The Power of "May I?" to Create 'Client Gold' | Get "Heart to Heart" with Julie Johnson MCC

In this particular article Julie shares how a simple question and the process of asking permission can lead to powerful Aha! moments—with 3 real-life examples.

How to ask tough questions...

"So honey, I want to ask you a tough question, but I don't want you to get all upset by it. May I? "

And that's all it took for mother and daughter to have a calm adult conversation on a difficult topic.

So what does this have to do with coaching?

Well, when coaching, I sometimes notice that I'd like to bring something up, yet am unsure how to do so. I'm struggling—and it's usually something I find difficult to say, something that I imagine might upset my coachee.

It could be an observation, feedback, a challenge—anything really—yet it concludes with a question. And from my experience, the questions that are the most difficult to ask lead to the most meaningful client reflection: I call this 'client gold'.

Here's what I ask to get to this 'client gold'

When I feel myself struggling like this, I look the coachee straight in the eyes, and ask: May I?

I'm actually asking my coachee for permission to say what's on my mind.

It's a form of contracting on the spot—in coaching language. This usually piques the coachee's curiosity—and it also gives them a moment to get ready for something unexpected.

In fact, May I? is the coachee's opportunity not to miss out on 'client gold', in spite of their coach's struggle.

So let's take a closer look at 3 real-life situations where I used May I? to get to 'client gold'.

Situation 1

I was coaching a leader who had the tendency to want to please, especially upward.

• She kept repeating that she would like to please her very demanding boss by saying 'yes' to a substantial project that would take a large chunk of her time for the months to come.
• And I felt myself starting to take on some of the stress she was sharing. So I said: May I?
• She replied, "Yes."
• I continued with an observation: "You have expressed concern about work/life balance and confessed that you can't sustain your current workload much longer. And yet now you are considering taking on this significant project without dropping anything else—all in order to please your boss. I'm concerned about you, wondering if this could be a set-up to a breakdown."
• And then I asked a question: "What if your boss will never be totally pleased?"

Situation 1 'Client Gold'

• This led to a fruitful discussion on making choices, and in particular saying 'no' to some things so that what she did say 'yes' to, she would do well.
• We also explored her desire to please, and how this might be driving her to make some poor decisions.

Situation 2

My coachee kept saying that he didn't have good intuition with people.

• However, within a few sessions I had heard several stories that showed how he used his intuition to positively impact people in the workplace.
• At a certain moment, I turned to him and said: May I?
• He replied, "Yes."
• And I challenged him: "I beg to differ! You say that you don't have good intuition with people, but I've heard several stories [and I listed them] where your intuition was spot on!"
• And then the question: "What if you are wrong. What if people intuition is actually a core strength of yours?"
• The silence hung.
• But after more discussion, he decided to give it a try, to listen to and act upon his intuition more often—to have more trust in his 'gut' feeling.

Situation 2 'Client Gold'

• He arrived at our next session absolutely ecstatic about his newly discovered strength—with a large handful of stories of successfully acting on his intuition instead of ignoring it.

Situation 3

My stomach was going into knots. I was doing my best to listen to my coachee, but my mind kept wandering. This was NOT what I was being paid for!

• I finally even interrupted him mid-sentence, saying: May I?
• Surprised, he replied, "I guess, sure."
• I shared my feedback: "One of your goals is to get people to listen to you more. You don't feel listened to. I notice myself wandering off, and am quite upset by that. I've been trying to figure out why, and have concluded that while I find what you say interesting, I struggle with the monotone delivery."
• And then the question: "Could this be related to what is happening at work?"

Situation 3 'Client Gold'

• This was a breakthrough for him, and we practiced (both with and without recording and playback) taking a number of his sentences and injecting variable intonation.

May I… say one more thing?

When a coach makes that difficult observation and asks that difficult question, the conversation quickly goes to a deeper level, and a LOT more gets done.

Implicit in this is the belief that the coachee is strong enough to hear it—from their coach—who believes in them and wants them to be at their best.

Most clients are yearning for someone to be blatantly honest with them for a change, in a well-intended and non-judgmental way.

So, whether with it's your child or your coachee, asking "May I?" is gold.

Now it's your turn

• What did you take away from these examples?
• Where could you share your observations and/or feedback for powerful transformation?
• What will you do the next time you feel awkward about sharing something with your coachee?

Share your thoughts with Julie in the comments below.

If you liked this "Heart to Heart" column from Julie Johnson, you may also like:

• Masterful Brainstorming: The Power of "What Else?" also by Julie Johnson MCC
• How to Challenge Your Clients For Breakthrough Results! by Marcia Reynolds, PsyD, MCC
• How to Boost Your Coaching Skills (and Presence) with Observation by Sarah Evans MCC

Contributing Author:

Julie Johnson MCC, MIM is an Executive Coach, Coach Supervisor and Author. Her purpose is to help motivated people be at their best. She's passionate about spreading quality coaching conversations farther and wider, impacting the lives of people she'll never meet. Julie helps leaders develop an authentic Coaching Leadership Style so they grow next-generation leaders - and scale their own leadership. She also loves creating synergies by connecting 'the right people' with each other. Meet Julie in this short video here and learn more about her on her website here. You can also sign up for her monthly blog The Coaching Cube.

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