The art of coaching challenging clients
Recently, one of my private clients - who specialises in addiction recovery - shared two interesting cases with me... The first was a meth addict living out of his car. Guy was driving Uber and making just enough to cover gas and feed his habit. No-showed twice for their calls. But the third time... he actually showed up. "Man, I'm tired of it," he told my client. "I'm in my mid-thirties, living in my car, and I want to have a life." They went through the financial discovery... Found out he was only working the bare minimum hours to support his addiction. My client laid out a simple path: Work more hours. Use the extra money to invest in coaching, heal his addiction, and transform his life. The prospect seemed fired up… Said he'd prove he could do it. Then ghosted. That same week, another prospect came at him from a different angle... "You know what? I was interested at first... but you've reached out WAY too many times over the last 3 days. You've completely turned me off." My client questioned his approach. "If someone was fully healed,” I explained. “They wouldn't get triggered by someone reaching out because they care." See, both clients were using different excuses... But they were running the same pattern. One disappeared without a trace. The other blamed "too many follow-ups." Both were avoiding the real work of transformation. "Look," I told him. "When someone's in that situation, you have to be strong... but not judgmental." You speak to their pain. You acknowledge their potential. But you let them choose it for themselves. Because at the end of the day... If anything they've tried before had worked... They wouldn't be in this situation. That's the real art of coaching challenging cases. Being direct without being pushy. Being caring without being soft. Being strong while maintaining empathy. Because sometimes... The ones who push back the hardest... Are the ones who need help the most.