{"id":13790,"date":"2025-10-02T13:31:28","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T18:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/?p=13790"},"modified":"2025-10-02T13:39:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T18:39:39","slug":"building-trust-one-brick-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/2025\/10\/02\/building-trust-one-brick-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Trust, One Brick at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Rachel<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

As I was heading out of the house one morning, my young children were chatting at the breakfast table, their conversation drifting toward the story of The Wizard of Oz. My husband, knowing my childhood love for the tale, turned to me and asked, \u201cWhat was it that all the main characters were searching for again?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was instantly transported back to second grade and blurted out that the Tin Man longed for a heart, the Scarecrow sought a brain, and the Cowardly Lion was desperate for courage. Then my adult mind came back online, and I added, \u201cBut the thing is, they had those qualities all along; they just didn\u2019t recognize them yet. They should have called up a coach to help them\u2014then they wouldn\u2019t have had to worry so much about the Wicked Witches or the Great Oz.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amused by my own oversimplification, I carried the thought with me as I stepped out the door. It dawned on me that not only did this shortcut strip the story of its magic, it also failed to capture what coaching is truly about. Coaching isn\u2019t about handing people the answers or fast-tracking them to success; it\u2019s about walking alongside them as they navigate their own winding journey, discovering the heart, soul, and strength already within them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no way to bypass the winding and uncharted yellow brick road. This realization illuminated the essence of trust in coaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trust isn\u2019t built through some illusion of greater knowing \u2013 like the man behind the curtain \u2013 but through patient support as our coaches pave their own path. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Much like Dorothy\u2019s companions, coaches often believe they are missing something essential and external that they must find before they can fully become themselves. Yet, just like the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion, they already possess the very qualities they seek \u2013 their journey is about recognizing them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These relatable characters are not simply handed what they desire. They explore new worlds and take on challenges. They realize only through vulnerability and the support of their friends, that they were never lacking wisdom, courage, or a heart in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building trust in coaching relationships also requires coaches to let go. Just as Dorothy had to release her belief that Oz held the key to her return home, coaches must let go of their own assumptions about what a client needs. Coaching thrives in curiosity, not certainty. If we ask genuinely curious questions, if we stay present and reflective, we allow clients to see themselves more clearly. They can then shed their limiting beliefs and uncover the qualities that were always within them. This thought stayed with me as I arrived on campus that morning, isn\u2019t about handing people the answers or fast-tracking them to success; it\u2019s about walking alongside them as they navigate their own winding journey, discovering the heart, soul, and strength already within them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This thought stayed with me as I arrived on campus that morning, humming Somewhere Over the Rainbow<\/em> and glancing at my coaching calendar. I saw each student who would walk into my office that day as their own version of Dorothy\u2014each with a different story, a different struggle, yet all yearning for clarity, hope, or confidence. My role wasn\u2019t to hand them their answers but to walk with them, listen, and trust in their ability to find their way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this foundation, the question, \u201cWhy then, oh why can\u2019t I?\u201d transforms into something more self-assured for coaches: \u201cHow can I, and how will I?\u201d And just like Dorothy standing in her ruby slippers, every coach eventually arrives at the realization that the power to improve their lives was theirs all along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This article was written by Rachel Charron<\/a>, MSW, ACC, CAPSW, for choice Magazine<\/a> and reprinted with permission.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"Choice<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I was heading out of the house one morning, my young children were chatting at the breakfast table, their conversation drifting toward the story of The Wizard of Oz. My husband, knowing my childhood love for the tale, turned to me and asked, \u201cWhat was it that all the main characters were searching for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13793,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12,596,15],"tags":[524,305,342,343],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13790"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13790"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13798,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13790\/revisions\/13798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}