Coaches Rising

I wanted to share with you my experience of what it feels like to have insights and grow. This experience feels somewhat akin to subject-object theory in developmental psychology.

Fear not – lengthy theoretical discussions are not abound!

But……..there are distinct stages that we move through as we develop. These are loosely related to age although some develop further and faster than others. We make sense of the world in different ways at each of these stages. The main tenet of this development is that what we are subject to (i.e. can’t see) at one stage becomes an object in our awareness at the next. We transcend and include our previous stage.

For me, this experience is exhilarating and shocking at the same time. One moment nothing, then the next – BAM! Some way that I had been seeing the world, a belief or concept becomes visible. It’s as though it’s just broken off from the matrix.

It is accompanied by a sense of shock! I can now hold the belief or concept I held about the world in my hand, turn it around like a toy to see its contours for the first time. Before it was an unquestionable truth, an absolute, in fact I didn’t even know that I was bound by it.

Now it has lost its power, even if only a little at first. It no longer casts a spell on me. More choice and space arises, as well as subtlety of perception. It is as though I have just separated from the matrix a little more.

Freedom from the concept that bound me…..this is a not an intellectual exercise but a heartfelt experience.

I don’t know where these moments come from. There’s a very mysterious aspect to them. I wish I could make them happen!

We’ve all heard the onion metaphor. To me it feels backwards. I feel as though I’m an onion unpeeling from the inside out. The centre is dense and heavy and as I move through the layers I become more spacious.

I’m hoping I might break through that last layer one day.

Does this description resonate with you? I’d love to hear similar experiences of yours!

much love

Joel

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There is a provocative and important discussion going on around what are possible and desirable next steps for the field and profession of coaching, which we spoke into in our last post entitled The Future of Coaching and one of our speakers, Doug Silsbee, sparked a lively discussion with his blog post entitled Repurposing Coaching.

There I contributed a little that I would like to share with you here to further this dialogue and exploration of what is next for us and our field.
So here you go….

Hello Doug and all!

Thanks so much for igniting this important discussion and calling the field of coaching and its practitioners forth to really explore its value and purpose in the world.

Let me dance with some of the themes and threads raised here and hopefully contribute a bit of my own.

Stepping into the unknown……
There’s a huge need for global transformation on many levels. Personally and professionally, ecologically and economically, politically and spiritually.

On all these fronts the world is challenging us to step into the unknown and discover new ways of being and doing that not only allow us to cope with the current crises, but use them as catalysts for profound growth and global transformation.

Coaches and change facilitators are often uniquely equipped to facilitate these kinds of shifts, because we have been trained to help others courageously and compassionately explore the limits and beauty of their current way of being. And from that space try on new ways of being that are more appropriate for where they find themselves in life and what the world asks of them.

Over the past decades powerful methodologies have been developed that effectively and skillfully facilitate this kind of transformative change and developmental shifts.

There are two further threads I would like to offer here: one more developmental, and another one, which I feel speaks more directly to the very core of our humanity and living a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Center of Gravity…..
We now know not only from our own direct experience but also from a strong body of research that the way we show up and make sense of the world evolves through specific stages (Wilber, Kegan, Cook-Greuter, Torbert, O’Fallon). Each new stage offering an expansion and deepening of our capacity to take on more and more perspectives and to experience ever more fully the interconnectedness of our being and world.

More specifically, as adults we all have the potential to gradually evolve from egocentric (what is good for me) to sociocentric (what is good for me and mine) to worldcentric (what is good for all of us) and what has been called kosmocentric (what is the Divine will that is expressing itself through all of us). Each level honoring but expanding the needs of the previous level. We may have flashes of higher states throughout our lifespan, but the question is where our center of gravity resides.

This suggests that coaching and change facilitation approaches that successfully tap into and work with this developmental or evolutionary impulse, might be particularly suited to facilitate the shift of consciousness and capacity for global leadership that you speak into.

Our deepest humanity……
At the same time, no matter what level of development we are on and where we find ourselves on life’s journey, when pushed and probed by someone who sees our potential and is willing to explore our deepest humanity with us, few of us will not light up and be inspired to action by the idea of using our unique gifts in service of the world. A world that includes me and my needs.

Now what that gift and service will actually look like depends completely on the rich and unique tapestry of who we are and where we find ourselves.

For some it will involve first clarifying their unique gifts and needs. For others it will be taking on big commitments in the world. However, it is my experience and belief that all of us benefit from being asked some version of the following question and being held compassionately accountable for it:

What are your unique gifts and how will you use them in service of your highest self and the world?

