It’s been almost 2 months since I heard from my client. At the back of my mind I thought, ‘maybe she’s not finding value in our sessions.. Maybe I’m not doing such a good job..’ I was secretly worried.

I wanted to know the truth, so I texted her to catch up two weeks ago, but she never replied. I mustered my courage yesterday again. She replied!

She asked, ‘how many hours have we got left in a package?’ I cringed, my imagination ran wild, ‘oh no! She wants to cancel! She wants a refund! She wants to know how many painful hours she still has to stay with me for!’ I wanted to talk to her to find out what she really has in mind.

I took on a new client at the beginning of this year. She’s a young professional who works one of the most famous companies in the world. She’s got high IQ & EQ, is a learner, eager to improve herself, and hardworking. The problem is that she is critical of herself and therefore doesn’t think she’s any good.

I asked, ‘can you talk?’

‘Yes.’

Good.

‘How are you doing?’

‘Oh, I’m so sorry. I’ve been so busy doing lots of interviews. It’s also been very busy with my job!’

Oh no! She doesn’t need me anymore! She’s dealing with her challenges on her own!

‘Oh that sounds great!’ I tried to stay poised.

‘Yeah! And I have got news for you!’ I’m going to get a promotion as a manager!’

‘Really!? That sounds amazing!’

‘Yeah, I’ve been busy doing lots of interviews inside my company and outside.’

‘That’s really good to know! For a coach, the best thing is to know that a client stopped needing the coach, because that means you are capable of handling all challenges and you have grown. So I’m so happy to know that you are facing the interviews by yourself, feeling confident enough to deal with them!’

‘Yes, the 2 or 3 sessions I took really helped me gain clarity and awareness of myself.’

‘That’s great! Yes, the coaching is driven by you so if you don’t have any particular challenges you don’t know how to overcome by yourself then there is really no need to keep it up. How happy are you with your life now, from 1 to 10? If 10 is “I’m perfectly happy”?’

‘I would say 9.’

‘That’s great! I’m also curious – in your intake form, you said you would like to better understand your career path and what would be a good direction for you, whereas you have been applying for more jobs in your area. So how about that?’

‘I decided that I should give it a try before deciding that this is not the right path for me.’

‘Oh that’s great insight! Well done on taking this proactive step!’

Now it makes sense why she hasn’t been in touch! From this episode I learnt that I should also be more confident about my ability! If I don’t hear from the client, it is probably because they don’t need coaching anymore and I should be glad!

#ChooseConfidence #FeelEmpowered