6 tips to restart your coaching practice

A post by a master coach Vijayalakshmi S (Viji to her friends) about getting back to her workout routine after a break, which she so beautifully linked to the world of coaching resonated with me. The timing was perfect, it felt like the message was just for me. I had just taken a 3-week break from coaching and found myself feeling a bit off my coaching game and her advice got me back on track.

Viji’s top three tips to herself were.

1. Give yourself the space (and time) to find your rhythm and flow. You will find it. Skills built on a solid foundation don't go away anywhere.

2. Let the rustiness and discomfort not get stressful. In fact, try to enjoy it, perhaps make a mistake or two and create a re-learning opportunity for yourself!

3. Acknowledge and celebrate the fact you showed up. Breaks are a natural part of any journey (be it during training or in life!), but breaking the break requires intent and commitment. The first returning session will often not be as good as your normal standards, but that's OK.

Adding to her list, here are 3 more things that helped me ease back in and get into the coaching zone.

4. Reduce the workload on day 1 of re-entry. I normally schedule 4 sessions on a single day. Two in the morning and two in the second half. Anticipating that I would be a bit rusty, I had only fixed 2 sessions on my first day back in the coaching saddle. This helped me get started and allowed me more time than I usually need time to prepare and reflect, before and after each session.

5. Refresh the basics. I spent some time reading and going over some of the study material that had helped me in my learning journey. Just going over the material gave me a sense of confidence that I knew it and it was at my fingertips. A fantastic free resource to tap into if you want a quick refresher, is a series of videos on the ICF core competencies by Peter J Reding available on YouTube.

6. Anticipate that it’s going to feel a bit different. Much like the first day back on a tennis court after a break or getting back to exercise, the first few days feel tougher than usual. Having gone through this before helps me know that it’s normal for it to not feel normal.

Reading Viji’s post and knowing I am not alone in this journey was helpful. In that spirit, here are the 6 tips to help you ease back into your practice. I am sharing this forward hoping that it helps other coaches who have taken a well-deserved break get back in the groove.