When I completed my coach training and began coaching for real, I thought I was prepared. I understood the models, I knew the theory, I had practised the skills.
What I didn’t fully appreciate was how human coaching would feel, how often I’d question myself, how frequently sessions wouldn’t go to plan, and how much learning would happen after the session had ended.
This diary is a collection of reflections from my first year as a coach.
It’s not a “how-to” guide, and it’s not a highlight reel of perfectly executed coaching sessions. Instead, it captures the moments that felt uncertain, uncomfortable, or messy. The moments where I doubted myself, noticed my own patterns, or learned something important by getting it slightly wrong first.
Each reflection is grounded in real coaching experiences, written honestly and without polish, because that’s where the learning lives.
Coaching isn’t about having the right answers, it’s about staying present, curious, and willing to reflect.
If these entries help you feel a little less alone in your first year of coaching, then they’ve done exactly what they were meant to do.
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Jen
Title
When I judged the goal
When coaches focus too quickly on a client’s stated goal, they can miss the deeper story behind it. This reflection explores the importance of curiosity, awareness, and staying open in coaching conversations.
Taming my Inner Fixer
Coaching isn’t about fixing. It’s about holding space. A reflection on spotting the inner fixer and returning to curiosity, trust, and client ownership.
”Shouldn’t My Manager Be Telling Me?”
Sometimes the hardest part of coaching isn’t finding the right question, it’s staying the course when the client feels stuck.
Going ‘off plan’ in Coaching
Coaching isn’t linear. A candid reflection on navigating “off plan” sessions, trusting the process, and supporting clients when goals evolve.
Getting Stuck at Goal Setting
The first session had been going really well. We’d gone through the Wheel, explored her focus areas, talked about her vision, what she wanted life to look and feel like when things were going well. Everything was flowing, the energy was good, and she was engaged.
Then we reached the goal setting part. That’s where things suddenly slowed down.
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