Async Coaching Adapts to How People Think

When we talk about the power of async conversations, we often compare them to meetings. But what I hadn’t fully appreciated is how some of that same value manifests in one-on-one coaching as well.

People process, reflect, and respond in different ways.  This may be even more true when internalizing and reflecting on our own areas for improvement.  Not all individuals are going to be ready to take all the feedback and quickly and immediately respond back within the immediate allotted time.

Coaching Works Better When the Pace Fits the Person

Some clients think best out loud. Others need time to reflect. Some thrive in quick back-and-forth across a variety of topics. Others prefer to stay with one topic until it settles.

Async coaching gives space for all of that.

Phil shared that many of his ADHD clients feel overwhelmed when they’re given multiple ideas at once, so progress may be in smaller more frequent chunks. Async allows him to deliver one clear thought at a time and then follow-up the next day—helping them focus, act, and follow through more consistently.

And for clients who are slower to process or more thoughtful before speaking, async gives the breathing room to share when and how they’re ready.

The Benefit Isn’t Just Flexibility—It’s Clarity

In live sessions, it’s easy to jump between ideas or lose track of key threads. With async, everything is recorded. Clients or coach can go back, listen again, and reflect before replying.

This leads to:

• More focused conversations

• Stronger follow-through

• Greater confidence from clients who need time to synthesize

  
  

Async lets the conversation adapt to the way each person thinks—not just how fast they can react in the moment.

Coaching for Real Life, Not Real Time

The same dynamics we see in async team communication apply here:

• Not everyone thrives in real-time without time to think and respond

• People need space to think and respond at a pace appropriate for them and the subject

• Clarity improves when each can reference the documented discussion

  
  

That’s not just a more scalable way to coach. It’s a more human one.