beliefs

What Does An Invisible Hippopotamus Have To Do With Coaching?

 in quote  tagged beliefs / coach / coaches / coaching / invisible / proverb / unseen thinking
A drawing of a hippopotamus sat facing us with his front legs together and back legs sprayed outwards. The hippo has pink patches on the underside of his back two feet, the part of his chest/belly that we can see, and pink inner ears. The text reads: "A hippopotamus can be made invisible in dark waters." (African proverb)

Today’s quote is a proverb:

“A hippopotamus can be made invisible in dark waters.” (African proverb)

It seems like basic common sense that if you are in the habitat of a dangerous wild animal, then it is wise to be aware and respectful of their potential presence. I have a healthy respect for hippopotamus’ but I’m no expert, so for me, it was how this proverb could also apply to coaching that prompted me to write this post.

This ancient saying resonates deeply with the essence of coaching, for me, as it offers insights into the unseen aspects of human experience. While it may initially evoke images of the dangers lurking in ignorance of one’s physical surroundings, it also holds a profound metaphorical meaning for our coaching practice.

I interpret this proverb as a metaphor for the hidden forces that influence our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. Just as a hippopotamus vanishes beneath the surface of dark waters, so too can our deepest fears, insecurities, and potential remain concealed from view. In coaching, we often uncover hidden beliefs and thinking; when clients have an insight and suddenly recognize thoughts or beliefs they hadn’t consciously acknowledged before. These insights can profoundly and immediately impact their behaviour and perspective.

In coaching, we often embark on journeys to uncover these hidden aspects of ourselves and our clients. We navigate the murky depths of the mind, shedding light on the shadows that lurk within. Through open dialogue and introspection, we assist our clients in exploring these unseen forces, guiding them towards greater self-awareness and understanding.

However, the resonance of this proverb extends beyond its literal interpretation. It speaks to the power of perception and the illusion of reality. Like the hippopotamus fading into obscurity in the darkness, our perceived problems and limitations can dissolve when viewed through the lens of understanding.

As coaches, we help our clients see beyond the surface appearances of their circumstances. We invite them to delve beneath the waves of their thoughts and emotions, uncovering the deeper truths that lie hidden beneath. By illuminating the unseen forces at play, we empower our clients to navigate the waters of change with clarity and confidence.

But how do we make the invisible visible? How do we guide our clients in seeing beyond the surface of their experiences? It begins with a shift in perspective—a willingness to look beyond the superficial and embrace a deeper understanding of reality. As coaches, we serve as guides, illuminating the path ahead and helping our clients discern the unseen forces that shape their lives.

Through deep listening, compassionate inquiry, and our own understanding, we create a safe space for exploration and discovery. We encourage our clients to trust in their intuition and wisdom, guiding them towards insights and breakthroughs that lead to profound transformation.

In conclusion, the proverb “A hippopotamus can be made invisible in dark waters” offers a poignant reminder of the unseen forces that shape our lives. As coaches, we have the privilege of shedding light on these hidden truths, guiding our clients towards greater self-awareness and understanding. By embracing the unseen depths of coaching, we empower our clients to navigate the waters of change with clarity, confidence, and courage.

I’m curious, presuming that you read the title of this post before the actual content – what answers did you have in your head about what could possibly be a connection between invisible hippopotamus’ and coaching? Feel free to drop any thoughts in a comment below.

About Jen Waller

Jen Waller

Jen Waller is on a mission to support, nurture and encourage coaching skills and talents from non-coach to coach and beyond.

As an experienced coach and trainer, Jen is happy to utilise all skills at her disposal to assist clients from getting out of their own way and making a difference in the world with their coaching. Find out more about the support Jen offers here.

Coaches and Money: 7 breakthroughs to help the money flow in 2015

 in Guest Post  tagged beliefs / business / Helen Collier / help / journaling / money / niche / present

In the first guest post of the new year money coach Helen Collier focuses upon:

Coaches and Money:

7 breakthroughs to help the money flow in 2015.

By Helen Collier

"Coaches and Money 7 breakthroughs to help the money flow in 2015." BY Helen Collier

My MacAfee Vulnerability Scanner has just popped up and told me it has found two new programme updates I need to install to keep my laptop running optimally.

How useful would it be if we had the equivalent of an internal money vulnerability scanner, that automatically scanned every 24 hours? Installed to spot what needs up dating and what needs binning to keep ourselves and our money life running optimally? More importantly it then goes on to make the necessary changes to get us back in tip top condition.

