Connecting with colleagues is always a pleasure. Having a chat with my coach colleague Linda today has been a wonderful opportunity to revisit together how to reach goals.

When working with clients, a standard idea is to meet the coachee where he is. From practice, we know that this is easier said than done.

Luckily, there is one indicator that never fails. It’s resistance.

Whenever we meet resistance during our work, there is something the other is not able to do.

Unfortunately, whenever we’ve learned that discipline is there to overcome obstacles, we’ll easily find ourselves on the wrong track. Instead of taking a step back, take a second look at the situation, and think about a path the coachee may be able to take, we’ll find ourselves engaged in overcoming the resistance heads-on.

It rarely works. What it does, is bring more pressure into the system. Moving against resistance simply creates more resistance. It can break down, however, that will come along with frustration.

Our ability to reflect on the meaning of the resistance allows us to open new doors for our coachees.

Whoever took the Camino de Santiago, knows that Europe is covered by a network of paths all leading the way to Compostela.

It’s just as true for the work we do. It’s rarely walked in a straight line.