Coaches listen and then ask questions. A real danger is when a coach is listening to the client telling about a situation and is not listening “behind” the words. When staying in the “gossip” the coach might not probe deeper, then the coach hears only a single side of the story and an incomplete one.

I always ask myself: Why is the client telling me this now? and then check with them.

During the mentor coaching, I always work with the mentees to get this skill ingrained: look behind the words and check with the client. Always ask yourself: Why is the client telling me this NOW?