Session one...
Sometimes in a first session, clients just want to tell their story. Hazel was one of those clients. It felt important to let Hazel speak and think for as long as she needed. I decided to stand by one of the core of principles of coaching: that the quality of the coach’s attention enhances the client’s own thinking. I sat back and listened like my life depended on it.
I learned that Hazel and her wife Sarah* had been together for seven years. They were both retired teachers.
Hazel spoke quickly at first, racing to fill me in on everything: ‘We met years ago, when we were younger, and there was an instant spark between