In the absence of our own personal ‘app’ it’s down to us to hone our own ability to look both internally and externally at ourselves and adjust as necessary.

2014 has been a year of big breakthroughs for me personally. Looking back I see how I have been scanning my installed money mind-set as I prepared to take my money coaching practice to the next level of success. Some of it is new learning, other parts simply deeper learning and some of it came with the ‘Durr!!’ moment. ‘How have I not seen these things!!?!’

7 breakthroughs to help the money flow.  In no particular order.

  1. This year I have had many conversations with women who outwardly ooze confidence and composure and yet underneath they were squirming with dread and embarrassment about money. Suddenly there was my niche right in front of me, these very women. In fact they had been there all the time but I simply hadn’t seen them. Since discovering this niche I’m focused and my client list has increased. I know who I am talking to when I write, when I am out giving talks, when I go out networking.

Action

 

Action: Find your Niche

 

  1. Find those things that keep you stuck. What are those big beliefs and assumptions that keep you stuck? I’ve discovered some great material this year developed by Keegan and Lahy called ‘Immunity to Change’ It provides a great structure for understanding why sometimes our best intentioned progress is held back almost by having the foot on the brake at the same time as trying to accelerate.   It’s one I knew well. It described my resistance perfectly. A belief that went something like. ‘I have to resist because if I don’t I’m going to lose control then something (unspecified) really bad will happen.’  The thing is this resistance in itself was very generalised and it was preventing my money flowing.

Action

 

Action: Find those big beliefs and assumptions that keep you stuck and test them for accuracy

 

  1. It’s important to pay attention to the practical side of money in your business. I’ve always known this, I don’t always do it but this year I’ve put some really simple systems in place that have helped me easily stay in control of my cash flow. I know when it comes to doing my tax return next week I’ve got everything I need at hand to do it. Andi Lonnen has just published a great little book called ‘Be fabulous at Finance’ which is well worth buying.

Action

 

Action: Pay attention to the practical side of money in your business.

 

  1. Getting down to your own deep layers of assumptions is like peeling the layers of an onion; it may well come with tears but that’s when you know you’ve hit on something and if you keep peeling you eventually get to the sweet spot. I’ve long known that I am the mistress of creating a smoke screen. Setting up elaborate psychological screens to prevent me from doing that which I say I want to do. This year I have finally outed a real big one for me. I’ve not got to the sweet spot yet. ‘If I make a success of my business then I will be exposed as a fraud’ is sitting on my desk as I work. I do cringe as I type. It throws up the one Brene Brown has been talking about, vulnerability. What will people think? What will people say when they hear this? This though is what my clients experience when they take that first step to talking about themselves and their money. I owe it to my clients to continue working through my own personal money issues so that I can be cleaner and clearer in my interactions with them

Action

 

Action: Be prepared to feel vulnerable in order to be in a clearer, cleaner place for your clients

 

  1. Writing as a way of gaining understanding, clarity and perspective. I encourage my clients to keep a journal in order to explore their relationship with money and keep track of their progress. My own writing this year has taken on a whole new perspective as I have explored my own spirituality and where money fits into this picture. It’s been sumptuous spilling my innermost thoughts onto paper. I have created a module on money journaling for clients and included topics for exploration.

Action

 

Action: Consider using journaling as a tool to help you understand your own money life and to help you make peace with your own money story.

 

  1. I finally asked for help. I had a huge assumption running through me that said ‘I should be able to do this. I am supposed to be the expert, if I ask for help people will think I’m a fraud’ (notice that fraud thing popping up again!). It kept me quietly and privately battling with my own demons. It also kept me very safely and frustratingly going around in circles. I’ve engaged a business coach. She’s very different from me and has a very different style but she has helped to plug a gap and has helped me to keep focused on moving forward in my business. Crazy as it now seems I imagined she was going to laugh at me and criticise me when in fact she said ‘Helen, what is stopping you, this sounds great!’ Hugely motivating.

Action

 

Action: Don’t be afraid to ask for the help that you need to move your business forward

 

  1. My biggest breakthrough of the year has undoubtedly been completing my 60th year on the planet, getting grand parented for the first time and discovering that both these are huge blessings rather than things to be feared! Bizarrely it has given me more focus in my business. I concentrate better. I don’t spend as much time drifting into the cyber world and amazingly have more time! Which means that when I am with my granddaughter I am truly with her, not thinking I should be doing something else.

