?  
What  wouldn’t  happen  if  you  got  it?  
What  would  happen  if  you  did  not  get  it?  
What  would  not  happen  if  you  did  not  get  it?  
These  questions  may  almost  sound  the  same,  but  go  ahead  and  try  them  on  
one  of  your  own  goals  and  experience  the  effect  when  you  truly  consider  each  
question.  
 
Another  thing  about  their  goal  is  that  the  goal  they  have  may  be  the  end  goal  
and  yet  there  may  be  goals  they  need  to  achieve  before  they  achieve  the  end  
result.  An  example  of  this  may  be  somebody  that  wants  to  lose  100  pounds.  
They  currently  do  no  exercise  and  their  eating  habits  are  detrimental  to  their  
success  in  losing  the  100  pounds.  For  some  clients  this  goal  may  be  too  big  and  
that  may  be  a  REASON  why  they  have  not  yet  succeeded  at  it.  Breaking  the  
goal  into  smaller  chunks  that  the  client  can  succeed  at,  helps  to  build  the  
clients  confidence  that  they  can  achieve  their  greater  goal.  As  an  example,  
their  mini  goals  may  be  broken  down  into  the  following  parts:  
Go  buy  the  right  clothing  to  go  to  a  gym.  They  may  need  to  go  buy  the  right  
type  of  shoes,  depending  on  the  exercise  they  wish  to  do.    
The  next  goal  may  be  to  actually  join  the  gym.    
The  next  goal  may  be  to  sign  up  with  a  personal  trainer  and  set  up  the  exercise  
regime.    
Followed  by  a  meeting  with  a  nutritionist  as  the  next  mini  goal.  
Losing  the  first  10  pounds  could  be  the  next  mini  goal  and  then  increments  of  
weight  loss  targets.  
And  so  on  until  the  end  goal  is  achieved.  
 
Thus  it  is  very  important  to  establish  what  the  goal  or  goals  are  and  to  
establish  the  action  plan  to  achieve  them.  Again  ensuring  goals  are  SMART.  It  is  
not  the  purpose  of  this  document  to  explain  what  SMART  goals  are.  
 
 
 
 

8  
 
  

Self-­‐Awareness  
 
"Whether  you  think  you  can  or  you  can't  -­‐  you  are  right."  Henry  Ford  
 
Working  with  the  client  and  helping  the  client  to  become  self-­‐aware  is  
enormously  important.  Through  powerful  questioning  and  active  listening,  the  
coach  can  create  an  environment  in  which  the  client  can  become  self-­‐aware.  
As  a  coach  it  is  important  to  really  hear  what  the  client  is  saying  and  what  they  
are  not  saying.  To  help  the  client  understand  what  they  believe  about  
themselves  and  others.  Also  how  that  may  impact  on  the  client  and  their  
situation.  
The  coach  should  use  mostly  open  questions  so  as  to  help  the  client  really  
explore  new  ideas  and  avenues.  This  will  also  assist  the  client  to  become  aware  
of  things  about  themselves  which  they  may  not  have  been  aware  of  before.    
The  use  of  closed  questions  obviously  also  have  their  place  and  an  example  of  
that  would  be  when  we  want  the  client  to  commit  to  something.  So  the  coach  
could  ask  a  closed  question  like,  “Do  you  commit  to  doing  …?”  Asking  a  closed  
question  can  be  powerful  in  getting  a  clear  deliberate  commitment.    
 
It  is  important  to  be  able  to  help  the  client  to  become  self-­‐aware  about  what  is  
really  going  on.  That  self-­‐awareness  can  lead  to  understanding.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

9  
 
  

Understanding  
 
The  future  belongs  to  those  who  believe  in  the  beauty  of  their  dreams.  -­‐  
Eleanor  Roosevelt  
 
