Our clients gain power when they find optimism to temper their pessimism. But take care to ground the former and use the latter to be pragmatic By Stephen Burt One of the most powerful things that we coaches can do with our clients is to help them engage with what is real in their lives. Outside the coaching conversation, they often have to pretend, keep part of themselves hidden or respond to others’ agendas for them. In engaging with the real, we help them create a platform for sustainable change or action that can withstand set-backs and disappointments. To...