Mastering the Art of Enrollment
By Stephen McGhee
Enrollment is often misunderstood in the coaching worldβ€”reduced to strategies for signing clients or closing deals. But true enrollment isn’t about persuasion or performance. It’s about presence. In this powerful piece, Stephen McGhee redefines enrollment as a way of beingβ€”a deep, heart-centered alignment that transforms lives through connection, leadership, and authenticity. If you’ve ever felt conflicted about β€œselling” your work, this article will help you remember what real service looks likeβ€”and how to embody it.
The Four Elements of Enrollment
Common Ground
Beneath our differences, we share struggles, hopes, and desires. When you see that, the illusion of separation dissolves.
Openhearted Generosity
True enrollment begins in the heart. It asks for presence, not performance.
Creative Listening
Go beyond hearing words. Listen to the spirit behind them. Drop ego and agenda. Meet others in the "third space"β€”a neutral zone where inspiration lives.
Authenticity
You're most powerful when you're fully yourself. Trying to be someone else muddies your signal. When you channel divine inspiration through your uniqueness, you eliminate competition.
The dictionary defines enrollment as "to insert, register, or enter in a list." In coaching, it's often used to describe getting clients. But that's a limited, transactional view. True enrollment isn't about gaining somethingβ€”it's about being something. Many coaches feel stuck, despite doing "all the right things." Why? Because they're competing with themselvesβ€”trying to get a client while also serving one. These are conflicting intentions.
True enrollment isn't about salesβ€”it's about leadership. Let go of what you think enrollment is. It's not a tactic. It's a way of being. It's about creating a vision that calls forth someone's future self. It's sensing, connecting, listening, and inspiringβ€”not performing or convincing. When you're fully enrolled in yourself, your presence becomes a gateway for others to rise. There's no need to push or persuade.
Many filter their messageβ€”watering it down out of fear, doubt, or ego. But if you're half-in and conflicted, people will feel it. You can't "do" enrollment if you're not being enrollment. The most important person to enroll is yourself. Some coaches secretly question the value of what they offer. But unless you believe deeply in your work, others won't. Enrollment isn't about outcomeβ€”it's about alignment.
The Power of Authentic Connection
When you're detached from results but deeply present, you create a space for transformation. I've coached through climbing mountains, rafting wild rivers, and teaching soul-centered leadership. Yet the most powerful enrollment moments happened not in the curriculum, but in the casual, spontaneous connectionsβ€”over coffee, at lunch, or in conversation with my team.
High-Fee Coaching and the Money Myth
Enrollment isn't an "on/off" switch. It's who you are when you show up fully alive.
Yes, money matters. But if you're not fully enrolled in your own value, asking for a high fee will feel out of alignment. Clients will feel the dissonance. Don't lead with feesβ€”lead with vision. Help people see what's possible for them. Money becomes a small part of the conversation when the real conversation is about growth, purpose, and transformation. That's when clients say yesβ€”not to you, but to themselves.
The Journey of Mastery
My journey when I left a successful banking career nearly 30 years ago to pursue leadership coaching, I quickly realized that mastery in this field meant mastering enrollment. Over time, I saw it wasn't something I did on stage, it was what happened in quiet moments of real connection.
For those feeling stuck in their coaching business, I offer this: Stop trying to "get" clients. Start being enrollment. Be fully present. Serve the person in front of you, without agenda. That's when magic happens. You don't need to know thousands of people. Just fully know the one you're with.
Integration
You don't have to be "on" all the time. Even on tired or hard days, you can be profoundly enrollingβ€”if you're honest and present. That integration of life and work is what makes coaching deeply fulfilling.
Self-Care
To sustain this, prioritize self-care. Journal. Meditate. Move your body. Eat well. Cold plunge. Breathe deeply.
Growth
Use your life as a school for growth. Because when you're fully enrolled in your own life, you naturally help others step into theirs.
About the Author, Stephen McGhee
Stephen McGhee is a visionary leadership advisor, speaker, and author with over 30 years of experience guiding personal, professional, and planetary transformation. With a background in financial services and advanced studies in consciousness, health, and healing, Stephen has helped leaders around the world step into their highest integrity and power. His work blends presence, purpose, and courageβ€”whether in the boardroom or on mountaintops. From keynote speaking to leading high-impact expeditions like climbing Mt. Aconcagua and rafting the Rio FutaleufΓΊ, Stephen’s approach is experiential and transformative. He lives in Southern California with his wife, Veronica, and their family.
Stephen McGhee
Stephen McGhee Leadership, Inc.
stephen@mcgheeleadership.com
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