What’s your key decision?
“I’ve never been a planner. So over the years I’ve gotten very good at winging it, figuring things out on the spot. However, once I started my own business, my family was now more vulnerable to the swings of my work. This was finally the kick I needed to do something about making a plan.
At first, I thought I would kinda, ‘Figure out a plan as I was going along.’ But that never happened. It was only when I started coaching with Christina that I realized this needed intentionality. Working with Christina helped me to realize that actually a plan was the last step. A plan just tells you how to get from A to B. A plan can’t tell you what A or B actually are. I realized I needed to know where I was and to know where I wanted to go.”
Directions won’t help if you don’t know where you are and where you want to go
I started coaching Jermaine* in the early months of his new business. He was a first time business owner, so our coaching initially focused on what he was learning, and wanted to learn, in his new role.
He was eager to experiment, serve his clients, and grow and develop as both a business owner and a practitioner of his craft.
A few of our early sessions focused on questions like “How do I decide which clients to pursue?” “Which direction do I want to take my business?” and “How do I prioritize my time?”
It became clear that Jermaine needed to create a framework for himself and his business - which he could use to answer each version of these questions as they came up in his work.
As Jermaine tells it: “I came in with a practical problem, "How do I find clients? How do I also work on the projects I have?" but to answer it we had to zoom out to get my bearings and then once I was properly oriented, it worked to zoom back down to the problem with the answers in hand.”
Starting with what’s most important
To uncover the guiding principles that would craft his framework, I led him through a series of exercises to clarify his values and his personal and professional mission. He worked through this process, and over the course of several coaching sessions, things became clearer.
He was starting to have criteria for which clients and projects he wanted, and why. He gained clarity on the direction he wanted to take his business, and what drove that decision. He began finding ways to prioritize the things that were most important.
Towards the end of the year, we started talking about goals.
I asked Jermaine to start with imagining we were catching up a year into the future. He had a great year - what had gone well? What problems had he solved, challenges had he overcome, victories had he experienced?
The key decision
As we discussed each of these future wins, it became clear that there was one thing, one key decision, that he needed to make, that would unlock all the other decisions.
Not having an answer was causing him to spin his wheels, professionally and personally.
Figuring out the answer to this one question would give him the north star clarity he needed to guide his approach to all of the other big rocks in his year. It would unlock everything else.
“Through several exercises Christina was able to draw out from me the things that were both valuable for my business and for my family. I really appreciated this about Christina’s approach – she knew when to take off the business coach hat and put on the life coach hat. When I presented a myriad of problems to solve, she wisely pointed out the problem that was at the crux of it all, “It seems like this is the problem that needs to be solved first. Then you’ll have much better information to solve the other ones.” I never would have identified this on my own.”
With this key decision in hand, Jermaine spent time between sessions digging into this big decision. He considered his options, evaluated them in light of his values, and made his choice.
The next time we met for coaching, he had a lightness about him. While the other goals for his year are still ambitious, he had unlocked more clarity than ever before on what he wanted to do and why.
Following the north star
“After just a handful of coaching sessions, for the first time in my life, I have goals set for the year. I have purpose and confidence that some actions are worth taking and others are worth ignoring. I’m also bringing this mentality into my personal life. My wife and I have been more intentional with our priorities. We are so used to just reacting or responding to things that other people want us to do. Now we have the motivation and ability to plan and direct life for our family, instead of just letting it happen.”
Now, Jermaine and I use our coaching sessions to dig into the details of his goals - what he’s learning as he tries different experiments to achieve the goals he’s set forth for himself. We figure out where things are getting sticky, what experiments are working, and how he can refine his goals and his plans to maximize his success.
Perhaps Jermaine’s wife says it best of all: "Planning like this makes me feel hopeful that thriving is possible."
As you think about how you want to get from A to B, what do you need to unlock?
Curious? Let’s talk.
Book your free strategy session and let’s dig in.
How will you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
* Shared with permission. Name and identifying details changed to honor client privacy.
January 30, 2025
About the author:
Christina Von Stroh is a leadership coach who helps her clients become wildly successful by applying iterative software development practices to achieve their dreams. Want to work with Christina to help you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
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