Action

 

Action: Concentrate on the here and now and count your blessings.

 

Here’s to a prosperous and peaceful 2015.

 

About Helen Collier

Helen Collier is a money coach working with bright, smart women who are tired of squirming with dread and fear about their money. She trained with the Money Coaching Institute in California. Helen developed Harmoney as a direct response to her growing disquiet that something was out of balance in the financial world. She set an intention to play her part by supporting people to put money in its rightful place in their lives, no more, no less. Helen writes a weekly column for the Yorkshire Evening News and blogs regularly.

If you want to get free prompts to your inbox for the next month sign up here

You can follow Helen on:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/harmoneylife

Facebook: www.facebook.com/harmoneylife

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helencollier

Website: www.harmoneylife.co.uk

 

Youth of Today

 in Guest Post  tagged beliefs / leadership coach / leadership trainer / Liz Scott / perception / perspective / proportion / teacher / world view / youth coaching

How many times have your clients shared experiences like the one Liz Scott shares in today’s guest post?

"Youth of Today" A guest post by Liz Scott

Youth of Today

By Liz Scott

What do you think of the youth of today? Are they loutish, rude thugs? After a quick search on the Internet, a quote from the Daily Mail confirmed this view: “British youths have been branded as the most unpleasant and potentially violent young people in the world.” Youngsters get a bad press so it’s easy to start believing these stories.

There’s a man I know, called Jack, who often complains about the youth of today. He’s in his 80’s and talks of a time when young people were respectful and polite. Nowadays all he ever sees are children dropping litter, spitting in the street or putting their feet on the seats of the buses. He finds youngsters frightening and intimidating.

The trouble is that once we start to believe a story like this then we ignore anything that contradicts it. It means that when we look in a newspaper we tend to disregard the stories about youngsters doing good deeds; instead all we see are scary, violent youths.

The other day Jack went shopping and he had a particularly memorable experience with a youngster. He was in the local shop and was chatting to the lady on the till whilst waiting for his change. He said goodbye to her and leaving the shop he started to walk home.

Out of nowhere a young lad, in a hoodie, tapped him on the shoulder. It made Jack jump out of his skin. As the lad lent forward Jack could feel his heart pounding in his chest. The lad reached into his pocket and terrifying thoughts erupted in Jack’s head; ‘Was he pulling out a weapon?’ ‘Should he call for help?’

The teenager took out a two-pound coin and handed it to him. “Here Mister, you forgot your change,” he said, and then giving him a big smile he sauntered on his way.

We are all a bit like Jack. We get stuck in a way of thinking and put the blinkers on. We are expecting the worse and are completely dumbstruck when our view of the world is challenged.

For Jack it was the young people, for you and me it is something else.

Do we really see the world as it is? It’s easy to over-dramatise a story and take it out of proportion. Maybe, now and again, we should challenge our view of the world and try to see things from a different perspective.

About Liz Scott

Liz Scott is a leadership coach and trainer. She is currently working in schools helping to develop coaching cultures; coaching helps bring back fun and passion into teaching and learning. www.lizscottcoaching.com

Find Liz on Twitter at @smartcoachliz

 

Coaching with Logical Levels 3

 in Guest Post  tagged behaviour / beliefs / business coach / business coaching / capabilities / charging / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / environment / executive coach / identity / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / Logical Levels / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / Phil Manington / purpose / Robert Dilts / Suffolk Coaching Zone / values

In this week’s guest post Phil Manington shares how he uses a specific NLP model.

"Coaching with Logical Levels" A guest post by Phil Manington

Coaching with Logical Levels

By Phil Manington

Anyone familiar with NLP will probably have come across Robert Dilts’s Logical Levels model. It is a great tool for exploring how and why we do what we do. It works at a system level and provides a powerful way of creating sustainable change in an individual or organisation.

It looks at our thinking across six levels:

  • The Environment level involves the external conditions in which you live. Questions such as: “Where?”, “When?” and “With whom?” are typical Environment level questions.
  • The Behaviour level refers to what you do in different environments.
  • Capabilities (whether mental, physical or emotional) describe how you do what you do. What are your skills and strategies for taking action?
  • Beliefs and Values define why you do something and shape the way you perceive the world. Beliefs can be both empowering and limiting.
  • Identity consolidates whole systems of beliefs and values into a sense of self. It defines who you think you are, as an individual or an organisation.
  • Purpose involves your connection to something that goes beyond yourself. At this level, useful questions are: “For whom am I doing this?” and “What is my purpose?”.

