The term “insight” refers to having knowledge. It’s more than just knowing more than someone else. It’s about being in tune with your innermost self – the psychology of you – and being able to use this self-awareness to better work with people. This gives you the power to be empathetic and provide more useful feedback or insight.
Insight also refers to learned knowledge – research and experience-based knowledge. While it is essential to be able to be insightful in terms of understanding what makes your client “tick”, it’s also important to take that knowledge a step further.
Insight broken down
To us, insight can be broken up into two parts:
- The emotional part, and
- The theoretical part.
This means that you first need to understand how a person feels and – basically – how they function. These things all work together to form a basis of your assessment and will give you a pretty good idea of what you’re working with and how to approach the situation or consultation.
When you move into the second part, you are looking to answer the question “Why?”. You have discovered all of these things about your client, but how do you use this to their advantage? In addition, how do you go about helping them better themselves without making them feel judged or belittled?
So, when your client mentions that they’re insecure about something, they’re telling you this because they trust you not to use it against them and instead use it as a tool in their development plan. Together, you can work on alleviating the insecurity and anxieties in a safe manner that gives them the relevant coping mechanisms to use when these feelings do arise.
The art of insight
The title of this post is “Why is it necessary for a life coach to master the art of insight?” so it is important to emphasise that insight is indeed an art. It’s about knowing what to say and when to say it. It’s about being able to set relevant boundaries in order to relate to your client without bombarding them with tonnes of information that can be misconstrued as being meddling and judgemental.
On the subject of boundaries, while it is important to relate to your client, you are still a paid professional with the task of helping them to better themselves. There needs to be a distinct line between professional and personal at all times and this needs to be set out from day one.
A client coming to you for career advice is certainly not looking for your insight as to why they don’t like eating tomatoes or why you think they have psychological issues brought about from childhood experiences. While understanding a person is complex, it’s more important to understand their needs and what it is you can do to assist them in their journey.
By mastering the art of insight, you – as a life coach – will be able to manage both sides of this working relationship with the care, respect and insight that it so rightfully deserves.
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