Coaching with POSITIVITY! In life, at work, with teams.

On coaching philosophy

November 13, 2022 Angelos Derlopas
Coaching with POSITIVITY! In life, at work, with teams.
On coaching philosophy
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Show Notes Transcript

On coaching philosophy with Jude Richardson for ACTO, the Association of Coach Training Organisations.
The presentation explores the power of coaching in today's world and its role in personal and professional growth. It discusses the changing landscape of coaching, emphasizing the impact of technology and the importance of diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Key coaching principles, such as intention, open-mindedness, adaptability, trust, and psychological safety, are highlighted. The presentation also addresses the role of technology in coaching, its opportunities and challenges, and the need to adapt coaching methodologies accordingly. Lastly, it covers the growing demand for coaching in various sectors, its potential impact on societal change and global challenges, and the importance of continuous learning for coaches.
#PowerOfCoaching #PersonalGrowth #ProfessionalGrowth #CoachingTechnology #DiversityInCoaching #InclusionMatters #AdaptableCoaching #PsychologicalSafety #CoachingTrends #SocietalImpact #ContinuousLearning

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Tell me a little bit about your philosophy of coaching.

Well, first of all, I think that coaching is very important to organize conversations, as we said earlier. Yeah. Conversations with, with ourselves to, to increase our capacity in thinking, right. Become better thinkers about what is important and become better thinkers in the same by finding new ways of thinking and and opening up our minds into the world and to ourselves as well, and to the people that we are connecting with. Yeah. Coaching is also important in the conversation with others. Coaching is very important in dealing with challenges and reaching goals.

And I think coaching is becoming more and more powerful in the sense that you now can find it almost everywhere in corporations and organizations, and in changes the way that people relate to each other. To some extent. There's still a lot of things to do, but I think, but I think, I think people are becoming aware that there's a, a different way of relating and to remind ourselves, especially in organizations and corporations. 10 years ago, for example the, the words that you could use in the organization to assess, to make an assessment of, of employees was very different than the way that it's been done today. For example, and I don't know if that's true where you are, Jude, but I would assume, but you can tell me that this is true for, for many countries around the world, that 10 years ago you could not say that someone is vulnerable as a good thing. Yeah, indeed,

Indeed. But,

But now you can say that these days, this is a requirement,

Which

Is,

Would you say then, would you say then, Carlos, that we are in a space where we're heading into new territory with our conversations?

I think so. If, if you, if you reflect on what was the situation 10, just 10 years ago, you don't need to go further back in the past. I think if, if you think about what was, what has, what has happened all the last 10 years, I think it, it is a great deal of change in, in the way that we, we think, in the way that we act, and how organ teamwork has been organized and how people are achieving goals in organizations, in corporations. What do you think?

I believe that's true, but I, I mentioned to you in our preoc a concept of a tension that I'm, that I'm feeling, I feel as if it's not all smooth sailing. I feel as if there are countercurrent that plus back 10 years that trouble our conversations. And as we think about the philosophy of coaching and the role that conversations have to play in that space, I wonder like, from your experience, are these counters as strong as I think they are? Or is it something that we can push through?

You are right. You are right. And you are right. But I think if you go back in history and for example, whenever someone reminisces of all times they say, oh, the sixties, oh, the seventies, these were good times. People were fighting for civil rights and so on. But if you, if you really dig deeper, you will find that there were people who were fighting, who were doing for, who were fighting for the good cause. And there were a number of people who were opposed same time. So I think throughout history, this is always true, right? There are always countercurrent,

There are always countercurrent. And, and how do what, as someone who trains and prepares coaches, what's, what's are the kind of distinctions or the kind of tools you think coaches need in this moment? Because I think it's a moment as we discussed I don't want to get to all preachy, but war and pestilence, and there's a lot going on in the world. We are geographically separated. We, it's not as, you know, we touted travel as been so easy, and the world got smaller, and suddenly it seems we in cubicles.

You are right. Again, Jude, thank you very much. And it seems like we, we think alike. And there's so much that we can do. And I think this is, this is making our, our profession even more important. To go back to your question and try to make a quick link with what is my philosophy of coaching? I, there are a big number of things that I could say, but I think first of all, we all we all stem from the basic understanding of what is coaching that I C F and how I c f has defined it. I think the the way that we practice it might be different, the different theories that may inform that might be different. And there are a number of different things here. I think the way that we at positivity coaching are in our company are doing this is to put in the emphasis on the intention.

