Coloring Inside the Lines of Coaching
I know, I know, you may be thinking: HOW BORING!!!!
Coloring inside the lines feels stifled, rigid, and lacking pizazz!!
And for me, as someone who loves breaking outside the box, I totally get it. Yet, I keep a special space in my life where I get to do that and be that.
When I am supporting someone else in their own personal journey, I set my "pizazz" to the side a bit.
Coloring Inside the Lines of Coaching
Coaches are often encouraged to think outside the box—to be creative, resourceful, and ready to help. But in person-led coaching, the urge to help can sometimes move us outside the boundaries of our role.
That is where “coloring inside the lines” becomes a useful reminder.
The lines represent the principles that protect the coaching relationship: the person leads, their goals remain central, and the coach supports exploration through curiosity, open-ended questions, and reflective listening. Within those boundaries, there is plenty of room for creativity.
A Socratic approach invites people to examine their own thoughts, recognize strengths, consider possibilities, and decide what comes next.
Instead of asking ourselves, “What solution can I give them?” we ask, “What question might help them discover something meaningful?”
The challenge comes when we see a possibility and want to steer the person toward it.
Even a well-intended suggestion can shift the conversation from their thinking to our thinking.
A question can do the same when it is advice disguised as curiosity: “Have you thought about doing this?”
Coloring inside the lines means noticing that urge and returning to the person’s perspective.
What matters to them? What have they considered? What feels possible? What support do they want as they decide?
This takes patience.
It requires us to tolerate silence, uncertainty, and choices that may differ from our own.
Creativity still belongs in coaching—in the questions we ask, the connections we reflect, and the space we create for discovery. The person gets to choose what their picture becomes.
Our role is to support their ability to hold the crayon.
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