The field of coaching continues to evolve as research informs practice and client needs take center stage. One recent evolution is called “third generation” coaching. This includes the shift in embracing “thinking partnerships” with clients rather than being experts and advisors. It is also slowing down from a solution focus and taking time to explore who the client is, based on values and understanding the meaning clients make from those values. Instead of simply focusing on a goal, clients are also focusing on passion and purpose which requires coaches to use a different yet complementary set of skills when coaching. Understanding and integrating the impact of neuroscience on the coaching process becomes essential for successful achievement of behavior change. Finally, coaching is evolving as it seeks to prolong and invite emergent conversations for the purpose of interweaving processes, models, and techniques. Global IOC’s Associate, Advanced and Master level programs integrate into the proprietary curriculum these ideas and more from four top coaching thought leaders. What follows in this blog are a few principles which from these thought leaders for expanding and deepening coaching practices.
Positive Emotional Attractors/Negative Emotional Attractors
Although, Dr. Richard Boyatzis has been writing most recently about coaching and compassion he has a lifetime of work that is foundational to coaching. Two specific concepts integrated into the Global IOC curriculum are Positive Emotional Attractors (PEA) and Negative Emotional Attractors (NEA). Essentially, our bodies (brains) respond differently to the spoken words of PEA and NEA with PEA eliciting optimism, possibilities, future orientation, and open-mindedness to change. Conversely, NEA elicits the opposite effect with clients feeling pessimistic, pressured about outcomes and fear. When the coaching process integrates PEAs into the conversation, the client is able to think differently about his/her own direction and uncover potential solutions that are a best fit for the client. Dr. Boyatzis also has a change process, Intended Change Theory (ICT), which incorporates the concepts of PEA and NEA into coaching and is foundational to the Global IOC curriculum. ICT guides the client in determining ideal states, real states, strengths, gaps, and development of learning agendas that lead back to the ideal state. You can read more about the theory in a recent book “Helping People Change” which Boyatzis co-authored with Melvin Smith and Ellen Van Oosten.
Third Generation Coaching
Another thought leader, Dr. Reinhard Stelter, has been developing his ideas about “lingering in dialogue” and third generation coaching for the past 10 years. Third generation coaching suggests that we are moving beyond a solution focused problem-solving approach to an appreciative dialog approach with clients that includes transformative, fruitful, and genuine dialog. Things become meaningful when we understand how we feel, think and act and then align our behaviors with our feelings, thoughts, and actions shares Dr. Stelter in “The Art of Dialogue in Coaching: Towards Transformative Exchange”. The meaning making process begins with an examination of our values which are central to our identity. Through the process of values-reflection, clients can step away from what’s immediately in front of them to create moments of understanding and deepening self-awareness. It is through this reflection that previous experiences, knowledge and beliefs can be matched with expectations for our future. Using a collaborative process, Stelter believes that the coach and client work in tandem to surface both values and the meaning made from those values to examine perceptions and realities and then create the plan for forward movement.
The Future of Coaching
A third thought leader, Hetty Einzig, MA, PCC., has written extensively on the future of coaching and the changing dynamics of the coach and client. In her book, “The Future of Coaching”, she outlines what she believes about the evolution of coaching particularly in a VUCA world. She believes that learning will be both horizontal and vertical, will include both the individual and system, will incorporate holistic measurements such as body, mind, emotions, and spirit and will focus more on purpose and less on goal-orientation. This last statement is completely aligned with Dr. Stelter’s thinking about surfacing values and meaning making as the starting process for coaching. As coaching evolves to be more inclusive of the system that clients function within and integrates the mind, body, emotions, and spirit into coaching conversations, coach development programs must respond by building curriculum that can elevate the practices of all coaches.
Eclectic Coaching
Finally, Dr. David Clutterbuck shares that as we become “liberated coaches” we are able to implement a coaching process called “managed eclectic”. At this level, the coach weaves models, processes, and philosophies into conversations, allowing coaches to become “thinking partners” with clients. In eclectic coaching, the initial conversation with a client is a learning conversation to determine the best fit for approaches, techniques, and tools and resources. Eclectic coaching is truly a customization of coaching which is determined by client needs at a particular moment in time. Global IOC has designed all the learning modules to include the concept of “integrated eclectic” which means that throughout the training modules techniques, models and processes are introduced for integration during coaching discussions . In using this approach for coach development, the coach becomes proficient in choosing when to introduce models, processes, and techniques into the coaching conversation. Global IOC also encourages developing coaches to construct their own coaching philosophy which adapts, expands, and evolves as they grow in coaching knowledge and expertise.
The central theme from all thought leaders is that the landscape of coaching is changing which requires rethinking how we develop coaches. It is essential that coach development program evolve with the latest thinking in the field of coaching. If you find yourself resonating to the ideas and would like more information about coach development program, please call 800-973-5702 or email contact@globalioc.com. To apply for admission to the Associate, Advanced or Master development programs, click here.
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