Some may initially shy away. Some will step up immediately. Others will simply need to be with the question longer before they can fully relate to its depth, and use it to find direction. So that’s where we meet them.

But as change facilitators I do believe we have the responsibility to ask the big questions.

Whether we decide to engage them or not, the bigger agendas of transformative change, our higher Self and what the world asks from us, are always there.
Waiting…

With much love and respect,
Laurens

Coaches Rising

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We’d love to learn your response to a very important question……

‘What is the future of Coaching?’

As we are moving through the series a number of threads keep arising within the dialogues that leave us with a curiosity that we now need to dance with. We believe there are new pathways being sketched in the sand that we can begin to articulate. We would like to do this in dialogue with you.

There’s a huge need for global transformation on many levels. Personally and professionally, ecologically and economically, politically and spiritually.

On all these fronts the world is challenging us to step into the unknown and discover new ways of being and doing that not only allow us to cope with the current crises, but use them as catalysts for profound growth and global transformation.

As individuals and communities we all need to respond to these different types of challenges. This means we need to develop, both individually and collectively so that we can meet the challenges we face from more whole and inclusive perspectives.

This is where coaching has something extremely valuable to offer – specifically the developmental, integral or whole person based approaches that are moving into new stages of maturity. These approaches ask us to reflect on our very nature, to wake up and inquire deeply into who we are and what drives us. They ask us to act in accordance with our values and practice in order that we unfold into our highest potential.

How can these types of coaching approaches reach and impact a wider range of people?

How can we facilitate, as Richard Strozzi-Heckler calls it, ‘the democratization of coaching?’

Another essential step seems to include the emerging field of work around the evolutionary self or unique self. This field of work suggests there is a way of being in the world that transcends and includes both our absolute and relative selves. A way of being in the world that involves us dissolving our ego fixations and operating more and more from the essential qualities that emerge in their place. As we make this transition our orientation changes in the world to one of increasing wisdom, empowerment, care, compassion and need to serve.

If coaching as a way of being and living in the world could permeate society at large it would be a tremendous leverage point in facilitating positive transformation.

A series of important question then becomes…..

• How might coaching schools and coaches create more effective partnerships, collaborations and vehicles to have greater impact in the world?
• What are you capable of? – Are you having the kind of impact that you were inspired to create when you first started your training?
• Thinking more radically, what might you begin if you knew you couldn’t fail?

(And finally…..)

• How do you see Coaches Rising contributing more effectively to facilitate this?

If you’re inspired then share some of your thoughts below.

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As we are exploring The Dynamics of Change with thought leaders in the field of human transformation we would like to share with you this insightful overview contributed by former ICF President and Coach of the Year, Steve Mitten (MCC). Enjoy!

Hello everyone,

This topic of facilitating transformative change is one that I have been drawn to for a long time. Here are a few factors that have been shown to accelerate change.

• Create Space – Big change requires time, effort, attention and growth. If you are stressed and already running at 100% capacity, you will not have the time or energy needed to make big changes. In fact your brain chemistry will not easily allow it. (Jacobs work.) Research from the field of Emotional Intelligence (Boyatzis, Jacobs) has demonstrated that we cannot learn or grow well when we are under constant levels of even day to day stress. (So taking your self/stress management to the next level really helps.)

• Getting Clear - Another important piece in making big changes is getting clear on what is truly important to us. Many changes fail because what we are attempting to achieve really doesn’t truly matter to us at a deep level. So helping a client get clear on values really helps and prevents those “climbing the next rung in the latter only to find out the latter is on the wrong wall” moments.

• Creating a Compelling Vision – When we know what is really important to us, it is easier to generate a vision for your future that genuinely inspires. An inspiring vision greatly helps us move you past our current doubts and break out of our existing comfort zones, and keep us on track when things get tough. (Boyatzis and Goleman talk about this in Primal Leadership.)

• Leveraging Your Strengths – When you go about making change, it really helps to know what your strengths are, and build on them. Collectively we tend to focus far too much energy on our weaknesses, shortcomings, and fears (which make us feel powerless) rather than focusing on the strengths and talents that empower us. (Seligman has done lots of work on this.)

• Key Relationships – We grow and change best when we are in relationship with others. (Lewis, Amini, Lannon, Kegan, etc.). We best revise how we view ourselves and our world when we are in relationship with others. We are influenced by their emotional field. We are encouraged to take greater risks because of the support we feel. (This is just one of the reasons coaching is so effective at making those bigger adaptive changes.)

