As a wife, mum, and Strengths Coach, I’m constantly finding ways to play to my strengths so I can navigate the opportunities and challenges of this season of my life. As a Brit living in Switzerland with my bi-national family, life with three school-aged kids, regular house guests, and an active role in the community – life is busy. Many of you may be parents yourselves, and as Strengths coaches, we are also likely to coach clients who are parents.
Parenting can be rewarding, complex, and sometimes overwhelming. A strengths-based approach helps parents embrace their unique talents, manage stress, and thrive in their personal, parenting, and professional lives. Here are reflective questions and coaching tips I’ve found valuable, inspired by my own journey as both a mother and a coach. I hope these insights help you support your clients who are parents.
Reflective Questions to Ask Your Clients (who are Parents)
- How do your top strengths show up in your parenting? How do they shape the way you nurture and support your children?
I encourage parents to reflect on how their CliftonStrengths® come through in their interactions with their children. This helps them see where they naturally excel and builds their confidence to lean into those strengths. - How do you integrate self-care into your daily routine to maintain energy and resilience as both a parent and an individual?
Self-care is essential for parents. I help them explore ways to use their strengths to prioritize their well-being without feeling guilty about neglecting family responsibilities. - How do you model strengths-based living for your children, and how has that impacted their understanding of their own abilities?
By living through their strengths, parents can be powerful examples for their children. I work with clients to explore how they can create a strengths-focused culture at home.
Coaching Parents: Insights from a Mother and Strengths Coach
1. Leverage Their Strengths in Parenting
Parents’ strengths can be powerful tools in their routines. I encourage clients to see how their talents show up in parenting. For instance, a client with Achiever® might create systems to keep their family organized, while someone with Empathy® could build trust-based relationships with their children.
Coaching Tip: Ask clients to list examples of how their strengths show up in parenting. Help them explore what they already do well and how those talents can help them tackle challenges.
2. Encourage Balance Between Parenting and Self-Care
Many parents feel guilty about taking time for themselves. I remind them that self-care isn’t selfish—it’s necessary to be fully present for their children. By using strengths like Responsibility® or Arranger®, parents can creatively balance self-care without neglecting their family.
Coaching Tip: Help clients build small, manageable self-care routines aligned with their strengths. For example, a parent with Connectedness® may enjoy mindfulness practices, while someone with Learner® might prefer personal development activities.
3. Build Emotional Intelligence in Parenting
Clients with strengths like Empathy®, Developer®, or Individualization® are often adept at nurturing their children’s emotional well-being. Even those with less relational strengths can foster emotional intelligence by engaging more intentionally with their children’s feelings.
Coaching Tip: Guide clients to recognize their children’s unique emotional needs. Parents with Discipline® or Maximizer® might use structure to create emotionally safe environments for their children.
4. Foster a Growth Mindset in Both Parent and Child
I encourage parents to model a growth mindset for their children. Strengths like Learner®, Developer®, and Ideation® naturally help create environments that celebrate curiosity and development.
Coaching Tip: Work with parents to foster an atmosphere where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities. Encourage them to share their own growth stories, emphasizing that personal development is a continuous process.
5. Focus on Strengths as a Family Culture
Strengths-based living can shape family culture, not just individual behaviour. I guide parents to model strengths-based thinking at home, encouraging their children to discover and embrace their unique talents early on.
Coaching Tip: Encourage parents to have open conversations about strengths with their children. Strengths discovery can become a fun family activity, allowing parents to observe and nurture their children’s emerging talents.
6. Manage Parental Guilt with Strengths Awareness
Parental guilt is common. Many feel they’re not spending enough time with their kids or not meeting their work expectations. I help parents reframe this through strengths awareness, showing them how their abilities enable them to parent effectively in their own way.
Coaching Tip: Help clients recognize how their strengths contribute to their family’s well-being. For instance, a parent with Achiever® might feel guilty about not spending enough quality time, but they can acknowledge that their productivity provides stability for the family.
7. Embrace Flexibility in Parenting
Parenting is unpredictable, and not everyone thrives in chaos. Those with strengths like Arranger® or Adaptability® may manage change easily, while those with Discipline® or Focus® may struggle. I help clients value flexibility while staying true to their natural preferences.
Coaching Tip: Encourage clients to embrace moments of adaptability without losing structure. Even those who prefer order can benefit from seeing flexibility as a path to more creative and effective parenting solutions.
Conclusion: Coaching Parents with a Strengths-Based Approach
Parenting is one of the most important, challenging, and rewarding roles we take on. By helping our clients embrace their strengths, we empower them to navigate parenting with more confidence and purpose. Strengths awareness not only enhances their family and community life but also ensures their personal well-being is nurtured.
With these tips and reflective questions, I hope you feel ready to support the parents you coach as they navigate their unique challenges and joys.
Further Reading
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If you are a parent, who is ready to take charge of your own development, and wants to understand more about your unique strengths, then I have just the workshop for you. The Strengths Overlander Experience is a 90minute virtual workshop designed to start you on your journey of embracing your uniqueness and giving you the tools to do what you do best more of the time.
