What is the “secret sauce” for a successful coaching relationship?


For as long as I can remember, I have constantly been trying to improve everything I do.

During my journey from beginner to mature coach, I discovered that behavioral assessments helped me to become a better professional. They have a significant impact on developing core coaching competencies such as, e.g., coaching presence, creating awareness of or designing actions, and planning and goal setting. 

Don’t get me wrong; you can be a great cook and prepare amazing dishes, but sometimes it is worth adding a secret sauce that will make the meal an unforgettable experience.

I discovered that using validated and reliable behavioral assessments could be just such a secret sauce for developing better coaching relationship.

Why? I could give you an infinite list of reasons, but to keep it short: behavioral assessments such as DISC, Values, TEAMS, and BAI empower me as a person and a coach while also empowering my clients. 

Empowering myself as a coach

“I am a better coach because I constantly improve my self-awareness!”

Coaches should continuously deepen their awareness of who they are, what coaching style they use, what coaching means to them, and what their values and strengths are. Coaches should also develop habits of self-reflection and constantly search for opportunities to reduce their blind spots. A mature coach bravely confronts self-knowledge through feedback from others.

DISC and other assessments have allowed me to gain deep insight into myself as a person and a coach. They have helped me to discover that my strengths could become my weaknesses if I abuse them. 

For example, I am a very analytical person, always gathering facts and details, creating and then sticking to the process. 

However, after taking behavioral assessments, I became aware that I had in the past had a tendency to stop using my intuition altogether, which is crucial for a coach! 

I would sometimes tend to be locked into patterns of thinking or doing things, such as focusing too heavily on certain coaching models and tools, forgetting that the coaching should be a tool itself. My job is to follow the clients’ agendas and listen to the client as a whole, co-creating with them the coaching process, doing it intuitively and naturally. 

Empowering a client

“I understand myself better, and I see that I have a great potential that needs to be unlocked!”

After a session during which we used one or a combination of different behavioral assessments, I always get the feeling that the level of trust and intimacy developed together with the client is even stronger.

The most valuable part of the process is that together with the clients, we create their self-awareness around the most important topics, such as conflict resolution, hidden motivators, fears, enhancing relations, overusing or underusing some behaviors, and much more. 

My clients have very often had their “aha” moments when they start focusing on their potential instead of paying attention to what they consider “broken” and needing to be immediately fixed. 

Thanks to DISC and other behavioral assessments, my clients are learning even more about themselves, starting with regular self-reflection and changing their perspective regarding their potential. In other words, they focus on their strengths and their motivators so that, in consequence, they fuel the never-ending cycle of deepening their self-awareness. 

I want to be a great chef…

… so I will continue using this secret sauce to create for my clients an unforgettable experience, full of exploration of new territories and learning about themselves. 

I have a strong desire to become each day a better person and coach, and I am grateful that there are tools that can help me and my clients to develop relations that are based on trust and co-creation of the coaching process as partners.

Are you a coach, willing to help your clients achieve their goals? Talk to me and use this “secret sauce”!

PeopleKeys® has over 35 years as a world leader in behavioural analysis. Use effective solutions to build strong teams and hire the right people!