How to use Coaching Wheels in a Coaching Session for Client Success

In this article, Nadezhda is sharing three stories of how the Coaching Wheel led to breakthroughs for her clients. She suggests an easy-to-use platform that she utilizes to quickly and effortlessly create nice-looking wheels and engage her client in real-time: CoachingWheels.com.  Finally, she shares a summary of 3 “dos and 3 “don'ts when using visual coaching tools such as the coaching wheel.

Case 1: 

Lost in the details 

This is probably the most common case I encounter with my coaching clients: getting lost in their own stories. Let me give you an example of a client we will call Mary. When I asked her what the outcome of the session was that she wanted to walk away with, Mary started telling me a story. She talked and talked and talked and jumped from one context to another until, at one point, she lost track of what she had said. She sighed and declared that she was lost. Did you have clients who delve into a story, trying to explain to us what they mean, only to end up even deeper into confusion and negative emotions? So when Mary lost her train of thought, I asked her for permission to summarize what she had told me so far in a visual form. I opened my favorite coaching platform, CoachingWheels.com, and summarized what she had brought into the story into separate areas of the wheel. I asked her which area was the most important to focus on in this session. And before answering that question, Mary, now in an elevated tone of voice, exclaimed, “Oh, it is much clearer now! Seeing it like that, it is manageable.". Mary’s reaction is not an exception. As the popular quote by Fred R. Barnard says, A picture is worth a thousand words”. The coaching wheel naturally takes clients to an observer/coach position; the overview is when insights and awareness flow. 

Case 2: 

The fighting team 

This story happened when I was coaching an IT team. There were people with a lot of technical expertise, yet it was obvious it was hard for them to work as a team. They were stuck in power fights and a “yes, but” type of communication. Everyone had an opinion different than the opinion of the others and was striving to prove their opinion right. What do you do when you encounter such a team dynamic? As soon as I observed that, I launched a CoachingWheels.com workspace and captured all individual opinions in a wheel. Everyone’s opinion was included. Immediately, the team dynamic calmed down noticeably. Then, with the help of the platform, I started a group session where everyone was able to scale to what extent they agreed with each opinion. The most acceptable solution was nominated, and the team moved into aligning feasible actions without any further disagreements. 

This is one of the many examples of how when a team focuses in one direction, and this direction is visible to all, it brings alignment and productivity to the team. 

Agile coaches use CoachingWheels.com to quickly and smoothly get the team to align using the “vote of confidence” template or for measuring “team happiness” and “agile maturity level,” as well as apply wheels in many other creative ways during the retrospective meetings. 

Case 3: 

The indecisive 

This is one of these examples when a coachee struggles with a decision. I cannot count the times when simply listing the criteria for the best decision and comparing the options the coachee has against each criterion makes the difference. This example happened during an online class when I was teaching coaching with wheels for decision-making. The demo coachee listed the criteria, duplicated them in two wheels, and scaled their two options against each criterion, yet they still could not make the decision. Then I asked the coachee what the additional missing criteria were that would make the difference. The coachee added one, which was when the Zoom whiteboard visual became messy and stopped serving the visual purpose of clarity and structure it was meant to fulfill. Have you experienced the embarrassment of drawing a wheel on a whiteboard where it ends up as a picture of a 3-year-old? With CoachingWheels.com I am now able to add or remove areas in a split second, maintaining the powerful visual impact of the tool.

As the number of online coaching sessions increased exponentially in the last three years, I’ve learned valuable lessons about coaching with visual tools such as the coaching wheel. Here are 3 Do’s and 3 Don’t-s I can share: 

DO

• Use visual tools to bring clarity and engage clients’ creative, right-brain, wholistic thinking;
• Mid-way through the session, ask the client for permission to summarise and put their thoughts into an appropriate symmetrical shape;
• Use dynamic visual tools and platforms where progress can be made visible using arrows, connections, and “now” and “desired” state indicators.

DON’T 

• Don’t waste clients’ time drawing visuals in the moment; focus on the client; use a pre-ready template or platforms.
• Do not start with the visual. Listen first! Use the visual tool to summarise. Often, clients get great “aha" moments when seeing their thoughts summarised. 
• Presence and coach position first! If creating visual notes on the whiteboard takes you away from being present with the client and takes you into your thoughts about what are your drawing skills - dump the visual!  Focus on what is easy and will maintain your presence and trust in the coaching session. 

Nadezhda Mihaylova is a professional certified coach, ICF PCC, and ICF mentor coach with over 20 years of experience enhancing personal growth and leadership capacity. She is among the elite faculty of Erickson Coaching International, teaching “The Art & Science of Coaching,” “Leader As Coach,” and “Parent As Coach”. She has coached corporate and individual clients on four continents for over a decade. To her close friends and fellow coaches, Nadezhda is known as the "Wheels Coach”.  She is passionate about using the coaching wheel tool in most of her coaching sessions and has found numerous ways in which this coaching tool can enhance the outcomes of coaching conversations. Her clients report that thanks to the wheels she brings, they feel more empowered and in control, leaving the sessions with clarity, balance, and insights.

Happy coaching!