Tips for Coaches and Consultants

What I’d tell my younger self on Day 1 of consulting (after 25 years in the game) If I could go back, this is what I’d tell myself on day one. Not to work harder. But to play the game better. Here’s the playbook I wish I had: 1. Take hard projects early and often. Your first years aren’t about being comfortable. They’re about becoming sharp. Don’t waste your learning curve on client management, PMO, or “fluff” work. Don´t chase your passion. There will be plenty of time for that. Do the due diligences, the pricing wars, and the market entries with zero data. Run toward the fire. Get stressed. Fix chaos. And don’t just do one type of project; chase range. You want to build judgment across industries, functions, and geographies. The goal? Live your first 24 months with war stories, scars, and a reputation: “This one figures it out. Under pressure. Every time.” 2. Get close to staffing. Very close. Staffing isn’t admin; it’s power. They control where you go, who you work with, and what you learn. Most juniors ignore them. Big mistake. Keep them updated. Ask what’s coming. Make their life easy, and they’ll protect you when it matters most. I’ve seen careers fast-tracked because someone at staffing quietly said, “You should put her on this one.” 3. Be the one they call when things get messy. You don’t want to be “the expert in margin trees for Chilean telcos.” You want to be the one who figures it out, no matter what. Let others play the specialist game. You play the game of trust. The goal is simple: When a partner says, “We’ve got a tough case, short timeline, nervous client”… Your name should come up. 4. Build your tribe. The people you meet in consulting will shape your career; and your life. Build real relationships. Find the associate who challenges you.The manager who teaches you. The partner who has your back. Consulting is brutal if you’re alone. It’s unbeatable if you’ve got people in your corner. 5. Take care of your damn body. Too many consultants make €10K/month… and eat like interns. Zero sleep. Uber Eats. No exercise. It’s a joke. 8kg more in their first 18 months. You only get one body. Respect it. Lift. Run. Sleep. Eat like an adult. You’ll be sharper, faster, and calmer, and you’ll outlast everyone else. Bottom line: Consulting will shape how you think for life. But it will also test who you are. Play it right, and you’ll leave with skills no one can take from you. Play it wrong, and it’ll burn you out before you even get good.

Ever been thrilled to kick off a new coaching or facilitation project, only to have things unravel before your eyes? You’ve got the green light, your client’s excited, you’re excited... and then: ��� Deliverables turn into moving targets. 🫨 Tasks start sneaking into the scope. 🙄 Communication becomes reactive. 🙄 And somehow, you're doing more than you signed up for. Sound familiar? These issues can lead to frustrated clients, strained relationships, and results that don’t reflect your expertise. Worse, you’re left questioning your own abilities. The root cause? Poorly initiated projects. The fix? A rock-solid kickoff meeting. Here’s how I run mine to set the stage for smooth sailing: 1️⃣ Set the agenda and introduce the team. Share the agenda in advance so everyone’s prepared. A quick intro sets a collaborative tone. 2️⃣ Review the project overview. Revisit the high-level goals and objectives. Frame it as a partnership—you’re in this together. 3️⃣ Explore hopes and fears. Ask what success looks like for the client, but also what could go wrong. Addressing fears early helps build trust. 4️⃣ Create a risk and opportunity register. Most people track risks, but don’t stop there. Highlight opportunities to amplify success—maybe another internal initiative aligns with your work. 5️⃣ Revisit the timeline. Pull the timeline from your proposal and check if it still works. Revise as needed and confirm key milestones. 6️⃣ Discuss team culture and expectations. How do you want to work together? Align on communication styles and ways of working to avoid surprises later. 7️⃣ Define next steps. End with clarity: What happens next, and who’s responsible for what? 💡 Pro tip: Send pre-work in advance, like a draft risk/opportunity register. The meeting should refine, not start from scratch. The result? ✅ Clarity ✅ Alignment ✅ stronger relationships. A well-run kickoff leads to happy clients, repeat business, and—you guessed it—referrals. Start strong, finish stronger. ~~ ✍️ What’s one thing you always include in your project kickoff? Let me know in the comments! 👇

[𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬] Toastmasters International awarded me the 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘌𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 (2016) for excellence in public speaking. You see, Toastmasters has been the most transformative professional development program I have ever attended. It is THE reason behind the results I have been able to produce in my consulting and training business. Here are some lessons I learned from Toastmasters that I use every day in coaching, facilitation, and presentations: 1) Pause more often. Most presenters and coaches rush to fill silence, but pauses create impact. A well-placed pause makes people lean in, absorb your message, and anticipate what’s next. Whether you're speaking, coaching, or leading a meeting—silence is a tool, not a gap. 2) Ask more questions. Speaking isn’t just about delivering information—it’s about engaging your audience. Questions shift the focus from you to them. They make people think, reflect, and participate. Want your message to stick? Aim for minimum 1-3 questions for every 5 minutes of presenting. 3) When presenting - use your speaking area with purpose (virtual/in-person). Whether in person or virtual, your space is part of your message. On stage, moving forward can emphasize a key point, while stepping to the side can signal a shift in topic. On video, eye contact with the camera, intentional gestures, and framing make all the difference. Your presence is part of your delivery—own it. 4) Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. Then tell them what you told them. This simple structure ensures clarity and retention. Set the stage, deliver the message, and reinforce it. Whether in a keynote, a workshop, or a coaching session, repetition isn’t redundancy—it’s reinforcement. 5) Stories win over slides. People remember stories. Facts inform, but stories inspire. Whether coaching a leader, running a retrospective, or making a business case—the right story can make all the difference. Hope these help. Any questions, please feel free to comment and I will answer. #agilecoaching #scaledagileframework #SAFe #scrummaster #productmanagement #leadership #consulting #agileproductdevelopment