Helping  the  client  to  become  self-­‐aware  and  understanding  things  about  
themselves  can  be  very  empowering  for  the  client.  This  is  also  very  useful  for  
the  coach  as  it  can  help  in  the  coaching  process.  As  an  example,  helping  the  
client  understand  what  their  values  are  and  how  that  may  be  impacting  on  
their  life.  Let’s  say  that  the  client  has  come  to  you  as  a  coach,  because  they  are  
not  happy  at  work.  They  do  not  get  on  with  the  boss  and  the  other  people  they  
work  with.  The  client  may  feel  conflicted.  They  are  working  in  a  casino.  The  
client  knows  that  something  is  not  right,  but  they  just  don’t  know  what  it  is.  As  
they  discover  their  values,  they  realise  that  the  fact  that  one  of  their  top  values  
is  they  believe  gambling  is  wrong.  Now  as  they  understand  how  their  values  
conflict  with  their  job,  they  are  in  a  better  position  to  create  the  change  in  
their  life  that  they  truly  want.  This  is  a  very  obvious  example  and  something  
that  you  may  imagine  client’s  being  able  to  resolve  for  themselves,  but  you  
would  be  surprised.  Often  clients  are  so  close  to  their  problem  that  they  just  
can’t  see  them.  Values  in  and  of  them  self  are  actually  out  of  consciousness  
and  are  one  of  our  most  unconscious  filters  along  with  our  Meta  programs.  
Using  tools  like  Meyers-­‐Briggs  personality  profile  can  assist  in  understanding  
personality  types,  but  is  not  meant  to  put  the  client  into  a  box.  Again  it  is  not  
the  intent  of  this  document  to  explain  personality  types.  
   
Helping  the  client  understand  their  own  beliefs  can  be  very  useful.  Beliefs  can  
either  empower  or  disempower  us.    Helping  the  client  to  understand  what  
they  believe  and  where  their  beliefs  come  from  can  assist  in  changing  the  
beliefs  which  are  disempowering.    An  example  here  could  be  the  client  who  
believes  that  it  is  impossible  to  lose  the  100  pounds  form  a  belief  that  it  is  
possible.  By  achieving  the  little  interim  goals  in  between  and  building  on  those  
successes  can  assist  in  changing  what  they  believe  to  be  possible.      
 
The  level  and  types  of  understandings  will  be  dependent  on  the  client  and  their  
goals.  As  will  the  learnings  that  they  make.  
 
 
 
 
 

10  
 
  

Learning  
 
"Learn  from  yesterday,  live  for  today,  hope  for  tomorrow.  The  important  thing  
is  to  not  stop  questioning."  Albert  Einstein  
 
From  an  NLP  point  of  view  we  believe  that  the  client  has  all  the  resources  they  
need  to  achieve  to  succeed  and  achieve  their  desired  outcome.  To  paraphrase  
what  Carl  Jung  said  when  talking  about  perception  is  projection,  is  that  it  is  not  
possible  to  perceive  something  that  is  not  already  within  you.  Even  though  it  
may  be  at  a  very  unconscious  level.  That  is  not  to  say  we  carry  all  the  skills  and  
knowledge  to  achieve  it.  It  simply  means  that  we  have  the  resources  available  
to  us  and  it  is  the  role  of  the  coach  to  help  get  in  touch  with  those  resources.    
The  coach  helps  the  client  to  identify  their  strengths  as  well  as  areas  for  
learning  and  growth,  and  what  is  most  important  to  address  during  coaching.    
 
So  in  sticking  with  our  person  that  wants  to  lose  100  pounds,  they  may  not  
know  how  to  do  it  just  yet.  So  what  do  they  need  to  learn  to  assist  them  in  
their  goal?  Well  we  said  that  they  may  need  to  see  a  personal  trainer  who  may  
teach  them  what  the  right  way  to  exercise  is  for  their  goal.  They  may  learn  
from  the  nutritionist  what  type  of  fat  burning  food  to  eat  and  what  quantities  
of  food  would  assist  them  in  their  goal.      
So  the  client  may  have  to  learn  new  skills  and  the  coach  can  assist  the  client  in  
getting  in  touch  with  those  resources  through  questions  like:  
Have  you  ever  been  your  ideal  weight  before?  
Do  you  know  what  to  do  to  be  your  ideal  weight?  
Do  you  know  anybody  who  has  achieved  the  goal  you  are  going  for?  
What  do  you  need  to  learn  to  achieve  the  result  you  want?  
 
