Beware of “I Know”
When you are sitting with a client and you start to get excited because you think you have identified what the problem is and what is needed to solve it, BEWARE!
“I know” comes up for me when I think I’ve figured out:
- What the dilemma is for a client
- What they should do, or
- How they should do it
Beware of the thought,“I KNOW!”
Thinking you know generates a couple of possible problems:
1. You might be wrong. You might be honing in on solving the wrong problem.
2. You might not know the best way for your client to go about solving the problem. (Our ideas just might not be as awesome as we think they are!)
What’s the solution then?
Stay curious a bit longer!
MI suggests that we first try to elicit from our clients before we jump in with diagnosing- or solving- the problem!
It’s a win-win- our clients feel more empowered in the process, and we don’t end up accidentally owning their problems!
Motivational Interviewing Tip of the Week: When you feel confident you know what the problem is or what the solution is, I invite you to pause and consider how to stay curious a little bit longer. What question might cultivate your clients’ ability to identify the dilemma or the solution? What reflections could you use to guide in that direction? We want our clients to come to “I got it!” rather than feeling smug with our own sense of figuring it out!
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Hi, I’m Hillary Bolter. At MI Center for Change, Motivational Interviewing is our passion. Motivational Interviewing will help you become more effective and efficient as you support clients’ change!
