#146 Imagination in Coaching: Creativity with Purpose
Why Coaches Fail
This is the eighth in a series of 12 posts about why coaches fail. Being a great coach is about getting the balance just right between not enough and too much, the so-called Goldilocks Effect.
Coaches might underplay or overplay certain behaviours and derail the chances of successfully helping their clients reach their goals. Great coaches manage to strike a balance between these extremes and get it just right.
Today, I’ll explore the use of imagination in coaching, show why balancing creativity with purpose is so important for effective coaching, and how to cultivate it for yourself.
Imagination in Coaching: Creativity with Purpose
The ability to use your imagination is the secret superpower of coaching. When used well, it unlocks new perspectives, deepens insight and invites transformation. But when misused - or underused - it can limit impact.
Some coaches rely heavily on learnt techniques and structured processes. Their sessions follow a familiar arc, grounded in models and frameworks. While this can offer clarity and consistency, it may also constrain possibilities. The coach becomes a technician, applying tools rather than tuning into what the moment calls for. Opportunities for metaphor, visualisation or playful inquiry are missed - and with them, the chance to spark deeper awareness.
At the other extreme, some coaches chase originality for its own sake. They strive to be different, amazing or unconventional. Their coaching becomes eccentric - full of quirky interventions, abstract metaphors or unexpected detours. While creativity is welcome, it must serve the client’s journey. When it doesn’t, the coaching risks becoming self-indulgent, confusing or even alienating.
The sweet spot is what I call purposeful creativity. Coaches who intentionally bring imagination into their practice create space for insight that feels alive. They use metaphor to unlock emotion, story to reframe identity and visualisation to make goals come alive. Their creativity goes beyond novelty to ensure it remains in service of transformation. Coaching becomes not just effective, but memorable.
Three tips to use imagination with impact:
Ask ‘what’s needed now?’: let creativity emerge from the moment, not from your desire to impress.
Test your metaphors: check that your imaginative interventions resonate with the client’s worldview, and not just yours.
Ground creativity in purpose: link imaginative techniques to the client’s goals, values or insights.
Imagination isn’t decoration, it’s direction. And when used with care, it turns coaching from technique into an art form.
Visit https://www.growthecoach.com/free-resources to download an at-a-glance summary of all the coaching derailers.
