1. Why does coaching take so long - at least 6 months?
2. Working with you, will you tell me how to solve my problems?
3. What if, after having been coached for a couple or three months, I don't feel like I'm going anywhere and I feel like it's just a waste of money? What then?
4. What if I feel like I'm being forced to do too much each week - to make too many changes?
5. I don't even know what coaching is. I've just heard of it and really I've only heard of the benefits of it, but I don't know what takes place in a coaching relationship. How can I find this out?
6. Do sessions in a coaching relationship always have to be by telephone?

1. Why does coaching take so long - at least 6 months?
It takes at least that long, not just to make some changes, but to turn those changes into new habits. It has been said that it takes at least 16 weeks to create a habit. Ok, so that's for one change. Coaching clients / coachees make more than one change every single week during the coaching process and they want these changes to become habit. Coaching is not a quick-fix. It is not for those seeking instant gratification. Coaching helps you create and then implement new systems and strategies. Then coaching helps you turn those new systems and strategies into "the way things are done around here".

2. Working with you, will you tell me how to solve my problems?
Coaches are, in effect, professional problem solvers. A good coach, however, will not simply tell you what to do because that's not much different than what your parents did for some 20 years. Lynne is a professional problem solver because it is her profession to help you solve your problems. She does this by helping you see things from a different perspective; helping you see things in smaller, manageable portions. After all, who better knows how to run your business and solve your day-to-day problems but the one who's in the middle of it all? Lynne may have an idea of what she would do were she in that situation, but, first, she's not in your situation, and secondly, what she would do would work for her - not necessarily for you!

Suspend your belief and trust in the process of coaching. It's new … and it's powerful!

3. What if, after having been coached for a couple or three months, I don't feel like I'm going anywhere and I feel like it's just a waste of money? What then?
In the Coaching Agreement, which you will sign before your first session, it is clearly stated that you can terminate the coaching relationship at any time with two weeks' notice. The Agreement also states that the client is encouraged to speak openly and frankly with the coach if you feel, for any reason, that the relationship is not living up to your expectations. Communication is the number one problem in the workplace, it's been said, though Lynne argues that it's the number one problem in any relationship - even coaching. For this reason, the Coaching Agreement informs the client that clear communication is a necessary part of the process.

4. What if I feel like I'm being forced to do too much each week - to make too many changes?
A good coach will make sure you're not overextending yourself. What one can do easily, another person may have difficulty accomplishing. Everyone's reluctance to change is different and everyone's time-schedule is different. NEVER create such a full and busy plan of action for yourself that it's going to stress you out to complete it. Creating stress for yourself is totally contradictory to the whole purpose of coaching.

5. I don't even know what coaching is. I've just heard of it and really I've only heard of the benefits of it, but I don't know what takes place in a coaching relationship. How can I find this out?
The best way is to contact Lynne and arrange for an exploratory session. First, you will complete a questionnaire to get your thinking juices flowing, and to help your coach know more about the sorts of changes you'd like to make. Then, at a pre-arranged time, you'll have an exploratory session by telephone which will help you have more clarity as to where you want to go with coaching and whether Lynne's style would work for you. During this process you will become better acquainted with the methodology behind coaching.

6. Do sessions in a coaching relationship always have to be by telephone?
No, they don't. There are a few options:

• The Presidential Program is commonly followed when there's more than one client/coachee at a time. The coach attends at your place of business.
• You can attend at Lynne's office. The downside to this is simply the travel time and out-of-pocket expense.
• If Lynne is working with a few managers at your place of business, for a reasonable travel expense Lynne will conduct the Executive Program sessions at your place.

Only one benefit for telephone sessions is the lower cost - of travel time and expense. Another benefit is that people feel more comfortable and, in fact, safer sitting alone, surrounded by their own environment - their office or their home. When we talk with someone face-to-face we often get caught up in trying to read their body language. By telephone that distraction is non-existent. One client, in her exploratory session, said "Wow, I know I would never have shared all this with you today had we been in the same room. I just feel so much safer here sitting behind my desk with no one looking at me." As with everything in coaching, it's all client-driven.