With so much already said (see postings 1 – 4 in this series), what’s left to say that’s new or different when it comes to managing your personal prejudices in a coaching situation? As I ponder what I aim to bring I am aware that I want to reiterate thoughts I have already shared:

• Continuing to learn: I could as easily end with as start with an emphasis on my own learning for, surely, my ability to manage my personal prejudices in coaching is a reflection of my learning at a given point in time. My ongoing investment in my own learning (via coaching, supervision and other means) together supply the resources I bring as a coach;
• Acting from a set of values and principles: Coaching is not coaching in which the coach knows the answers and the answers come from the coach. To me, this implies that no matter what I may think at different points in a coaching meeting it is for me to be open and curious, perhaps to have a view and still not to be wedded to the idea of being right. Out of this openness and curiosity come questions which build my own understanding as well as that of my client. These and other values and principles from which I work support openness and reduce the likeliness that personal prejudices (on either side) will limit the effectiveness of coaching;
• Disclosing – or not: Being aware of my prejudices opens up the possibility of disclosing them. With this comes the responsibility to choose. When might I disclose them? When might I not? In general, when I have broad faith in a bias I may choose to disclose it – to offer it to my client as a possibility, openly and without attachment. Equally, there are times when it is for me to notice a prejudice and to set it aside. Of course, there are times when my broad view (that X might work or that Y is unlikely to be effective) may prevail – but only because I have asked questions which invite open exploration. It is not my aim to lead my client in line with my own prejudices;
• Letting clients own their own decisions: One of the key ways in which I manage my personal prejudices in coaching is by remembering that my clients’ decisions are not mine to take. Even when I have a view that my client is choosing a path which may fail to meet his or her needs (or failing to choose a path which will meet his or her needs) it is for my client to know what suits. In truth, I find that the process of working with clients is such that I rarely have a strong sense of unease at a client’s decision. When I do, it may be for me to make observations or to ask questions to test a client’s thinking and still, no client decision is ever mine to make.

Phew! Over five postings I have explored prejudice and what it means to manage my prejudices. Sometimes I have wondered – am I taking the whole question too seriously? At other times I have been aware of how barely I am scratching the surface of this subject. There is always more to be said.

Meantime, I welcome your views.