(The coaching landscape: life, executive, and transitional work)
Common issues dealt with in executive coaching involve those necessary in order to reach desired outcomes in key areas of business and entrepreneurship including: Generating possibilities Making choices Setting expectations (self/other) Communicating clearly Managing time Learning from past mistakes Solving problems Improving working relationships Managing up/down Balancing personal and professional life Another rapidly developing area of coaching is that of life coaching. Life coaching involves helping people to reach personal goals, which may be largely independent from professional or organizational objectives. Similar to transitional coaching, life coaching involves helping people deal effectively with a variety of performance issues which may face them as they move from
In summary, coaching and modeling must address several levels of factors: •Environmental factors determine the external opportunities or constraints which individuals and organizations must recognize and react to. They involve considering where and when success occurs. •Behavioral factors are the specific action steps taken in order to reach success. They involve what, specifically, must be done or accomplished in order to succeed. •Capabilities relate to the mental maps, plans or strategies that lead to success. They direct how actions are selected and monitored. •Beliefs and values provide the reinforcement that supports or inhibits particular capabilities and actions. They relate to why a particular path is taken and the deeper motivations which drive people to act or persevere. •Identity factors relate to people’s sense of their role or mission. These factors are a function of who a person or group perceives themselves to be. •“Spiritual” factors relate to people’s view of the larger system of which they are a part. These factors involve for whom or for what a particular action step or path has been taken (the purpose).
Guiding and Caretaking Guiding and caretaking have to do with providing support with respect to the environment in which change takes place.
Mentors help to shape or influence a person’s beliefs and values in a positive way by “resonating” with, releasing, or unveiling that person’s inner wisdom,
(Abductive thinking, analogy, and new perceptual space)
According to anthropologist and communication theorist Gregory Bateson, the ability to find analogies is a function of abductive thinking, which he contrasted with inductive and deductive thinking processes. Bateson argued that abductive or analogical thinking leads to more creativity, and was the source of art and genius. Bateson believed that analogies lead us to focus on the deeper structure of our experience, rather than on superficial differences.
Making analogies between very different types of contexts (e.g., skiing and working in an office) can create new areas of “perceptual space.” For example, you might find that, although skiing is something one does by oneself and an office context has lots of other people, there still might be a kind of a metaphorical or analogical relevance between skiing and working in an office.
Intervision has much to do with the influence of the way we represent and conceptualize our problems, ideas and outcomes. One of the goals of this intervision process is to apply visual and symbolic thinking strategies to help map out solutions. A powerful form of co-creativity arises out of the fact that people have different maps of the world. The way that somebody else represents a particular individual’s problems or outcomes can automatically help to enrich that person’s own perception of the situation. In the words of Albert Einstein, “Our thinking creates problems that the same type of thinking cannot solve.” Getting new maps is a very powerful way of finding new solutions.
“If I had already reached my desired state, I would be relaxed and comfortable in front of people right now.”
(State change, the inner game, and modeling skill)
4.The desired state must preserve any positive by-products of the present state. The positive by-products of seemingly negative behaviors are best illustrated in what are referred to as habits (smoking, overeating, heavy drinking, etc.) Many smokers, for instance, smoke to calm themselves down when they are nervous. A surprising number of smokers smoke to remind themselves, and compel themselves, to breathe deeply. If a smoker quits, and no substitute or alternative has been installed by which the smoker may relax and remember to breathe deeply, he or she will experience a great amount of difficulty and discomfort.
Some indicators that your inner game is in order and that you are in “the zone” are: •A feeling of confidence and the absence of anxiety and self-doubt •No fear of failure or self-consciousness about achieving your goals •A focus on performing beautifully and excellently •Performance comes without effort and without having to think about it
The most common leadership style of a teacher is that of intellectual stimulation. Intellectual stimulation involves encouraging people to find new perspectives and rethink their own ideas. As a result, old situations and issues are thought of in new ways. Intellectual simulation stresses intelligence, rationality and careful problem-solving. Teachers frequently give praise for new ideas and clear thinking.
Different modalities of representation have different strengths. The verbal channel of representation, for instance, is strong in terms of sequencing information. The visual channel is often the best way to synthesize information into a whole or “gestalt.” Acting out an idea or concept physically brings out its concrete aspects.
According to NLP, in order to effectively model a particular skill or performance we must identify each of the key elements of the T.O.T.E. related to that skill or performance: 1)The performer’s goals. 2)The evidence and evidence procedures used by the performer(s) to determine progress toward the goal. 3)The sets of choices used by the performer(s) to get to the goal and the specific behaviors used to implement these choices. 4)The way the performer(s) respond(s) if the goal is not initially achieved. Modeling Involves Defining the Various Elements of the Performer’s T.O.T.E.
To guide the person to an observer position, the coach could suggest, “Imagine you were a consultant for this team. What ways would you suggest for them to work together more effectively?” To encourage the critical individual to go to “second position” the coach could say, “Put yourself in my shoes (or one of the other team members) for a moment. What reactions do you think I would have to your concern?” The ability to switch points of view and take multiple perspectives of a situation or experience is a key element of one’s “inner game” of performance, and one of the most important communication and relational skills a coach can help clients to use and develop.
(Second position, empathy, and the golden rule)
The ability to take second position with others and experience their map of the world is the basis for compassion and empathy. It is the essence of the “Golden Rule” to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Second position of some kind is also necessary for all effective modeling. Temporarily assuming another person’s position is also a wonderful way of evaluating how effective you are on your side of an interaction or communication loop. Second position is an important skill for many professions. Effective managers and leaders, for instance, often talk about the need to put themselves “into the head” of their collaborators, or to “enter the feeling space” of others. In a 1998 interview in Speak magazine, criminal lawyer Tony Serra commented:
“In a superficial truth, the opposite is false. In a deep truth, the opposite is also true.”
(Awakening: beyond coaching into the unknown)
Thus, helping others to awaken requires skill and sensitivity. Awakening others involves the unconditional acceptance of who they are and how they are; yet, at the same time, includes the suggestion that there are possibilities and choices for expansion and evolution. Awakening can be either gradual or sudden (such as a moment of “epiphany” or sudden insight). Awakening often leads to learning at the level of what Gregory Bateson called “Learning IV”—the creation of something “completely new.”
“Not knowing” and “uptime” are special states that help people to gain access to unconscious processes. Almost all creative and successful performers acknowledge the importance of unconscious processes in their work and accomplishments. It seems that once one has set up all the appropriate circuitry (as a result of caretaking, guiding, coaching, teaching, mentoring and sponsorship), it is important to maximize unconscious competence—to get out of the way of the process and let it run on its own.