• Keeping Focused – All the wonderful neuroscience has taught us that it is the intensity and frequency of our attention that reinforces the new perspectives and thought patterns that support our new behaviors. (Schwarz, etc.)

• Accountability/Support - Change is a process and it has its seasons. Without support you can too easily get discouraged or distracted. (Another big argument for coaching.)

Now, these approaches are all focused on improving/growing/raising awareness of our existing egoic mind.

In many of the ancient eastern traditions they focus on some version of the science of self inquiry (viveka) to move past the limitations of our day to day mind.

Learning about this work has been, by far, the greatest growth experience of my life. For anyone interested, you can get a good introduction to the topic through Michael Singers’ book “The Untethered Soul.”

Or, you can check out many of the teachers from Stillnessspeaks
or if you are not freaked out by folks that dress and look differently, you might enjoy this YouTube video.

Cheers,
Steve

Steve Mitten CPCC, MCC
Master Life, Business, Executive Coach and Mentor
www.acoach4u.com

PS This guest post is an edited version of Steve’s contribution to a discussion thread on the CoActive Network. You can check it out here.

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At Coaches Rising we use the following 10 principles to empower coaches in becoming successful coaching entrepreneurs that make a difference in the world. They form the backbone for our new business building program, called Coaching with Soul, which we developed in collaboration with 11 world-class experts who have dedicated their career to mastery of these principles.

We’d like to offer them to you here.

1. Assess your business building preferences and blind spots (we like to use ‘The Four Squares of Managing your Coaching Business’).
2. Translate your talents, passion and expertise into your speciality, a viable niche and learn to think like your ideal client.
3. Design a marketing strategy that efficiently and authentically helps you communicate the real value you bring to your ideal client.
4. Cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset and identify what success really means to you.
5. Map out a business model that leaves no stone unturned and allows you to experience clarity how all the elements of your business are connected and can be enhanced.
6. Use the Social Web to establish a relationship and engage your niche and network.
7. Identify the inevitable internal resistance that will come up along the way and learn to move forward in its presence.
8. Uncover your core story when it comes to money and wealth, as well as defining the lifestyle you truly want to create for yourself through coaching.
9. Establish a workflow and energy management system that works for you, and allows you to be fully engaged professionally and personally.
10. Tune into how your coaching fits in with the bigger picture and what you want to be a vehicle for. Fuel that inner fire!

• Which of these principles are you confidently rocking as you build your coaching practice?
• Which ones have you shied away from or ignored?
• What action do you feel compelled to take after reading these principles?

 

Warmly and keep on rising,
Laurens

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We see a shift happening in the world and we think that you see it too. The shift is one that fills us full of optimism. It’s exciting and we’re not sure where it’s going. The shift is the growing number of people who are beginning to take self-responsibility seriously. They’re waking up out of a slumber, rubbing their eyes and seeing that they can’t continue to follow a dream that was never theirs. They see that there’s no other way than to follow a life of increasing depth and intimacy, where their work and relationships are more and more an expression of their deepest values and passions. They give their gifts fully, opening through any fear and doubt to take a stand for who they are.

Within this shift new kinds of businesses are emerging. Businesses that are not all about making money. They embrace the people that work for them and the societies and environments that they find themselves in.

But let’s go a little deeper…….

They’re often aligned with the strong values of their founders – who are inspired by a vision much greater than just making a decent living. Theirs is a need to contribute and have meaningful impact.

This is the kind of business we dreamed of creating when we first started to sculpt the idea of Coaches Rising. It’s not always easy. We’ve found it one of the most challenging and rewarding paths of self-growth that we’ve ever been on. In some ways it’s like being an artist when you try to create a business that is deeply aligned with your values and strongest passions. Like an artist who displays his latest painting you’re putting your inner most workings out into the world for it to judge. And boy will it!

How do you stay true to what’s most important to you, what gives you most energy and excitement whilst acknowledging and relating to what the world actually needs? A great question for coaches and artists alike!

How do you own (and channel) the part of you that just wants to make the most amount of money in the fastest way? How do you stay true to your values when the going gets tough and it’s tempting to throw the soul of what you do out of the window for short term gain?

We often fall short of living from our highest potential. But we’re getting better at picking ourselves up and relaxing back into the groove. This is something that we’re dedicated to help you do too – to embrace the full spectrum of being a human being on the road to building a life affirming business.

Joel – Amsterdam April 2010

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I remember first picking up on Brian Johnson and his fun and inspiring Philosophers Notes about half a year ago. Me and Joel were busy with the research and preparations for the Coaches Rising Summit and heard his powerful interview on The New Man.