The framework and competencies is very, we are very important of course, but the intention is also very, very important. Why are we in the coaching business? Or why are we in the business of loving coaching? And what do we want to achieve by that? I think because everyone has something in their minds and their hearts that somehow characterizes or the different nuances of how we are delivering coaching and what we are trying to achieve, and how do we inspire people how to engage in the conversations when they are open and modeling openness and creating trust and psychological safety, for example, as opposed to managed by fear, which was the the paradigm a few decades ago. That alone is changing the scenery. That is a very big difference. To go back to our earlier conversation

Mm. Indeed. As we bring people into coaching, are we looking for something special in the people who come into coaching? You know, we is there, there's a, there's a whole thought pattern is built around the talent that's necessary to be a coach. What's,

So you're talking, so you're not talking about coaching clients, you're talking about coaching trainees? Trainees,

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, usually you want to address people who you think are the right fit to become a coach. And so usually you have some prerequisites. And we do have in our academy some prerequisites for people that are considering enrolling in training in one of the coaching training programs that is a minimum of age relevance in their academic studies. And and we also are trying to, which are a little bit boxes. And, and on the other hand, we want to keep in mind that we don't want to box people. And I think that's one of the things that we are saying in coaching. Yeah. Sorry,

Cha, it's a challenge in itself to, to, to go through that process.

It's a challenge. It's a challenge. And on the other hand it's it's very important to find out what's the intention of, of each person. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> is coming to coaching, but there's a responsibility there because I think you need to make clear what is your intention as you are inviting them into the coaching academy as well. Right. Okay. And and sometimes you want to create that space so people can bloom and unfold and perhaps sometimes even find out what are their inner strengths and the things that are so much important to them, and that they, there are sometimes when we are not always very much aware of the things that might resonate with us. Yeah. So we need to get to be infected a little bit. If you

Word I like, I like agreeing with that. But what, tell me a little bit more about

Infect. Yes. Infected with a lot of coaching. Mm-Hmm. So I think that's having some rules for, for enrollment, it's a, is very important, but it's much more important to have the rules throughout the coaching, training and giving them all the different opportunities and ways and different frameworks through which they can understand, experience better, and understand and develop the, the their selves intentionally. Intentionally.

And where do you see the space? We said before, I mean, we need a lot of coaches, we need a lot of conversations, perhaps. Tell me a little bit about a space that's of like the most concerned to you at this moment. Where do you see the greatest need, let's say

The greatest need or the greater risk?

Well, <laugh>, I like both. I like, okay. But, but, but let's go with the need. Let's go with the need in terms of your, your, as your, as your students go into the world, where would you like to see them go? What space would you like to see them move in?

The space in which they will be liberated from their ego. They're not coming to tell people what to do, but they're willing to become more aware of who they are and how the work in the world and become more aware of what is their influence that they might be dealing with when they are having a coaching conversation. And and that might be something important, but I think it's also a prerequisite to understand what might be the influence that their coaching client might get from their side and from the coaching process as well. So we want people who are, what they call, we, we have a beginner's mind. Right. Come open or willing come with good intention and an open heart and I people who are not looking for shortcuts.

Right. You men, as you said that you, you mentioned, you brought up the word that I like to grab onto that thread risks <laugh>.

Okay.

Yeah. Yeah.

The risk would be if you allow people who think that coaching is the way to accumulate power so they can convince others that might be a risk.

Because coaching is, is, is a strong methodology. It's a strong tool if you allow the word and you don't want this to be used by the wrong person for the wrong purpose. So that might be the risk. But through our coaching training, we are eliminating this risk because we are ma the way that we train people and the methodologies they and all the the theory and the philosophy that we are trying to instill is and how we, we like to inspire them and invite them. And that it only works through the right way of practicing coaching,

The right way of practicing coaching. I want to go there, <laugh> the right way of practicing coaching. That sounds, you know, we established, you know, the point of view of need of acting in the world in a way that creates possibilities through conversation.

Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>,

We talked about this counter that might get in the way, but they've always been there.

Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>,

But what do you see as the expansive, I, I wanna push it a little more. What do you see as the expansive possibilities of new technologies, new spaces you've been in coaching for, for, for a while now? You've been, you've been to 130 countries doing this. What do you see as the possibilities going forward? What, what can we, where can we take coaching?

I heard that you put an emphasis in technology. Yeah. So is that your interest? Yes.

Yeah. I'd like to hear your vision there.

Yeah. I think if you go back in the days of how coaching started I think it started by the user technology.

Okay.

So the first training school used technology, telephone, and facts in those days and group calls. Is that correct? Yeah. And that thing one way or another, we have all have been blooming because of the technology. I can only see that technology is always relevant to how people are doing the things that are important to them and how people are connecting with each other. So, so I would say that we will always be there. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> I don't fear some people might have a kind of fear of technology. I could go again, back to the intention. I think if we are mindful of the intention and what we are trying to deliver then technology will find a way to serve that purpose. Sorry.

Interesting. It, I want to take it our conversation in a, in a slightly different direction to ask a question that I ask everyone. What does it, what do we need to coach human beings today?

What do we need to coach human, human beings

Today?

Is that

The most general sense that you can take that quest?

What makes the day different from yesterday for you?

For me, the, the, this what makes us human today, you know, we, we, who we have, whether we look at it in terms of diversity, inclusion, belonging, that has brought us into a new space in our, in, in our relationships with each other, for example

Mm-Hmm.

<Affirmative>, or we live in a world that is far more immediate. You know, I always reflect on the fact that I remember when my dad would come home, the only time we'd discuss what happened in the day was when we'd sit down and watch television together. We'd sit and sit at his feet and watch the news or the news speed. When an incident happened, we'd wait for the newspaper to publish it. Other intes would decipher and show us what information is important. Today as human beings, we are flooded with immediate information from all over the world in a constant stream. So whether it is in the material realm or the realm of, or interconnections with each other, how we relate, how we relate to each other, or in that space of how we manage information, I think human beings today have a totally different response time, a totally different thought pattern. The way we receive and process things and use that to interate with each other has changed so much. I think that Yes. Yeah. Even in the last 10 years, 20 years so different.

Yes. And I think that you painted the picture. Exactly. Jude. So thank you very much. I think we want to take all these under consideration and because the, the parameters that you described are the things that are creating the challenges that usually clients need to manage through what we create together, we create a space for reflection, for pause and reflection, so people can get a little bit offline, if you like. Right. To think about what it means for them. How do they react? How do, what is the need to make to, to, to support their, their own selves, to do a, a conscious meaning making process and understand what is the impact of all that are happening, the, the immediate information, the the social media, whatever is happening around the world and how do they impact their own way of thinking, their own way of filling, their own way of sensing.

And especially since you brought the diversity and inclusion, I think that's also one of the parameters. And I think it's good that today's community with Acto and I c f and the other organizations will take these things very seriously. And we wa and because we are making it more apparent, more visible that these values are important for us, and we want to be those who are raising this, who are keeping this flag high. And I think that's important. And I think we have, we, we have a responsibility towards ourselves as professionals in the professional community of coach trainer organizations on the one hand as civilians. Yes, of course. And as coach practitioners of course, and as people who are just holding conversation with a friend to take to, to, to keep this in our minds as well, that these things are important.

And sometimes it becomes more important to bring this into the conversation because it is one, it's it, it's part of the big picture. It sometimes we need to navigate in the what we call the VUCA world. We need to take all these factors under consideration. So I think it's important coaching is more and more important. Coaching is important in to understand how we are into develop our capacity, our quality of thinking. Yeah. Into how we hold our conversations and how to grow and reach our goals. So, and doesn't matter whether you are having a, a face-to-face conversation or a screen to screen conversation.

Yeah. <laugh>. Indeed. Indeed. Thank you so much for making this time to meet with me and to meet with our, our other members, OFO virtually. Yes. And we hope one day that we'll all be able to get together <laugh> in physical spaces again with comfort and the joy of sharing what we do. Yeah.

Thank you. And I hope so too. And I thank you very much for inviting me, and thank you very much for the questions that you, that you offered me, because it it allowed me to, to experience my love for coaching.

No. And thank you for sharing it. Yes.