More and more people find it important to have a nice job, in a pleasant working environment, where talents are developed and there is room for meaning. At a time when ‘anything is possible’, people therefore want to make the right career choice. They set higher standards for their work, and if they come to the conclusion that they no longer actually like the work, they look for something new, something that fits them better. In recent years, you therefore see more and more people opting for a career coach. Although in high demand, the supply of career coaches is also large. DISC Boulevard can help you as a professional career coach to show your added value and stand out from the rest.
Tips for successful career coaching
In what ways can you guide your coachees successfully? Without suggesting that we hold the truth, here are some tips that can contribute positively to a career journey.
1. Create a connection with your coachee
First of all, it is very important that you have a connection with the coachee. In most cases, that is essential for a project to be successful. Therefore, critically examine whether you fit together before accepting the assignment at all.
2. Make clear agreements about the assignment and demand commitment
It is important to have the coaching question clear and concrete. Only then is it possible to guide the coachee in a focused way. Ask further questions if the question remains too general and outline your approach. It is important that the coachee himself wants to be coached and is not directed by someone. Lay down the career coaching assignment, both the coaching question and the way it will be coached, to avoid mutual disappointment.
3. Always keep the coachee’s goal in mind
A coachee can gain many valuable insights when you, as a career coach, ask very specific questions and dare to pierce through. By asking specific questions based on your coachee’s goal, the other person gains insight into what is really important. Always ask “why” questions. Why do you want that? Why is it important to you? And to the answer again: And why is this so important? This helps you find out the real motives and the real coaching question.
4. Visualise your coachee’s conscious and unconscious behaviour
The DISC analysis can be used for this purpose. The DISC behavioural analysis maps out natural behaviour. This is the behaviour your coachee exhibits under normal circumstances. This is also called the unconscious behaviour. It also provides insight into conscious behaviour, which is the behaviour the other person shows in the work environment.
5. Ensure that the coachee takes responsibility for the process itself
As a career coach, it can be a pitfall to want to do too much for the other person. A good career coach asks positively critical questions, makes the coachee think and sets the other person in motion to take the next career step. After each conversation, round off with questions about the insights the other person has gained and also ask about concrete follow-up actions your coachee will take.
6. Make concrete agreements and keep monitoring
Learning new skills and new behaviours takes a long time and discipline. As a result, there is a risk of someone falling back into old habits. By setting small goals and giving regular feedback, you keep the coachee focused and committed. In this way, you increase the chances of lasting results.
The added value of DISC analysis in career coaching
As described earlier, DISC analysis provides insight into the coachee’s conscious and unconscious behaviour. When the conscious and unconscious behaviour are very similar, this says, among other things, that the person is not adapting his or her behaviour to the work environment. In a positive sense, it means there is no loss of energy. The question you can ask though is, to what extent is the coachee still sufficiently challenged in terms of behaviour? If, on the contrary, there is a big difference between conscious and unconscious behaviour, it is interesting to see where that lies. Is this causing stress or is the other person consciously learning new behaviour? The DISC analysis gives your coachee insight into his or her preferred behavioural styles, strengths and developmental points, but also into a number of aspects that the ideal work environment must satisfy and how a (future) manager can best deal with the coachee.
In addition, the DISC analysis gives you as a career coach insight into your coachee’s preferred behavioural styles, to which you can better align your career coaching. By tailoring your approach to the other person, you will achieve results faster. In this way, the DISC behavioural analysis can be a great starting point for your career coaching. It provides tools to effectively start the conversation, allowing you to get to the heart of the matter faster and providing you with easier answers to career questions.
Why DISC Boulevard?
We make it possible to deploy the report where you need it at that moment. For instance, the basic report already provides the necessary insights when it comes to preferred behavioural styles. If you want a more extensive report and delve deeper into the qualities and development points of the other person, take the Pro report as a starting point for your career coaching. That way you will always have an appropriate report for your coachee.
If you are familiar with the DISC methodology and would like to use it in an accessible way in your practice, you can order the analyses below. We have no minimum order and you can choose from three variants.