I was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 2001. By 2003 I could no longer speak intelligibly or walk, and any muscle control became more difficult as the disease progressed. I knew I couldn’t keep facilitating team meetings and giving strategy presentations — staples of the consulting services I had provided for many years. But I still loved my work and needed to stay active, and my clients were open to trying a new approach, so I began managing my coaching relationships exclusively through written dialogue in instant messages, emails, and other electronic documents.
What I Learned About Coaching After Losing the Ability to Speak
Mark Rosen was diagnosed with ALS in 2001. By 2003 he could no longer speak intelligibly or walk, so he began managing his coaching relationships exclusively through written dialogue. Rosen and his clients initially thought that the lack of in-person interaction might get in the way of open dialogue, but that hasn’t been the case. They have discovered several unexpected advantages of coaching through writing, such as increased psychological safety, better “listening,” and greater accountability. Others can reap these benefits in a variety of coaching contexts — from leadership development to organizational consulting to professional mentoring — even if they aren’t similarly constrained by a handicap. To do so, they should signal open access and flexibility, manage confidentiality and the flow of feedback, hone their written voice, and get comfortable with personal disclosure.