Introduction to Lesson 1
Following on from our discussion of core coaching principles, this lesson applies those ideas to the practical process of setting goals and ensuring accountability, which helps to maintain the focus on client progress.
While traditional coaching relies on standardized models, a neuro-affirming approach requires us to adapt this framework to a client’s natural way of thinking and processing information.
Our role is to co-create goals that feel supportive, achievable, and aligned with their unique strengths, mirroring the Dynamic Development Plan (DDP) framework.
Principle 1: Focus on Micro-Goals
Reducing Cognitive Load
Break goals into small, doable steps that build confidence and create momentum, as micro-goals help regulate overwhelm and ensure steady progress throughout the coaching period.
Dr Edward Hallowell emphasises that breaking tasks into manageable components reduces cognitive load, which is critical for supporting sustained motivation and preventing burn-out.
Principle 3: Co-Created Accountability
Supportive Frameworks
Accountability should reduce pressure, not increase it, and it must match the client’s preferred communication style and energy levels to be truly effective.
This is a partnership, not supervision, so a supportive, predictable check-in structure enhances engagement and reduces feelings of shame or inadequacy.
In Action
“What type of check-in feels most comfortable: email, text, or discussing it at the start of our next session?”
The Co-Creation Process
The Dynamic Development Plan (DDP) is a structured yet flexible framework for turning insight into action, which requires a deep commitment to shared understanding.
It is not a form to be filled in, it is a live, co-created tool constructed with the client, ensuring shared understanding of what matters to them and how they function best.
Without that shared understanding, the plan risks becoming just another document produced about them rather than with them, which undermines their authentic agency.
3. Co-Creating the Actions
Facilitating Thinking
Actions are the point where many plans become overly directive, so in a neuro-affirming DDP, actions are co-designed and recorded in the client’s own language.
Your role is to facilitate thinking, not to impose solutions. Ask: “What feels like a realistic first step?” or “What kind of support would make this easier?”
This protects client autonomy and increases the likelihood that actions will be carried out successfully and authentically during the coaching journey.
Scaffolding and Optimal Challenge
Temporary Structures
Scaffolding provides a temporary structure that enables a client to achieve tasks that might otherwise be overwhelming, especially when working just beyond what they can do alone.
Once the client has practiced and consolidated the skill, the scaffold is gradually removed, allowing them to act with greater independence and confidence in their own abilities.
“We do not view supports as ‘crutches’, but as intelligent tools that honour how a person’s brain best processes the world.”
Technology & Advocacy Scripts
Self-Advocacy Scripts
Short, rehearsed phrases help clients express needs and boundaries, and they are especially valuable where the client may feel pressured to mask or remain silent.
Co-create language that feels authentic, then rehearse the script in session to discuss how it might feel to use it in real life while identifying safe practice opportunities.
“I process information better in a quieter space. Would it be possible to move to a smaller meeting room?”
