Firing your coaching clients, is that a good way to run a business? Is it good for your client? Or for you?

You have to set some rules an boundaries for yourself, as an NLP Practitioner, coach, therapist or change worker. With some clients the answer is easy, absolutely! They misbehave, discriminate, put you in harms way etc.

Possible grey zones firing coaching clients

However, examples of grey zones are:

1. Client shows up late, or cancels at last minute a number of sessions (though does offer to pay you.) After being consistently on time previously.

2. Client faithfully attends coaching sessions, though never executes tasks or is mentally not present.

3. Client tells lies.

4. So much secondary gain, to stay where and who they are.

5. Resists you every step of the way.

6. Everyhing you do, keeps not working on the client.

7. You can not be impartial.

8. You dislike like the client…a lot.

9. Client does something against your values structurally.

10. Client doesn’t speak English or your language of origin well enough

11. Client needs another coach or a different kind of professional help.

12.  Etc.

Setting boundaries

I could write an entire blog post on any of these topics. What I want to focus on in this article is that you have to set some clear boundaries, standards, and rules for yourself. And some of these you have to communicate with your client, and explain. A lot of this can be done during the first coaching session. Global NLP Training teaches as part of their life coach certification how you set up this first session, what you should talk about with your client and ask for. Then there are coaching agreements, which can be a legal contract, or a commitment your client makes to their change (and you!)

I consider a few questions when I work with people:

1. Am I the best coach and NLP Master Practitioner for this person?

2. Do I have the skills and capabilities to move this person in to a more congruent state and life?

3. Can I set the client up for success? (And in that myself.)

4. Is it ecological for me to work with this person, at this moment in my life? Not only how does your work affect the clients system as a whole (their work, their home, their loved ones, their health etc.) Also, how does working with this client affect my ecology?

5. Is working with this person cause a conflict of values for me? (Those things that are integral to what I belief in, those things that are the most important to me.)

6. This person so many sessions from now, is going to a testimonial to my work walking around in the world. Is that going to be good or bad?

7. Is this person wasting my time? Time I could of spent helping others, or leading my own life.

8. I am committed to this persons change, are they?

In two weeks the second portion of “Firing coaching clients, a good thing or not?” will follow.