Introduction
Champions the client.
The more often, and deeply, the coach champions their client at all levels (including their actions, progress, dreams, traits, commitments, gifts and qualities), the more encouraged the client feels and the more likely they are to succeed.  For the coach to merely be encouraging is not enough; there is a much higher level of support generated when the coach operates at the championing level, which is where the Certified Coach operates.

The Purpose of This Learning Guide
1. To explain the Proficiency.
2. To show how mastering this Proficiency makes you a better coach.
3. To provide key resources to assist you in mastering this Proficiency.

What the instructor covers in this TeleClass
1. How to champion the client. 
2. The difference between cheerleading and championing.
3. Three ways of championing the client.
4. A demonstration of each of the three ways of championing the client.

What does it mean to Champion the Client?
1. Champion vs. Cheerleading
Cheerleading for the client implies revving them up, jumping up and down when the energy isn't there for them. When the coach cheerleads, s/he takes responsibility for the success of the client. Championing the client is a grounded acknowledgement of their achievements - as they define them. It is a genuine act.

2. You really feel it.
In order to be a true Champion for your client, you have to really believe what you are saying and feeling, not making it up in an attempt to convince them they should be proud.

3. The client champions themselves. 
We actually could have named this proficiency "teaching the client to champion themselves". What you are really doing when you use this proficiency is drawing their own championing skills out, so that it is internally references. Then you can provide additional validation through your own response.

4. Champion at all levels.
Don't just focus on what they actually did (or did not do). Include their dreams, traits, commitments, follow-through, qualities, service to others, feelings, insights, and profound moments, as well as their actions and progress. 

What are some general truths about championing the client?
1. Adults need as much support as kids do.
2. Client's growth is solidified when they are championed appropriately.
3. Championing is a natural part of the coaching process.

Identify the significance.
Identify the underlying shift or growth that has occurred. Help the client understand the long-term value and meaning of the shift.

Make sure that you...
Don't ask for the new step too quickly. Be sure to congratulate the client and that they believe you.

Share your...
Willingness to help, your excitement, and your awe at their accomplishments.

What can the client expect?
To shift from entropy, doubting, and feeling disconnected, to feeling energized, integrated and confident. (You will, too!)

What are  ways to champion the client?

Be excited about their progress.
It is important to match their tone and emotion when sharing your excitement. That doesn't mean you come all the way down if they are feeling low, but it does mean to match the emotion without matching the intensity of it.

Point to the underlying shifts or growths the client has made.
Often clients are not aware of the steps they have taken or the progress they have made. As the coach you provide a bigger perspective because you aren't caught up in their daily activities. 

Be awed by their willingness.
Allow yourself to feel awed. Clients really do make amazing shifts, and they are remarkably trusting and willing with us. 

What are some strategies you can use to champion the client?
1. Look for the deeper emotion from the client.
The client will give you direct clues to what they are most excited about or proud of. Listen for the richness in their tone, the energy in their voice, and the words they use. 

2. Be curious and excited.
When the coach is genuinely curious and excited, the client gets it. S/he feels heard, understood, and supported.

3. Match their emotion, tone, and feeling.
Your goal is to use this proficiency to connect with the client and encourage and empower them to feel this within themselves. Matching their emotions and tone, at least at first, will make you more believable, and won't pressure them to agree with you.

4. Look for the greater truth.
The client will give you direct clues to what they are most excited about or proud of. Listen for the richness in their tone, the energy in their voice, and the words they use. 

2. Be curious and excited.
When the coach is genuinely curious and excited, the client gets it. S/he feels heard, understood, and supported.

3. Match their emotion, tone, and feeling.
Your goal is to use this proficiency to connect with the client and encourage and empower them to feel this within themselves. Matching their emotions and tone, at least at first, will make you more believable, and won't pressure them to agree with you.

4. Look for the greater truth.
When the client realizes what they are proud of, there is often a greater truth that underlies it. Look for the greater scheme in life for them. It's a way to give the person a total understanding of how it was evolutionary for them. 

5. Ask THEM.
Your goal is to get them to champion for themselves, so before you tell them how great you think they are, ask them what they are proud of about X or how it represents a significant shift to them.

6. Get comfortable with silence.
If silence makes you uncomfortable, you will have a tendency to talk without drawing the championing from within the client. You'll notice that when you let there be silence, the client will feel the need to start talking, and often this is when you get to the real truth. 

Why is this a Proficiency?
1. Requires a keen self-awareness and awareness of the Client.
The ability to champion the client requires a keen self-awareness and an awareness of the client, so that you will know when you are cheerleading and when you are championing. You also need to remember things the client may have forgotten. This ability to let go of needing the client to succeed, or to feel successful, is an advanced coaching skill.

2. Requires being so genuine that "performance" is not even present.
To champion effectively, so that it will "stick", the coach must do this in a genuine way, You must not jump into telling or solution mode. Championing means having faith in the process of coaching, truly being excited for your client, and knowing that it is valuable in it's own right. The performance-oriented coach will sound like they are acting - because they are. The Certified Coach is one who has moved beyond the beginner level where there is great concern about adding value and performing. 

What are the benefits of championing the client?
1. Sets the client up for success.
By assisting the client in remembering their progress on all levels, you support them to value themselves and be able to make additional shifts when appropriate. It enhances their self-perception via internal and external references, which builds the muscle for dealing with future adversity. They feel heard and encouraged - and the more encouraged they feel the more likely they are to succeed.

2. The client does most of the work.
You get to host the celebration party by asking questions to elicit their learnings and progress. When you let them do most of the work, that gives you plenty of room to champion for them.

3. You have more fun!
It feels good to encourage your client, and when you feel good about it, you are genuinely enjoying your client, relaxed in your coaching, and practicing all of the proficiencies of an advanced coach.

How do you know if you're getting it?
1.You feel excited for your clients and enjoy talking with them.
2. You recognize the clients patterns of success.
3. You appreciate the perfection in everything.
4. The client is inspired by their results.
5. The client is building on their successes.
6. The client becomes a believer again.

What are some common mistakes when using this Proficiency?
1. Puffing up the client.
When you are too urgent to make them believe how great they are, it can come across as awkward or as pressure.

2. Championing before you listen.
Make sure you understand what's going on for the client, otherwise you might be championing something that's only going on in your mind.

3. Self-referencing.
Yes, you have lots of things to champion over, too, but this is not the time. Make it all about them.

4. Not matching their intensity level.
Usually this is indicative of cheerleading, but it could also present as not being as excited as the client. 

5. Not prompting them to acknowledge themselves.
Don't try to convince them. Ask questions to draw out their own championing opportunities. These will stick longer, and give you stories and information you can draw on in later coaching sessions with them.

Resources
15 Proficiencies | here
The 3 Generators of Client Value | here
The 5-Element CoachVille Coaching System | here
Certified Coach Training Resources | here
The Orb/Graphic Version  | view gif | view pdf
Twelve Ways to Champion the Client | view gif | view pdf
Champions the Client Chart | gif coming soon | view pdf

Are there success stories/testimonials related to Championing the Client?
got one?

"Many coaches seek to motivate their clients by trying to communicate their own personal vision of how a project should be completed. Nina East has the unique gift of inspiring individuals by tying their own values and visions in with the accomplishment of a goal. Most importantly, though, Nina holds others accountable so that they are not tempted to fall short of their own potential." 
----Kinneil Coltman

Class Notes
Transcript of Training Call | here
RealAudio of Training Call | here
MP3 of Training Call | here* (to download MP3 file, right click your mouse over link) .


*instructions for downloading/using MP3 file here.



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