He struck us as a powerhouse of positive energy and solid wisdom. We both agreed we had to get him involved and figured he could really bring value by sharing his perspective on entrepreneurialism and success principles. So we did and it was a blast.

Alignment

What really stood out to me personally in Brian’s interview, is the way he framed the importance of our work as coaches in the world. How we are by the very nature of our profession influencers that play a key role in aligning people to their deepest values and highest aspirations. I love how he spoke to the fact that we as coaches are in a unique position to facilitate the kind of change that is much needed and desired in the world. It gave him and us goose bumps.

He also pointed out how that is both a great responsibility as well as something to hold with spaciousness and humor. How our highest aspirations are like stars that guide and inspire us, not the final measure to define ourselves and the success of our existence. To recognize that we will inevitably fall short on some of our goals and aspirations and will celebrate the achievement of others. That freed quite a bit of space for me.

Dynamic tension

It’s also a beautiful challenge to hold the dynamic tension between aiming high and simultaneously being compassionate with yourself. Being an optimalist instead of a perfectionist.

So I would like to offer you with 3 questions here:

• What are your highest goals and aims as a coaching entrepreneur?
• Where do you take yourself and the success of your business to serious?
• How will you hold that dynamic tension between stretching yourself and being compassionate on your unique entrepreneurial journey?

Warmly and keep rising,

Laurens

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This is a great model presented to us by James Roche that helps you identify what phase of growing your coaching practice you’re in. Like all models – it is just that, a model, but it can give us awareness on what we need to be focusing on and just as importantly what we can leave out!

Personally, it helped me to relax into the journey of building my practice. Which is always a relief! Sometimes I get really caught up in the end goals. I’m looking at the future and measuring how my current reality doesn’t match up. James 3 stage model shows us that we’re not failures if we don’t have the infamous 6 figure practice in two months. There’s actually an organic way that we grow into our roles as coaching entrepreneurs – a natural unfolding to the growth of our businesses.

Ok – what’s the model?

Stage 1 – Get Clients

The heart of this is referral marketing. Letting others know that you’re in business. Asking those that you’ve worked with to recommend your services to others. You need to get out there and do the thing you do. Working with clients, you hone your skills as you go along. As you talk about what you do you get better at explaining what you do and your identity as a coach begins to emerge. You don’t actually need a website.

Stage 2 -  Get Online

Doing what you did in stage 1 but you’re automating everything. You’ve become clear about your coaching identity and what you have to offer. A big part of this involves building a list of names who are interested in what you do. So you need a website that offers something that entices people to give a name and email such as a report or tools of some kind. Maybe here you need other people to help. You can also raise your fees.

Stage 3 – Get Leverage

This can overlap with phase one. Now you’ve got a database you can leverage you knowledge and skills to create group coaching, information products, writing a book, live events. Previously you didn’t have enough experience for this. This phase allows you to increase your income again

Recognise which stage fits you? What are the activities you need to focus on to create a healthy coaching practice?

So why is all this important?

Growing into our roles as entrepreneurs and business owners is a natural organic process. Sure we can do things to accelerate the journey but if we try to rush we’ll create unnecessary stress.Relax and enjoy the journey and in James words ‘What’s the rush?’

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One of the central tensions I feel whilst growing my coaching practice is balancing heart with business. By this I mean making a living doing what I love whilst keeping my business head on. In last week’s interview I love how Lynn Grodzki addressed this topic by talking about the What and the Who of our coaching practice. She described how these need to sit together like hand and glove.

Finding our What is part business decision and part decision of the heart. As coaches, it’s essential that we are doing something that we love, connected to our passions and exercising our skills and expertise. And if we’re just embarking out on a journey as a new coach why would we do anything less than what we’d love to do?

But just focusing on the What is not enough. We also need to think about the Who, which is our niche, the people we want to coach. A niche is a segment of people that we focus our marketing efforts onto in order to increase our sign up rate. Lynn challenged us as coaches to get out into the world and conduct some thorough market research in order that we really get to know our niche inside and out. Sitting in your house thinking about them is not enough!

To uncover your What ask:

• What skills and previous life experience do you possess that could greatly impact your coaching performance?
• What skills and qualities do you have that you want to be exercising every day?
• From here then ask:Who wants what you have (and are so excited!) to offer?

Once you start to narrow down a potential niche then get out into the world and ask them what they want, need and would be willing to pay for. Get curious!

As coaches we need to continually dance with doing what we’re most passionate about and responding to the genuine needs of our customers. And when we embrace it what a beautiful dance it is!

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