Exploring  the  things  that  the  client  may  need  to  learn  will  also  increase  the  
client’s  self-­‐awareness  and  can  increase  their  belief  in  their  chance  of  success.  
It  is  of  course  important  to  manage  expectations.  We  have  all  heard  the  saying,  
“You  need  to  learn  to  crawl  before  you  can  run.”    The  client  did  not  add  the  
extra  100  pounds  over  night,  so  they  cannot  expect  to  lose  the  100  pounds  
over  night.    
A  great  resource  that  both  the  client  and  new  coach  may  find  useful  is  reading  
a  book  like  “The  Compound  effect”  by  Darren  Hardy,  in  which  he  explains  the  
effect  of  consistently  doing  a  little.  The  concept  is  applicable  to  so  much  in  life  
when  we  draw  the  parallel  to  it.  The  learning  and  new  skills  can  come  from  
many  resources  and  again  is  client  dependent.  This  then  leads  us  to  the  
following  step  which  is  time  to  reflect.    

11  
 
  

Time  to  reflect  

 
If  at  first  you  don't  succeed,  try  and  try  again.  -­‐  W .0  Fields  
 
One  of  the  ICF  core  competencies  is  that  the  coach  helps  the  client  to  make  
plan  adjustments  as  warranted  by  the  coaching  process  and  by  changes  in  the  
situation.  So  if  something  is  working  great.  If  it  is  not,  or  the  goal  has  changed,  
then  the  plan  needs  to  be  changed.  In  identifying  where  the  client  is  in  
relationship  to  their  goal  the  coach  can  ask  questions  like:  
 
What  is  working?    
What  is  not  working?  
What  do  you  need  to  adjust  to  assist  you  in  achieving  this  goal?  
 
The  coach  must  also  hold  the  client  responsible  and  promote  their  self-­‐
discipline  for  the  tasks  that  need  to  be  done  as  part  of  the  plan  whilst  leaving  
the  responsibility  to  the  client  to  actually  do  the  tasks.  If  the  client  has  not  
done  the  required  tasks  then  the  coach  must  positively  confront  the  client  as  
to  the  fact  the  intended  tasks  have  not  been  completed.    
 
This  accountability  on  the  clients  side  can  have  massive  impact  on  the  client  as  
many  people  have  either  never  felt  trusted  to  complete  tasks  on  their  own,  
whilst  others  may  come  to  the  realisation  that  it  ultimately  is  up  to  them  to  
achieve  the  result  they  truly  want  and  to  stop  giving  all  the  reasons  as  to  why  
they  have  not  yet  achieved  their  goals.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

12  
 
  

Success  
 
Always  bear  in  mind  that  your  own  resolution  to  succeed  is  more  important  
than  any  one  thing.  Abraham  Lincoln.  
 
In  the  client  achieving  success  in  any  measure  it  is  important  to  celebrate  those  
victories,  big  and  small.  
Not  only  the  major  goal,  but  also  the  little  goals  in  between.  Often  clients  can  
feel  overwhelmed  by  the  tasks  at  hand  and  this  can  lead  to  an  inability  to  
actually  even  get  started.  People  also  beat  themselves  up  because  they  do  not  
achieve  their  goals  quick  enough  or  they  don’t  see  the  small  changes  
happening.  They  are  so  focussed  on  the  end  result  that  they  may  get  dismayed  
and  often  stop  just  short  of  achieving  their  goal.  This  could  be  the  example  of  
our  person  who  may  already  have  lost  60  pounds,  but  because  their  focus  was  
on  the  100  pounds,  they  may  feel  they  are  never  going  to  achieve  their  goal.  So  
they  give  up,  not  realising  that  they  have  already  achieved  60%  of  their  goal.  
Often  that  final  push  can  be  the  hardest  and  it  is  important  to  reflect  on  how  
far  they  have  already  come.    
By  helping  the  client  to  realise  that  they  are  reaching  certain  milestones  on  
route  to  their  overall  goal,  not  only  refocuses  their  attention,  but  also  builds  
and  strengthens  the  belief  in  themselves  that  they  can  actually  achieve  results.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

13  
 
  

Reflections  
 
“When  you  become  a  leader  success  is  all  about  growing  others.”  ―  Jack  
Welch  
 
Where  are  you  on  the  reasons  vs  results  equation?  
What  examples  can  you  think  of  when  you  have  given  reasons  for  not  
achieving  your  goals?  
What  were  those  reasons  and  what  can  you  learn  from  that  to  assist  you  in  
moving  forward?  
What  results  have  you  achieved  that  you  can  celebrate  in  realisation  that  you  
are  a  wonderful  human  being  and  that  a  goal  is  simply  a  plan  that  has  not  yet  
been  realised?  
How  do  you  see  this  tool  helping  you  in  your  coaching  journey?  

14