💬Words of Wisdom:
The Power of Partnership:
Navigating the ‘Stuck’ in Coaching
By Leona Wan, ICF-MCC
In a recent coaching session, Dominic explored with his client about how the client can transform her passion into a business. After 15 minutes of exploration, the client said with a cold tone: “I am stuck….” followed by a long pause.
This is the moment where coaching truly begins. It is not in the smooth sailing of brainstorming and action plans, but in the uncomfortable, silent space of “stuckness” that the quality of the coaching partnership is truly revealed. For a coach, this moment might trigger panic, a rush to offer solutions, or a series of rapid-fire questions to fix the problem. But for a master coach like Dominic, this is an invitation to go deeper.
A high-quality coaching partnership is built on a foundation of unwavering trust and profound presence. It is a co-created, sacred space where the client feels safe enough to be completely vulnerable—to admit they are lost, to sit in their confusion, and to explore the messy, uncharted territory of their own minds. When the client says, “I am stuck,” they are not asking for a map. They are asking for a fellow traveller, a confident and curious companion who is willing to sit with them in the dark until they can find their own light.
Dominic’s response in this moment is critical. Instead of filling the silence, he honours it. He leans in, not with answers, but with empathy and curiosity. His focus is not on the business plan, but on the human being in front of him. He might ask a simple, powerful question like, “Where is this stuck sitting in you?” or “What is here for you in this pause?” or, he might make an offer like, “let’s stuck here together for a while”.
What is valuable to the client is the coach’s ability to listen beyond the words, to sense the client’s emotional and energetic state, and to respond in a way that honours their whole person. It is about trusting that the client has their own answers and that the coach’s role is not to provide them, but to create the conditions for them to emerge.
The partnership becomes a dance of shared exploration. The coach offers companionship, illuminating corners of the client’s inner world they couldn’t see on their own. The client, feeling safe and supported, finds the courage to look in those corners, to confront their fears and limiting beliefs, and to discover their own path forward.
Ultimately, it is not about having the right answers. It is not about fixing the client. It is a deep, human connection built on trust, presence, and a shared belief in the client’s inherent wisdom and potential. And it is in those moments of shared silence, in the heart of being “stuck,” that the most profound transformations occur.