A Coaching Model Created by Anant Sharma
(Executive Coach, INDIA)
My Coaching Model is derived from the popular model, CLEAR. Before I delve into describing my coaching model, just a recap on what the “original” CLEAR” coaching model is.
The reason I chose this model is that it resonates very well with what I as a coach bring to my clients and at the same time what my clients can expect from their coach. And this is – CLARITY.
Many times our clients are not clear on
In short, they are not “CLEAR” what they want and this is where I as a Coach would step in to engage with my clients to get exactly this.
My CLEAR coaching model is
Based on the original CLEAR model, the model I have proposed revolves around the client. As it can be seen the client is central to all the steps of this model, after all, it is his/her journey which I am a coach will be facilitating. Hence in my model, I will
My Clients
The niche I am working on would be centered around my experience in the corporate world and hence I will be targetting clients in this space. My clients would be ranging from junior managers who are trying to find a place for themselves in the corporate jungle right up to senior managers and executives for whom it is equally important to survive, thrive and grow in a hostile environment.
The approach, therefore, needs to be tailored for each of the categories described above. Here is the approach I will use to each of this category of clients
Junior Managers
Young achievers as Individual Contributors (called ICs in the corporate jungle) are excited and wide-eyed when they step into the world of “management”. They also get a sense of entitlement as they now are stepping into the shoes of people they were reporting to either directly or indirectly and have been influenced by each of these senior folks in one way or the other.
However, very soon the realization sets in which every young manager goes through. And that it is far easier doing things yourself than getting it done by your team. Here is when the young manager starts feeling disillusioned and need is felt for a certain new set of competencies hitherto unknown to young managers. Some of these are
Senior Managers/Executives
After having spent time as a junior manager, gradually people get into middle and then senior management. Here the set of challenges are entirely different. They have learned the art of managing teams, having tough conversations, etc. What they have also learned by now is categorizing teams as favorites, neutrals, or non-favorites. This in turn makes them biased and starts influencing their decision-making process which then makes further growth difficult.
For these folks, the avenues for growth are also limited as we can see in the below depiction
As the opportunities to grow further keep reducing, the challenges faced by individuals also change. They now need to develop an entirely new set of skills to maneuver themselves to survive and grow.
What senior managers look for can be summarized into
Trust is key here as the decisions made by senior managers have a bearing on the direction of the organization as well as the careers of junior members in the organization. At the same time, since the corporate world is fiercely competitive no senior manager can afford to bear his feelings to colleagues.
Also as one grows, the number of friends you have in the office keeps on reducing which then leads to no “escape hatch” for pent-up feelings. The Coach steps in to help clients in this area as well.
The Coach
The Coach engages with the client and helps in the identification of areas for discussion, create action plans, remove any past hurdles for the client to achieve his/her set objectives.
The Coach helps the client to remain focused on the goal as well as holding the client accountable for the steps and the process. The Coach also will from time to time challenge the client helping his/her forward movement.
The CLEAR Process
The process here is centered entirely around the client and can be briefly summarized below
Coaching Tools
For my CLEAR model, the following coaching tools/competencies will be most useful.
- Active Listening – As coaches, we need to spend close to 80% of the time listening and hence this is the first competency that needs to be used. This also helps in “reading between the lines” for things that are communicated without being said
- Presence – any coaching session would be incomplete without a good presence and in this model too this has a big role to play. This helps establish trust with the clients as well
- Visualization – usually clients in the corporate world have issues concerning growth or things they are planning to do for a very long time but are unable to do. A tool like Visualization will help in unlocking hidden thoughts and beliefs
- Enneagram, Wheel of Life & Strengths Finder – depending on the situation any one of these can be very helpful to create awareness for the client as well as give directions to the Coach on ways to take the client forward
- Accountability – of course, the Coach needs to hold the client accountable for the committed steps. This will help the client stay focused as well as ensure forward movement happens and is tracked
In short, the CLEAR Model will help my clients remove any confusion and get clarity on the way forward
