By Annalisa Corti
You’ve been trained to listen deeply. To trust the knowledge you have built over the years. To notice the shifts in energy, language, posture. And you do, brilliantly. But after a few years in practice, most coaches hit the same wall: you realize how much of your work relies on intuition and experience, and how little concrete data you have about the person sitting in front of you.
The Coaching Blind Spot
This is one of the most under-talked-about issues in coaching today: the fact that we begin every new client relationship in the dark.
- No baseline.
- No behavioral map.
- Just the story they tell and the feeling we get.
And for a profession rooted in transformation, this can be dangerous. Because while the theory acquired and the experience accrued over time are valuable, instinct is not a system. It’s not replicable. And it can’t always detect what a client doesn’t yet see about themselves.
I know this firsthand.
A few years ago, I worked with a client I’ll call Daniel. Smart. Charismatic. Entrepreneurial. He came in asking for clarity around a major transition in his business. I followed my process: deep listening, sharp questions, guided reflection. And it seemed like we were making progress.
But something felt… off. He said the right things. He agreed with the insights. But he wasn’t moving forward. Weeks went by. We circled the same themes. No action.
My intuition told me something was blocked. But I didn’t have proof. And when I gently confronted him, he deflected — not out of malice, but because he didn’t see it either.
That was the moment I realized: experience and intuition can only take you as far as the other person is willing to let you go. I needed something more objective. Something that could reveal what wasn’t being said — not just in language, but in behavior.
That’s when I found behavioral mapping. And everything changed.
A Clearer Picture from the Start
The EVO Potential Analysis (EPA) is a behavior-based test that reveals how your client actually navigates life: how they make decisions, relate to others, respond to change, and show up under stress.
For coaches who feel like they’re flying blind, there are three traits that make a huge difference in the first sessions:
- Understanding: This trait reveals how well a person grasps and processes new information — not just intellectually, but behaviorally. A low score means you may need to break things down differently or slow your pace to avoid overwhelm or surface-level agreement.
- Leadership: This isn’t about job titles — it’s about how willing and able someone is to take charge of their life. If it’s low, the client may seem aligned but avoid responsibility when action is needed. You’ll spot this early instead of wondering why they keep deferring decisions.
- Resistance to Change: This is your early-warning radar. Even clients who say they want transformation may unconsciously fear or resist it. With this score in hand, you’ll know exactly how to pace the process to avoid triggering shutdown or withdrawal.
When I started using the EPA in my early sessions, I felt like someone had turned the lights on.
It didn’t replace my intuition — it refined it. It confirmed or challenged my gut sense with real, observable data. And best of all? It created a shared language with the client. We weren’t just talking about how they felt. We were talking about how they functioned, with tangible proof in front of us both.
Coaching with Structure, Not Just Sensitivity
Intuition is still part of my work. So is presence, empathy, and active listening.
But now, I coach with a blueprint. And that map helps me move faster, go deeper, and support clients more effectively — especially when things get murky.
That’s why I created the EPA Partnership Program: to give coaches and consultants access to the tool that changed my practice from the inside out, so they can work with more clarity, more confidence, and more traction.
You’ll find more details here: bit.ly/epapartnershipprogram
Annalisa Corti is an international educator and founder of BigBusinessAcademy, empowering professionals and solopreneurs through a unique blend of business coaching, emotional insight, and neuro-behavioral mastery, backed by over 17 years of global experience and expertise in mindfulness, neurochange, and spagyric naturopathy.
