The hardest thing for a coach to do?
Nothing.
Silence in a coaching session used to make me uncomfortable.
I’d feel the urge to fill it.
Another question.
Another prompt.
Something. Anything.
But I’ve learned to wait.
Because the longer the silence sits, the more interesting it becomes.
The client wants to fill the space.
The coach wants to leave it open.
And somewhere in that tension, something shifts.
The client stops reaching for the answer they think they should give.
And starts finding the answer that’s actually theirs.
That’s when I realised:
Silence isn’t the absence of coaching.
Sometimes, it’s the coaching.
How comfortable are you leaving the space open?
