Saying Goodbye to a Client

We often have a potential client ask us what will happen when he feels complete with his coach. How does he take the next step? It’s a great question, but it isn’t actually what drove me to write this today. 

What got me thinking about this was that several Pilea coaches are pregnant and starting to support their clients in finding interim coaches or new coaches in their absence. It hit me that there are many reasons for clients to move on, and not all of the reasons actually concern the clients themselves. Here are a few examples of why a coach might decide her work with a client is complete.

It’s a bad fit.

Many at the beginning of a coaching career will say “yes” to everyone who wants to work with them. I think this is a super important stage in a coach’s journey, as it allows you to learn who your people are and how to improve your practice; it also provides much-needed work while you are figuring out how your caseload might eventually look. However, there comes a time when you begin learning and growing proactively instead of reactively, and it is at this point that you get to choose your clients. When this happens, it’s time for the clients who don’t match where you are in your journey to move on.

You’re no longer doing meaningful work.

Clients may have come to you with a specific piece of work that they needed to get done. Some of it might be around something you uniquely can offer, like experience in organizational design or Series A leadership. Or, it might be about who you are - a master get-stuff-done-er or a woman who reminds your client of his mother - that made you a great fit for your client. Whatever it is, sometimes the work is just done and it’s time for the client to move along to the next step of her personal work.

The client drains your energy.

Then there are the client energy vampires. I've had clients like this. I do jumping jacks, drink coffee, and plan exciting topics before our sessions, hoping I might stave off the inevitable sloth and torpor that comes partway through our session. It’s instructive to look at why the client is draining your energy before you move the person along; sometimes it’s a stuckness that can move you both forward, and sometimes you are over-efforting as the coach. Both of these can be fixed (always look at where you find yourself needing your client to be different). Otherwise, it might be time to move on.

Of course, there are other reasons to move a client off of your roster, including that you’d like to make more space in your schedule for new projects or new family members. Or, perhaps your clients are paying your old rate and don’t have the juice to pay the new one. Whatever the reason for your saying goodbye, I invite you to consider the words of my dear coaching friend’s mentor, who said, “It’s okay to be sad about disappointing people, but do disappoint them.”

When things end, there is space for new things to begin. Don’t hoard clients - set them free. And when you do, our concierge can help them find a soft place to land.