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What Does Having a Bad Back Teach Us About Getting the Best out of Coaching?

12 July 2018

Having recently succumbed to a consistent nagging back pain, I finally decided to do something about it and book an appointment with a Chiropractor.

After a little bit of desk research and a couple of phone calls asking for referrals, one name kept cropping up so I made a phone call and an appointment was made.  As part of the process, I was asked to complete a form, of which the last three questions grabbed my attention and resonated with me.

Which of the following would you like to achieve from your Chiropractic care?

  1. Relief care – the symptom relief of pain or discomfort
  2. Corrective care – Correcting and relieving the cause of the problem as well as the symptoms
  3. Wellness care – Bring whatever is malfunctioning in the body to the highest state of health and wellbeing possible

The reason this resonated is because it got me thinking about the role of a professional business coach and the outcomes anyone considering working with a coach should be looking for from that relationship. 

When I arrived for my first appointment, which was referred to as an assessment, I was asked some thought provoking and relevant questions, all of which were designed to go way beyond the first question and delve into the third question.  It would have been all too easy to make a quick diagnosis and go for some immediate pain relief treatment, but instead the approach was refreshingly different.

The Chiropractor advised me that her role was to see me as little as possible, and therefore she needed to identify the root causes of my back pain, as well as manage my expectations about what could be achieved through treatment.   (Without boring you with the details, it turns out that the nagging foot pain and neck ache were also related to the root cause).

I now have a six to eight week plan to work to, an understanding of the root cause and a list of exercises that I should be (and will be) doing to ensure that the ongoing pain relief becomes permanent. 

The accountability is on me to do a large share of the work, with the knowledge that I can call on the expertise and knowledge of the Chiropractor to guide me with their professional expertise along the way.

As if to emphasise this point, I received a phone call a few days after my first treatment to check on how I was doing and getting on with the exercises. This level of service and care went well beyond my expectations, which is exactly how your working relationship with a business coach should be, and yet sadly all too rarely happens.  It also reemphasised the point that I was responsible for putting into place the action plan we agreed.

Incidentally, as an aside if anybody reading this needs to see a Chiropractor, I cannot recommend Melanie Rogers at Active Family Chiropractic enough.  Just be prepared to consider which outcomes you would like to achieve and the work you are prepared to put in to achieve them.

If you are interested in finding out more about our business coaching, please call us on 01295 675506 for a friendly no obligation chat.

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