Staying OPEN: A Coach’s Framework for Working With Bias

As coaches, we take pride in staying present, holding space, and trusting the process. But let’s be real, bias comes with us. It travels quietly alongside our questions, our curiosity, and even our instincts, supporting us. It’s not a flaw. It’s part of being human.

Bias isn’t something to be ashamed of. It’s something to get to know.

Our brains are designed to take shortcuts. Biases help us process massive amounts of information quickly. But sometimes those shortcuts show up as assumptions — about who our clients are, what they value, or how they “should” move forward. Left unexamined, bias can shape how we show up in a session, often without us realizing it.

Bias Isn’t the Enemy

Something I often say in coach mentorship or education spaces is: “You’re not here to erase your biases; you’re here to become aware of them.” To gently surface them, stay curious, and make conscious choices in the moment. That’s the practice.

This kind of awareness lives at the heart of Embodies a Coaching Mindset (ICF Competency #2) and Cultivates Trust and Safety (ICF Competency #4). It’s part of how we co-create a space that invites wholeness, agency, and permission — for both the client and the coach.

Bias might show up in coaching when:

• We subtly steer the session based on what we think matters. 
• We interpret tone or emotion through our own lens of meaning. 
• We unconsciously prioritize what’s familiar or comfortable. 

This isn’t about blame. It’s about care. It’s about staying with ourselves while we stay with the client.

Meet the OPEN Framework

I created OPEN as a trauma-aware, coach-friendly way to check in with yourself in the moment. It’s not a rigid protocol, it’s a gentle nudge. A reminder that presence is a practice.

This framework aligns with ICF Core Competencies five and six, Maintains Presence and Listens Actively, supporting us in coaching with both awareness and humility.

O – Observe Your Internal Reaction

That little flicker — curiosity, discomfort, urgency, judgment — is information. Not a mistake. Just something to notice.   

Try asking: “What just showed up in me right now?”

P – Pause and Park Assumptions

When your mind starts to fill in blanks, gently set those thoughts aside. You don’t have to push them away, just choose not to follow them right now.

In the moment, ask yourself: “What story am I telling myself, and is it clouding what the client is saying?”

E – Expand Your Perspective

Take a breath. What else might be true here? Is there something you haven’t yet considered? This is where humility meets possibility.   

What would change if you asked yourself, “If I zoom out, what else becomes visible?”

N – Name What’s in the Present for the Client

Return to their words, their pace, their meaning. Reflect what you’re hearing, not through your filter, but in their language.

Asking yourself, “What feels most present for them in this moment,” not only invites you out of assumption but also invites curiosity in, as a place to ask the client a question or share an observation.

You don’t need a dramatic pause or a lengthy reset. Sometimes all it takes is a moment. The choice to slow down and re-center. The more we practice this, the more intuitive it becomes.

Why It Matters

Unacknowledged bias can create subtle pressure in the coaching space. It can shift power dynamics, narrow possibilities, and unintentionally guide a client away from their own inner knowing.

But when we stay OPEN — when we observe, pause, expand, and name — we offer a more grounded, relational presence. We model reflection. We invite autonomy. We build safety, not by removing risk, but by staying aware and attuned.

And that’s what allows clients to show up fully, shift deeply, and choose freely.

In Your Coaching Backpack

As you take this with you into your next session, or into your own reflection, you might start to notice when bias tends to show up in your coaching — are there patterns? Are there certain topics, identities, or emotions that bring it forward? And when it does, what helps you come back to presence, to curiosity, to the client in front of you?

OPEN isn’t about calling ourselves out — it’s about calling ourselves in. Gently. Repeatedly. With kindness and compassion.

Because the more OPEN we are, the more space we create for safety, possibility, growth, and honest, human connection.

© 2025 Rosa Edinga. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

References:
International Coaching Federation. (2021). ICF Core Competencies. Retrieved from https://coachingfederation.org/core-competencies