Ann L. Clancy Jacqueline Binkert. Pivoting. A Coach s Guide to Igniting Substantial Change

Transcription

1 Pivoting

2 Ann L. Clancy Jacqueline Binkert Pivoting A Coach s Guide to Igniting Substantial Change

3 Ann L. Clancy Appreciative Coaching Collaborative, LLC Billings, MT, USA Jacqueline Binkert Appreciative Coaching Collaborative, LLC Milford, MI, USA ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Library of Congress Control Number: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 Th is work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Th e use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Th e publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: Jacket design by Philip Pascuzzo Printed on acid-free paper Th is Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature Th e registered company is Nature America Inc. Th e registered company address is: 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004, U.S.A.

4 Foreword Coaching is fundamentally about change. The role of a coach is to facilitate new insights, deeper understanding and support the development of coherent goals. However, none of this matters if clients lack the motivation to actually go out and make the change. In such situations, coaching conversations just become full of ideas, possibilities and warm words. A while ago I was invited to observe a coach-training session by a wellknown coach-training company. During the morning, the trainer talked about the core coaching skills: active listening, open questions, reflections and summarizing. All of this was sensible and reasonable content. By the afternoon, delegates were curious about how these elements could all be brought together. One asked the trainer if she would demonstrate a coaching conversation using the core skills. The trainer asked the group of 12 delegates for a volunteer coachee. One of the group reluctantly agreed. Sitting in a circle we observed the trainer use the GROW (Goal, Reality, Obstacles/Options, Way Forward) model to explore the delegate s objectives, his reality and a range of different options. As the conversation progressed it struck me that there was reluctance on behalf of the delegate, but this issue was left unexplored. Why had the delegate not resolved this issue before, when the answers seemed so obvious to us and them? Instead, moving towards a close, the trainer asked the delegate to make a commitment for action after the coaching session. The delegate voiced his reluctance: I m not really sure what s next. For most of us watching, this called for an exploration of this response and highlighted the ambivalence that lay behind it. Instead, the coach pushed on with a further challenge to make a commitment. The delegate replied, I suppose I could think about doing X, at which point the trainer sat back and said to the group, There we go, a clear plan of action. Of v

5 vi Foreword course we all knew that the language used by the delegate was far from a commitment to the action discussed; everything, including his body language, told us that he was unlikely to do what he had said. Clearly, attempting to demonstrate coaching skills in front of others is difficult at the best of times and is made even more challenging when delegates have real issues that are likely to take several hours to unpick rather than several minutes. However, this experience demonstrated that the task of the coach is not simply to support a review of the past and the development of a plan for the future. We all understand how frustrating it is when we need to simply comply with other peoples demands sometimes our boss or a senior work colleague. We comply but are not likely to make that commitment to going the full nine yards. As a result, we may do the minimum or look for shortcuts to achieve the goal. In contrast, when the desire comes from within, from what we believe is right, just or important to us, we will not just comply but commit. In short, when goals fit our values and beliefs, we will do everything in our power to achieve them. Our real job as the coach is not to simply provide a framework for a coaching conversation or use core skills to facilitate a conversation, although these are important. Our real task is to help clients explore their values, beliefs, deeper emotions (often experienced through bodily sensations) and personal histories. Then we can use these as a frame with which to review the different choices for action, including inaction. Great coaches need to help clients to confront their difficult dilemmas, bringing them face to face with the consequences of their choices, to hold their coachee s feet over the fire and by so doing help them ignite the motivation within them which will act as the catalyst for change. In this book, Ann and Jacqueline, experienced coaches, writers, trainers and researchers, offer us insights into how we can achieve this. With a highly engaging writing style, they draw the reader in, using a mixture of genuine stories and fresh insights from a range of philosophical and scientific studies in history, psychology, social psychology, biology, neuroscience and physics. They describe a new science of change that provides an explanation for the phenomenon of pivotal moments in coaching and the role that coaches play in igniting substantial change. Th e result is a highly readable resource for both experienced and novice coaches alike, which coaches can use to help them ignite the motivation for change within their coachees. University of Evora Portugal Jonathan Passmore