Many change initiatives focus at the behaviour and capability levels and this can be very effective on occasions. For example, anyone wanting to lose weight will have used exercise and/or dieting to become more fit and healthy.

However, when a client comes for coaching it is usually because they have tried these approaches and they haven’t worked – they are stuck. The Logical Levels model provides a way uncovering the root cause of the situation.

Uncovering the Root Cause

Listening to the client’s language will provide useful pointers to the level that might be important. For example:

  • I usually end up in the kitchen at parties (environment/behaviour)
  • I argue a lot (behaviour)
  • I’m not very good at dancing (capability)
  • People should tell the truth (belief)
  • I want to be less stressed (value)
  • That’s just the sort of person I am (identity)

You may notice your client is focussing around certain levels – you can gather more information by asking questions that take them to other levels. For example:

  • What do you feel when that happens? (behaviour)
  • Why is that important to you? (value)
  • What assumptions are you making about this? (belief)
  • What does that say about you as a person? (identity)
  • What does that do for you? (value)

.

Making Changes

Clearly the way you help a client change depends on the specific information you uncover but guiding them round the levels can break through seemingly insoluble blocks. Here’s an example:

After my marriage broke up, I suffered a crisis of confidence and was thrown back into an old set of beliefs about not being attractive to women. My friends encouraged me to “just get out there” and I knew, rationally that this made sense. After all, one of my favourite books is ‘Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway’! And yet I kept putting it off. My coach and colleague, Steve, helped me shift from this stuck place:

We started with my assertion that “I am not attractive to women” – an identity level statement. Rather than trying to challenge this directly he moved me around the levels. He said:

“OK, let’s put that to one side for a moment – tell me what your strengths are”.

I listed a number of things and he picked up on something that I said about learning. Not only am I good at learning but I am passionate about it – I love it. So we had established a capability and a core value for me.

His next question was a great example of elegant coaching:

“So, returning to your relationship with women, who do you know who’s good at it?”

This is a loaded question, with a presupposition that relating to women is a skill issue, not an identity one. Of course, I could name several people and we discussed what they did that seemed to work. His next question:

“So, do you think you could learn to do some of those things?”

was met with cautious optimism and I finished our session with the belief that being attractive was more about skill and behaviour rather than identity – and I also had practical actions to start improving.

This sort of approach works really well for anyone who has low self-confidence or low self-esteem. It’s particularly dispiriting to hold a limiting belief at the identity level because we don’t feel we can possibly change. But often it is only a belief and by using the Logical Levels model to change the way someone sees themselves (for example, from “that’s just who I am” to “I am just not very skilled yet”), it is possible to facilitate quite profound transformations.

About the Author

Phil Manington is co-founder of Suffolk Coaching Zone. He is a professional trainer, coach and management consultant, specialising in helping businesses and individuals to make successful change and achieve their full potential.

Phil currently offers training, workshops and one-to-one coaching for personal and business clients. Specialist areas include leadership skills, building self-confidence and self-esteem, and improving relationships.

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/SuffolkCoachingZone

Twitter – @SuffolkCZ

Website – http://www.suffolk-coaching.com

Recapping January – March 2012 guest posts 1

 in Guest Post / site news  tagged Amber Fogarty / Angus MacLennan / beliefs / blue monday / business / change / Cindy Hillsey / clients / coaches / coaching / content / counselling / goals / guest post / habit / ideal client / Karen Williams / Karen Wise / knowledge / Lenny Deverill-West / Liz Scott / Lorraine Hurst / Marie Yates / marketing / Mei Qi Tan / mindset / networking / new year / niching / Nicky Kriel / Parallel conversations / plans / Relationship / relationships / Richard Nugent / success / Toni Knights / websites

Over the next few days I’m going to briefly recap the last years worth of guest posts that appear here each Friday.

Today we start by looking at the first three months of this year.

Image showing first January on a diary with pen on isolated color background with fine clipping path.

January

In the first post of 2012 Amber Fogarty shared how she is in the “habit change business” discussing something she talks about a lot with clients in “Developing Better Habits”.

Coach and trainer Lorraine Hurst then followed with a post that could be of use to both yourself and your clients. “Blue Monday – what colour will yours be?” was published just prior to the third Monday of the year – read the post to see the significance of that date!

