Using my intuition before a coaching session

Before i do most coaching sessions, i’ll tune in intuitively to see what impressions, thoughts and internal images i’m getting for a coach. i find it helpful because that does a few useful things for me. it:

• Helps me orientate myself mentally away from what i’m doing into a space where i can be available for another person.
• Shifts me into a more listening and absorbing mindset, which is so important. as a coach you want to be on receive not transmit mode.
• Gives me some extra information which isn’t available by usual means. by that i mean googling or checking linkedIn.

Let me elaborate.
I was recently asked to coach someone i hadn’t previously spoken to. 15 minutes before we met, i did what i usually do. i shut my laptop and just started to try to and connect with her using her name only. then i noticed what my attention was drawn to in the physical space i was in. that usually starts to trigger other ideas in my mind’s eye.

What i then ‘saw’ were lots and lots of books surrounding the person i was about to coach. i noticed them everywhere in her living space and everywhere she went. of course, i didn’t know what that meant, but it was the overwhelming impression i took away.

When i jumped on the zoom call we were having together and after a brief get-to-know and clarification for outcomes for our call which was discussed career change, i asked her, “what do books mean to you”?
she laughed and tipped back her laptop to show me a bookshelf rammed with books. she told me she had piles of books all around her, books stashed under her bed, and a lock-up full of them. our call was all about whether she should quit her senior exec role in a finance function to change career to the book world.

My intuition had really helped me out in several ways. it guided me to ask a useful question, and it saved us both a chunk of time. the answer of whether she should switch wasn’t of course up to me, she had to make that decision. and that’s what the rest of our call was all about. that boiled down to how she would know that it was the right move in terms of finances, motivation, and timing. and that of course requires intuition, because when it comes to the future there are no hard and fast answers.

On another level, i think this illustrates something larger, reflected in the rumi quote that “what you seek is seeking you.” there’s a dynamic here in this interaction, which is that my interest in and use of intuition was reflected by her desire to intuitively understand what was right for her. of course, neither of us knew before we met.

And finally, i’m sure many of you will have had this happened to you: do let me know your story too.