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I’m Kirk.

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Without further ado, let’s dive in!

If you’ve ever potty trained a child, you know how excruciating the struggle can be.

(yes, this is a coaching insight - I promise)

First, you just cannot wait for them to get out of diapers.

Only problem is, they have zero interest in potty training.

Then suddenly they do have interest, but they keep having accidents.

It’s hard for these little brains to remember they have to get to the toilet when they’re having so much fun playing with toys or their friends.

And how are you supposed to handle it when they do have accidents?

• Discipline them, because it was wrong to pee their pants?

• Let it go and stay chill, at risk of them not learning?

• Or simply praise them for the few times they actually make it to the toilet?

My son tried the third option recently with his toddler.

As frustrating as it was to keep cleaning up messes and keep calm when he didn’t quite make it to the toilet, they decided to only praise whatever tiny bit their son did do right.

Even if it was only 22% correct, they’d praise that 22%.

What happened?

Within about 3 days, their son was making it to the toilet almost every single time by himself.

One night he made it to the toilet 6 times within a half hour!

Ok that was a little strange, but we’re glad he made it every time haha.

So what in the world does this have to do with coaching?

Your client is a toddler.

At least, they psychologically act like one.

This isn’t rude or degrading - just look.

Do you have to remind them multiple times to take their action steps?

Do they sometimes struggle with whether or not they even want to do the thing you know would change their life?

Do they frequently get distracted and mess up their own good intentions?

Does it make them happy to be praised for the little things they’re doing right?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Almost every coaching client is like this at least at some point in their progress - though most are at least somewhat like this all the time!

So what do you do?

When they struggle to follow through, don’t make them feel like a failure.

Gently redirect them, but praise them for the good they are doing.

Keep reminding them.

Keep believing in them, even when they don’t.

Sooner or later, they’re going to get it.

You know they will.

And just like a toddler’s first day wearing underwear with no accidents, it will be glorious when your client reaches their goals too!

What other insights to you pick up on from this analogy? Hit reply and let me know!

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- Kirk