What is it about Needs that you need to hear?

A few years ago I noticed some repeating patterns of behavior among my coaching clients. Specifically I noticed they had unmet needs. Their unconscious attempts to get their needs met were keeping them from achieving the outcomes they really wanted.

This was very frustrating for them:

• They would talk about goals with passion,
  but not make any progress toward them.
• They would hear suggestions which were happily accepted,
  but never put into practice.
• They would have breakthrough after breakthrough in their thinking, but never seem to change their behavior.

For instance, one of my clients was a professional speaker who had a need for approval and acceptance. He used his audiences to meet these needs. The problem:

• This was unconscious to him.
• He thought he was just being a good speaker.
• The needs prevented him from raising his speaking fees because he wanted a full calendar, which would give him more approval and acceptance opportunities.
• Therefore he took on painful assignments (lower fees, hard-to-get-to locations, etc.).
• His speaking business continued but at a high personal cost.

After he saw his needs and got them met in healthier ways, he has been able to:

• Dramatically increase his revenues.
• Decrease his workload.
• Have better and healthier connections with his audiences.

The needs no longer drive him. He is now drawn to speaking engagements by his core values of service and creativity.