6 Acknowledgements Th e inspiration for this book first arose in our early years of travelling and presenting on Appreciative Coaching after our book was published in Since that time we ve participated in numerous presentations, workshops and training to bring our emerging research findings to audiences of fellow coaches, consultants, scholars, colleagues and supporters. We are indebted to these individuals for their willingness to provide feedback and suggestions as we presented and tested our theory and model. Th e venues involved include the UK Association for Coaching, London; Assumption University of Thailand, Bangkok; OD World Summit in Budapest, Hungary; Academy of Management conference, San Antonio, USA; International Coach Federation chapters in Chicago and Seattle, USA; Academy of Management conference in Boston, USA; International Organization Development Association in Kyoto, Japan; Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and Life Sciences in Portland, USA; Columbia University Coaching Program 1st International Conference, New York, USA; Carolina Coaching Conference in Charlotte, USA; Institut de Coaching in Geneva, Switzerland; and a dedicated group of New York City coaches. We would like to acknowledge the master coaches who were so generous with their coaching stories and experiences that have enriched our book. They are John Heidke, Betsy Hemming, Susan Meyer, Vince Racioppo, Bobette Reeder and Deborah Roth. We also thank our clients, both those who participated in our formal research and those we have worked with in our practices, for letting us weave their inspiring stories and experiences into our narrative. We are greatly appreciative of the interest that our publisher, Palgrave Macmillan, showed in our work when it was still in the concept stage. Also, we salute Jonathan Passmore for contributing the Foreword as well as for his vii

7 viii Acknowledgements support. Finally, we thank our families, friends and colleagues who encouraged us in our belief that exploring moments of substantial change was a worthy endeavour. As always, family members provided us love and support through the lengthy research and writing periods.

8 Contents 1 A Pivotal Journey 1 2 What Is a Pivot? 19 3 Pivoting: The Extraordinary Power of Self-Organization 47 4 Accessing the Inner Self: Beliefs 73 5 Accessing the Inner Self: Knowing 89 6 Accessing the Inner Self: Memory Turn of the Kaleidoscope Finding Coherence 169 References 185 Index 201 ix

9 List of Figures Fig. 2.1 Emergence of pivotal moments 42 Fig. 2.2 Variant manifestations of pivotal moments 43 Fig. 2.3 Slow awakening 44 Fig. 2.4 The coaching chain of events 45 Fig. 3.1 Pivoting: The power of self-organization 48 Fig. 3.2 Can you find the hidden star? 55 Fig. 3.3 What do you see? A young girl? An old woman? 56 Fig. 3.4 Answer to finding the hidden star 72 Fig. 4.1 Role of beliefs in self-organizing 74 Fig. 4.2 Comparison of two belief systems 78 Fig. 5.1 Role of inner knowing in self-organizing 90 Fig. 5.2 Blatz Beer advertisement 94 Fig. 5.3 Iver Johnson Revolvers advertisement 95 Fig. 5.4 Seven types of inner knowing 106 Fig. 6.1 Role of memory in self-organizing 110 Fig. 7.1 Model of self-organizing pivotal moments 137 Fig. 7.2 Control-Influence-Concern Model 140 Fig. 7.3 Growing vs. closing the gap 141 Fig. 7.4 Cone in the box visual metaphor 148 Fig. 7.5 Coaching cycle: The embodiment of mind, body and environment 152 xi

10 List of Tables Table 1.1 Mechanistic and generative approaches to change 7 Table 1.2 Two scientific positions 15 Table 2.1 Research results on characteristics of aha moments 37 Table 2.2 Research results on triggers of aha moments 37 Table 4.1 Major distinctions between beliefs and knowledge 76 Table 5.1 Distinctions between empiricism and rationalism 93 Table 7.1 Priming strategies observed in initial research 138 Table 8.1 Emerging Holistic Model 172 xiii