Earlier this year I wrote a blog about shifting a client’s mindset from looking for the perfect plan to achieve work-life balance to identifying small, immediate steps he could take — though imperfect — to start the process of achieving that balance (There is No Perfect Plan).

In a follow-up conversation a month later, the client had started taking those small steps and wanted our conversation to be about structuring the business in a way that would create time to spend with his family while maintaining his current income levels. While developing the business framework showing how this could be achieved, I challenged my client with the following question:

“Based on the income levels you are projecting would you be better off going out and getting a job?”

 My client paused briefly but went on to dismiss the idea as being not remotely plausible.

As a result, my client finished our conversation with the commitment to look at ways to implement that framework within the business before our next conversation.

To my surprise in the past week, I received the following e-mail from my client:

“…the last conversation with yourself was actually the catalyst for me deciding to make some changes regarding my work life balance, so much so that I actually applied for a role which came up at a large company, and I have progressed to an interview tomorrow!”

 This was followed up a week later with the following:

“As it turns out I got the job and I start in 3 weeks! Already well into the process of winding up the business.

 This is the only job I applied for. After our last conversation and realising I wasn’t up for a big push to grow the business, I resolved to scale things back and reclaim some personal time.

 While in this mindset, I saw this job posting which ticked all the boxes for me. It gets me out of the industry and into a “bigger picture” type role, working on the type of projects that really interest me. It’s a large national company with all the benefits and flexible hours. I said to my wife, if they offer around the same pay that I make now, I will really go for it. Well they did, so there’s no way I can pass up the opportunity.

 Thanks again for your help to crystalise what I wanted in my mind and give me some clarity moving forward.

 The outcome achieved by my client serves as a powerful reminder that sometimes the most powerful coaching comes from the courage to have conversations with clients which they need to have but don’t want to have.