Coaching is an easy job when you love what you do–but it’s still work too. Here’s the godly way to make the most of your time with and without your coach so that you get what you need from them and so they aren’t feeling ambushed at all times of the day and night.

Get used to scheduling a session when you want to flesh out some ideas or run a thought past them. Any coach worth their salt is always reading, attending webinars and gathering current information and strategies for their clients as well as coaching other clients. Don’t believe that just because they are a coach that they’re always available. They may love working with you, but their time is extremely valuable.

Coaches love to know that you value what they do (there’s that word “value” again). Make sure that you’ve exhausted all of their printed and downloadable tools first. There’s nothing worse than paying a few hundred dollars for a session, when the information you really needed was right within reach in a $9 audio download. Once you bulk up on their existing tools, your session time with them just became that much more valuable.

Make sure you’ve done the last thing your coach told you to do before reaching out to them again. Many people want to grab onto and hoard the information that a coach knows without implementing it. Coaching is about execution, but it’s about accountability too. If you’re not going to honor the instructions and assignments your coach is giving you then you’ll never see the results–that’s not their fault. Don’t just have them pouring out, show them that you actually “get it” and DO THE WORK!

Don’t fish for coaching tips, tricks or instructions via Facebook inbox, Messenger or email. If you are saving up for a session or are in between session, start creating a list of questions that you’d like to ask and then book a legitimate session. This shows that you respect the fact that your coach sets fees for a reason and that you understand that for their practice/business to run smoothly they work with a schedule. Coaching is as much about relationship as it is getting information. Unless you need clarity on a set of instructions or want to share some wonderful news with them, inbox, Messenger and email may not be the most beneficial ways to communicate and get feedback.

Remember you want to utilize your coach, but you don’t want to ruin the mentor/mentee or coach/client relationship in the process.