In this episode, let’s explore one of the most common questions that comes up in coach training and mentor coaching: how to establish clear and meaningful measures of success for a coaching session.

Rather than treating measures of success as a technical requirement or a box to tick during contracting, let’s look at them as a relational practice that serves the client first. Measures of success are not there to help the coach manage the session; they help the client clarify what would make the conversation truly useful, satisfying, or complete for them.

Much of the difficulty coaches experience with measures of success has little to do with not knowing how to ask the question, and much more to do with presence, listening, and the ability to stay with uncertainty. Working with measures of success often mirrors a coach’s own relationship with uncertainty, time, and results.

In this episode, I explore:

• Common patterns that make measures of success feel elusive or “hard to get”
• How presence, deep listening, and curiosity allow success criteria to emerge naturally
• Different ways clients define success, including internal shifts, emotional resolution, learning, clarity, or a felt sense of completion
• Practical ways to recognize and co-create measures of success using the client’s own language

If you find yourself unsure whether you are “doing contracting right,” or if measures of success sometimes feel awkward, forced, or overly formal, this episode offers a grounded and relational way to think about them.

Coming up next:

In the next episode, we shift to a very practical focus on the art of asking powerful questions by looking at what makes a question impactful, deep, and capable of opening something new in the client’s thinking.

Enjoy Other Free Materials:

• Free Coaching Course for People Leaders: upthinkcoaching.podia.com/basic-coaching-skills-for-new-leaders
• Mock ICF Credentialing Exam (PCC, MCC) from UpThink Coaching: podia.com/mock-icf-credentialing-exam-pcc-mcc
• PCC Marker Demo: upthinkcoaching.podia.com/pcc-marker-demo-session

Next ICF-Accredited Coach Training Programs (designed for coaches who want to work at depth):

• ACC Path: https://upthinkcoaching.com/coach-training-development/become-a-coach/
• PCC Path: https://upthinkcoaching.com/coach-training-development/the-path-to-excellence-for-certified-coaches/