Coach and author of “Secrets of Successful Coaches”, Karen Williams, shared her expertise and knowledge in the third guest post of the year: “How does your mindset affect your business?” Read how Karen believes mindset, marketing and business knowledge will affect a successful coaching business.

The final post in January saw Karen Wise sharing a personal experience in the post “Relationship drama.” How familiar is this incident in either your own life or with what your clients tell you?

Image showing 14th February a Valentine day with heart symbol & message.

February

As we started the second month of the year, coach Marie Yates turned her attention to the action taken to the goals and plans made at the start of the New Year. This post contains a series of questions to assist you to make progress. Read “The warm up is complete… It is time for the main event.” 11 months since this was first published – what would your answers to these questions be today?

Liz Scott loves bringing coaches together to share experiences and knowledge. Her post focused upon “Parallel conversations and coaching”, using her personal experience as a lesson to be used in coaching sessions.

Lenny Deverill-West shared how he has been practically incorporating other teachings into his own work with clients. Read more about what he is doing in “The Coaching Aha!”

Social Media coach Nicky Kriel discussed errors she’s seen coaches make attempting one particular marketing approach. Are you making any of the blunders featured in “5 Big Mistakes that Life Coaches make Networking”?

March

March

Coach Richard Nugent invited you to “Explore Some Half Truths Of Coaching” with the aim of getting you to think about your own professional beliefs that could help you be more successful.

A coaching website is on many new coaches to do list, in the second guest post in March Mei Qi Tan shared her expertise and knowledge about what to focus upon. Read her post “Websites: It’s not just about content – it’s about users.”

Coach Angus MacLennan, who delivers practical Business Support to Business Owners, turned his attention to the subject that can have many new coaching business owners scratching their heads in the post “Niching Has Failed”

How to market your coaching is an often requested topic, in our next guest post coach Cindy Hillsey shared her expertise and knowledge in “Marketing and your Ideal Client”

In the final guest post in March Coach Toni Knights discussed what she considers to decide if it is necessary to refer clients for additional help, in her post “Identifying When Clients Need Counselling”

Visit tomorrow

Come back tomorrow for a post recapping April – June, or if you can’t wait, clicking here will bring a list of every post that has been published on this site labelled as a guest post.

January & Febuary image © Indianeye | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos
Visit tomorrow image © Renata2k | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

Explore Some Half Truths Of Coaching. 1

 in Guest Post  tagged advice / beliefs / business coach / business coaching / charging / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / end result / executive coach / goal / half truths / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / nlp coach / outcomes / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / rapport / resources / responsibility / Richard Nugent / tell / Twenty One Leadership

Coach Richard Nugent shares his expertise and knowledge in today’s guest post as he invites you to:

Explore Some Half Truths Of Coaching.

by Richard Nugent

I love writing articles for this blog. Mainly because I know the readers are like-minded and ready to learn. With this in mind this particular piece focuses on some of the beliefs that I often see coaches holding that can limit the impact they have with their clients or even their business.

My aim isn’t to offend or even to challenge your beliefs, rather to get you thinking about the ‘professional beliefs’ that you could review to help you to be even more successful.

Remember that one of the indicators of intelligence is the ability to comfortably hold two opposing views. Writing this has helped me to notice how much my beliefs have shifted over my coaching career and explore my intelligence! I hope reading it does the same for you.

Half-truth number 1 – You can’t ‘tell’ when coaching.

Really? Who says? I am not sure exactly where the rule came from, but coach must always stay out of content is certainly a very commonly held view. In my experience, the ‘none content’ phase is a useful stage in a coach’s development. For example one of my clients is a large bank. As part of their leadership development we help them to have great coaching sessions that avoid tell. It makes a real difference to them, their people and their results.

AND…recently another client of mine called me. He is a football (soccer) manager and had an imminent meeting with his Chairman to discuss transfer budgets. He wanted influencing strategies and quick. ‘How do you think you should influence him’, just wouldn’t have helped in that situation, with that client. He wanted a strategy, I gave him it and it worked. Job done, and in my view still coaching.

My final analogy is cabin crew on an aircraft. When it comes to the drinks trolley they can coach me to my preferred outcome all they like. If we need to evacuate the plane, I don’t want them to use great questions to draw out the best route from me.

Half-truth number 2 – Clients outcomes are always right.

I recently heard an eminent coach say, “the problem with client outcomes is that they are normally sh*t.” A strong view and one that took me aback. However, think carefully about your coaching experiences, how often do the outcomes that the client brings end up being what you really need to work on? How often do they change? I am sure that you will have many instances where over the course of a coaching relationship the original goals and outcomes are forgotten.

