Performance and Sport Psychology Consulting Practice Development

Answer

 Performance and Sport Psychology Consulting Practice Development

One of the main questions that entrepreneurs often ask themselves is “Who is my client” that I am targeting with my products and services?” The capability of finding a client, selling products or services to the identified customers, and satisfying the customers so that they continue buying forms the central focus of all business activities (Golden, 2007). The greater the clarity that a business has with regard to their targeted client, the more effective and focused their marketing efforts will become. Since all in business aim at satisfying their clients in some way, the most crucial activity of any business owner is to vividly identify their best (set) of clients for their services and products, and then concentrate all their advertising, marketing, and sales determinations on this identified kind of client. Nonetheless, it is one thing to attract clients and manage them since the question, “Who is your Client?” is a professional legal, philosophical, and ethical question that one needs to carefully think about before they begin operating any business. For this reason, one needs to know how to establish, communicate, and manage their clients with reference to their individual boundaries, especially when they deal with diverse clients. One of the greatest ways through which a business owner can increase their sense of control as well as minimize stress when running their businesses, which activity entails making exchanges with clients, is by setting boundaries (Wei, 2008). In this paper, I will explain how I will vividly establish, communicate, and manage my boundaries in performance psychology consulting environments wherein I will be managing multiple clients. I will work under the principle that confidentiality is assumed, despite the need to still communicate with clients.

A boundary refers to a limit that defines a person’s relationship to another person or something (Couch, 2018). These boundaries can be tangible and physical or intangible and emotional (Frieze, 2015). In any environment, boundaries are important in several ways. Boundaries help: in protecting us, clarify our responsibilities and other people’s responsibilities, preserve our emotional and physical energies, keeping us focused upon ourselves, live individual standards and values, and identify our individual limits (Braff, 2018). Additionally, boundaries determine the amount or quality of exchanges between diverse individuals within an organization (Angouri et al., 2017). According to Reina and Reina (2015), destructive exchanges, invasion, disconnectedness, and obscurity, often arise within an environment because of blurred or rigid boundaries. To begin with, I will explain how I will establish boundaries within consulting environments. Whereas the success of any business venture is said to be directly proportional to the number of clients that the business has, boundaries must be established, especially within the performance psychology.  One of the ways I will establish my boundaries is by first identifying my limits. When dealing with clients within the performance psychology environments, I will be meeting various categories of people, like parents/children, coaches/athletes, employers/employees, with various mental, emotional, and spiritual limits. As such, I will need to set boundaries of my emotional, psychological, physical, and many other limits. To effectively do this, I will pay much attention to myself so that I can be able to notice what I am able to accept and tolerate along with what makes me feel stressed and distressed since these feelings will help me clarify my boundaries. Since boundaries are always personal, I will do what it takes to help me fully understand myself to know how to deal with my clients regardless of their gender, age, hobbies and interests, occupation, and level of education among other factors.

The second way I will establish my boundaries is by taking into consideration my environment. According to Booher (2013), the environment within which someone role plays is the individual’s context, and can have substantial effect upon the individual’s attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors. Social circles, work, and family are some of the powerful contexts within which we often operate. The main reason as to why I will take into consideration my environment is that the environment can either back up one’s limits, thus making it easier for the individual, or present hurdles to the individual’s boundary setting, thereby making it extra challenging for the individual (Peterson, 2016). By understanding my environment, I will be able to know the kind of clients I will be interacting with at any time in terms of their desires, expectations, tastes, and preferences and also know how to deal with each one of them regardless of age, sex, social status, and religion among other factors.

Apart from establishing boundaries, I will have to clearly communicate my boundaries within the consulting environments. Making my clients know my values, standards, principles and norms will be needful, lest my boundaries be easily broken. In the plainest, simplest, and vivid language, I will do what it takes to communicate to my clients my feelings, opinions, standards, values, and principles. However, to effectively do this, I will need to track my clients’ trends in their performances. The simplest way to begin doing this will be to look for my favourite clients with the goal of determining what they have in common. Middleton (2010) states that noticing clients’ patterns or trends can assist in learning much about the right of clients that I should give much priority in my consulting environment. Other than my favourite clients, I will also consider the patterns or trends the rest of my clients so that I be able to glean certain unique insights that will inform how I will communicate and serve them. By understanding my clients well, I will be able to communicate to them my boundaries in their language. Vincent (2012) reasons that when one is communicating with or speaking to their ideal clients, they often tend to speak in such manners that would convince their clients that they fully understand them. As such, I will try whatever possible to get to understand the language of parents or children, coaches or athletes, employers or employee, among other category of clients who may consult with me during my practice. One of the ways I will try to communicate to them my boundaries is by actively listening to my (potential) clients by paying attention to them. Also, when communicating with my clients, I will take a keen note on how they articulate challenges or address particular situations since words used by clients are powerful when one uses them to interact with them (Golden, 2007). The implication is that I will have to seek for my clients physically, on social media platforms, and any other avenue where I can get them and then communicate to them my boundaries. 

Another way through which I will ensure I communicate effectively with my clients is by conducting a customer research. Through phone and any other media of communication, I will interview my clients in my attempt to learn how they perceive, regard, and use my services. Such information will be used to better my promotional activities and techniques so that I will be able to attract as many clients as possible. Through such, I will also be able to know well the kind of clients I will be dealing with.

Lastly, I will ensure that I effectively and efficiently manage my boundaries. By effectively managing boundaries, an entrepreneur’s ability to interact and create synergy is improved. One of the ways through which I will ensure my boundaries are managed is by making sure that I know how my clients will want to be served. Basically, I will need to know and understand the expectations and demands of my clients before beginning to discover and develop how to address them through exchanges that they will have with my business. Secondly, I will have to know the challenges that my clients will be experiencing in their various fields of engagements. According to Wei (2008), a business owner who is able to understand best the challenges that their clients are facing has the highest probability of getting their business survive. As such, I will try to ensure that I provide solutions to all my clients’ challenges regardless of whether my client is a child or an adult and employer or employee, among other categories.

In conclusion, answering the question, “Who is your client?” is a multifaceted question that requires careful consideration by anyone considering beginning a business. Essentially, a business person needs to establish, communicate, and manage well their boundaries in their respective business environment because they interact with various kinds of people.