Celebrating the End of a Coaching Relationship

How to say goodbye when the coaching process is complete

The ultimate goal of coaching is to work yourself out of a coaching job. At some point, the coachee should be self-reliant and have enough tools and self-awareness to end the coaching, or move to an infrequent check-in model where you might bounce ideas around occasionally, but really, the coachee is independent and equipped to move ahead without the coach. This is a time of mixed feelings for both the coach and the coachee.

For the coachee, it can feel like a graduation of sorts — a time to look forward to the next stage, where he or she will be able to showcase his or her new skills at the next level. Feeling a little bit of longing for what has transpired is also normal (admit it — you have a little bit of nostalgia for high school, even if you weren’t the best student!).