I am not saying that we shouldn’t explore and agree outcomes with clients AND they shouldn’t limit us. A client I worked with last year was adamant that the focus of our sessions should only be building her business and that any beliefs shifts that were needed would be dealt with on the NLP Master Practitioner Programme she was attending at the time. I stuck to the agreement and regretted it. To serve her best I should have focused more on what was needed session by session even if it meant her original outcomes weren’t met in full.

Half-truth number 3 – It is your responsibility to work with the clients until they are ‘done’.

Ok so we should never leave clients in the lurch. I have heard awful examples of coaches and therapists bringing issues to the surface and not having the time, energy or resources to help their client to a more resourceful place. Practices like this give our profession a bad name.

AND I believe that it is a healthy practice for coaches to end relationships with clients. Here are some signs that it’s time to consider firing a client;

  • You are coaching on the same thing and at the same level you were last year.
  • Coaching sessions with them leave you in a less resourceful state than you were before.
  • Coaching sessions with them leave them in a less resourceful state than before.
  • You resent coaching them for any reason, including financial or emotional.
  • You only took them on for the money or because you didn’t have any clients and now your practice and/or bank account has built up.

If any of these seem a little hard-nosed then they come from a belief that we almost always get the best results with clients that we love coaching. We have a responsibility to test our relationships regularly.

Half-truth number 4 – People have all of the resources they need.

In the opening to this article I mentioned that I wanted to help you to explore your beliefs and half-truth number 4 certainly led me to challenge and question mine.

I do fundamentally operate from a belief that people do have the resources to achieve whatever they want to. So that is a tick in that column right? What happens when they can’t see or feel that resourcefulness at all?

Take this example. Client A is a coach whose business is in trouble and as a result their finances are in dire straits. Their coach is not only highly successful – financially and otherwise – but also a longtime colleague and friend.

Is the coaches’ first step to help their client to be clear on what success looks like? Or to help them to into a really powerful and resourceful state so they can take massive action. Or is their first step to lend (or gift) them some money so they can get by?

Lending them money would suggest a belief that Client A didn’t have the resources, but if you were in a position to, wouldn’t you at least consider it?

Many moons ago I asked a colleague for some coaching after I led a pretty rocky workshop. She gave me the choice of a coaching session or just some time when she told me how great I was. She was building my resources rather than just believing in my resourcefulness but it was just the intervention I needed.

Half-truth number 5 – You always have to have great rapport when you coach.

I told a group of budding coaches recently that “rapport in coaching is everything. Except when it’s not.”

I still get quite taken aback by the number of coaches with a strong NLP background who forget the ‘lead’ part of pace-pace-lead. I often find that a mismatch or purposeful break of rapport is the most powerful part of the session.

I spoke to a coach about this recently who was opposed to ever ‘stepping out of the clients world view.’ It seems an interesting thought when I have often seen the likes of Richard Bandler getting great results by going straight to ‘lead’.

Half-truth number 6 – Great coaching must always have a clear end result.

Two years ago I invested tens of thousands of pounds in an intensive coaching relationship with Michael Neill. It was amazing, powerful, intense, world shifting and worth every penny. Yet I can’t really tell you what the end result was – other than a big shift. I can tell you some of the key learning’s but then that doesn’t really do justice to the power of the experience.

It is vital that clients feel that they are getting value for money and that they can express the value of the coaching relationship but the wonderful complexity of human nature and the fabulous array of ‘stuff’ that we do as coaches and with that nature leads me to question how often a specific end result is the most useful measure of a coaching relationship.

Summing up.

I would love you to have finished this article either having your beliefs challenged or reaffirmed. I mind much less whether you agree or not. This brings me onto the last point that I would love share with you.

In recent months I have experienced a greater degree of ‘crab mentality’ among coaches (click here to learn about crab mentality). Rather than celebrating and exploring other coach’s approaches and techniques I have found others in the field all too quick to label them as old, bad or wrong.

I think it’s a great time for us all to re-examine our approaches, beliefs and understanding and open up to what more we can learn and be.

About the Author/Further Resources

Richard is the M.D. of Twenty One Leadership and has coached talented people from the fields of sport and business for the last decade. Clients have credited him with everything from million pound transfers to the creation of new market leading organisations. The return on investment from his programmes stretches into the millions of Pounds, Euros and Dollars.