Coaching reflections

Just been thinking about coaching people and how the different genders seem to approach it.   I have noticed that when I coach men, they seem to want to justify their reasons for doing things and tell me how they have achieved so much, which can take up most of the session if I am not careful. Eventually I ask a powerful question like "but what is the real issue?" and then they let down their guard and talk on the level and we really make progress.   So there is a lot of time spent with lots of bluster initially before we really get going.

With the women I coach, they seem to spend the first part of the session wondering why they can't cope or how they are going to juggle everything or why they just can't achieve what they want to. They are almost undermining their capabilities before I ask the "what is the real issue " question and again we really make great strides forward.

I wonder if anyone else notices a difference in that initial presenting issue stage between the genders?