You can't coach someone out of a decision they haven't made yet. I've learned this the hard way. I've sat across from clients who said all the right things about wanting change, but whose actions told a completely different story. And it took me longer than I'd like to admit to recognize what was actually happening. Not everyone who shows up for coaching is ready for coaching. That's just a reality that skilled practitioners learn to read early, and one that fundamentally changes how you coach. Here are five signs your client needs something other than coaching right now: 1/ They keep asking you what to do. ↳ Coaching builds agency. ↳ Consulting provides answers. ↳ When "what should I do?" is a pattern, they need a different kind of support. 💡 Name it directly: "What you're looking for sounds more like consulting. Here's who can help with that." 2/ Every solution gets a "yes, but." ↳ You offer a path. They find an obstacle. ↳ You reframe. They find another. 💡 Mirror it back: "I notice none of the options we explore seem to stick. What's your take on that?" 3/ They're still in crisis mode. ↳ Coaching requires enough stability to think strategically. 💡 When a client is in active distress, redirect with care: "What you're describing sounds like it needs more immediate support than coaching can provide right now." 4/ They want the outcome without the process. ↳ The promotion without the hard conversation. ↳ The shift without the uncertainty. 💡 When they want the destination but won't engage with the journey, try: "Change requires uncomfortable action. Tell me about a time when you experienced that." 5/ They don't do the work between sessions. ↳ Coaching happens in the space between calls. 💡 When a client consistently comes back with nothing, address it directly: "The between-session work isn't happening. Let's talk about what's getting in the way." Your sessions become more intentional when you can read these signs. Your outcomes improve. Your reputation for ethical practice grows. This intentionality is built on engagements matched to what each person is actually ready for. Which of these five signs do you find hardest to spot? Saying "not yet" is sometimes the most professional thing you can do. 📌 If you want to go deeper on building that kind of discernment into your practice, the FCD course is where that work happens: careerinprogress.com/fcd

Every consultant knows how to solve problems for clients. Seeing your own blind spots is harder. I talk with my clients a lot about limiting beliefs, blind spots, and biases. They’re the three big pools of quicksand consultants can slip into faster than they realize. A big part of what we do for clients is help them navigate those same challenges. But we all suffer from the human condition, which means none of us are immune to them. That’s why every good consultant has a coach. Someone who can see what they can’t. When you understand how these biases show up in your own thinking, you make clearer decisions, offer better guidance, and build stronger trust with your clients. Here are eight common cognitive biases to watch for and what to do instead: Overconfidence Bias Assuming your first impression is always right. Slow down and check your assumptions. Confirmation Bias Only noticing information that fits what you already believe. Ask yourself what would change your mind. Anchoring Bias Letting the first idea or number shape everything that follows. Think about multiple reference points. Availability Bias Relying on the most memorable examples instead of the full picture. Look at patterns across all your work. Sunk Cost Fallacy Continuing something just because you've already invested in it. Ask if you'd choose this path today. Status Quo Bias Sticking with familiar methods or tools because they're comfortable. Treat every method as open for review. Recency Bias Giving too much weight to the latest event. Study longer-term trends instead. Authority Bias Accepting someone's opinion just because they're senior. Base your conclusions on the facts. Biases don’t disappear just because you’re experienced. But once you know how to spot them, you make better calls, you lead clients more effectively, and your work becomes far more impactful. The consultants who grow the fastest are the ones who stay curious about their own thinking and keep sharpening the way they make decisions. If you're figuring out the next step in your consulting business, I built a quiz that'll give you a personalized roadmap. You can take it for free here: https://lnkd.in/gve8CjUu Which bias do you think trips consultants up the most? 📨 If you're ready to book a call, send me a DM with the word "ready." ♻️ Repost this to help out your network. ➕ Follow Dale Gibbons to turn your genius into a 7-figure consulting business.

The biggest lie in the coaching/consulting industry is that a big audience means big sales. I see this with so many coaches and consultants. A leadership coach with lots of followers who never post anything but always like her updates. A financial coach with people who never share their own wins but always read her tips. A career coach with followers who never make content but always comment on hers. It looks good from the outside. But the sales are still slow. Most people think the answer is to post more. More content. More ideas. More everything. People say that more eyes bring more money. But that is not true. Here is the real truth: People who watch you quietly are often the ones who want help. They just need a little activation. A like does not mean they do not need support. A comment does not mean they are doing great. Being quiet does not mean they are not struggling. Most clients are not posting online. They are watching. They are thinking. They are waiting. Here is one simple way to activate them: Pick ten people who always like or comment on your posts. Send them a short, real message. Examples: • Leadership consultant: “I saw you liked my post about leading a team. Are you dealing with that right now” • Financial coach: “You read a lot of my money tips. What money goal are you working on” • Career consultant: “You commented on my interview post. Are you looking for a new job” • Business consultant: “You liked my systems post. What part of your business feels hard right now” • Health coach: “I saw you liked my routine post. Are you trying to build new habits this month” These small messages start real talks. Real talks lead to sales. Your audience is not too small. They just need activation. ---- I’m Lindsey and I help coaches and consultants scale with marketing systems that work. 👉 What is one simple activation move that works for you