A Coaching Model By Kathryn (Katie) Hoff, Leadership and Career Coach, UNITED STATES
Contemplation Strength
Who you are is how you lead. Brene Brown
How are you called to lead right now?
What will allow you to be that much closer to your ideal?
As a coach, I hold space for you to learn, grow, and be more of who you want to be in work and life. My coaching model is aligned to the actions of Reflect, Plan, Act with actions to support learning and introspection to support clients who aspire to lead themselves and others intentionally through change and transition. My thinking is inspired by three bodies of work: appreciative inquiry and Ignatian theology.
My approach is informed through Appreciative Inquiry (Cooperrider & Stavros, 2008) for an approach anchored in dreaming a vision of a greater life before asking what is needed to get there. Visioning is a powerful motivator across all bodies of work around a change in the spiritual sense and organizational change.
The concept of a “contemplative in action” from Ignatian theology of the Jesuits[1] is meaningfully described as “[…] as analogous to the kind of friendship that develops over a long time between two people” (Barry, and that these two (in the context of the Jesuits, the two are the person and their relationship with God) seek to find purpose and closeness. I am inspired by this idea within the coaching model to offer the client the opportunity to contemplate their life with a call to action on their insights.
Contemplation in Action Coaching Model
Reflect: Define what you want to learn, dream of an ideal vision, and discover the best of yourself
Define – What do I want to explore in coaching? We clarify what you want more of, less of in your work or your life for you to define what you want to learn in your coaching engagement. You will identify an overarching aim for our engagement and decide what we focus on for each session to support progress toward your goals.
Dream – Imagining what “could be” in your future: You will explore possibilities of your preferred future in service to your larger life purpose. The visioning process serves to inspire motivation to commit to action that may be challenging and is a foundation for personal accountability.
Discover – Appreciating “what is”: In our work together you will discover and rediscover your strengths and experiences that have worked for you in the past that serve your goals and vision. In discovering yourself, you may identify beliefs or habits that no longer serve you. Our work together will help you see what also needs to be let go of or “retired” to make space for new beliefs, mindsets, and behaviors that ultimately allow you to be an agent of change in your own life.
Plan: Design the experiment and actions that you need to take to grow into your ideal self
Design – Determining “what am I called to do”: You will work through aligning your vision with what is today to create an action plan. Your plans will leverage the best of who you are today and your “ideal” to challenge yourself to grow closer to your ideal that is grounded in a greater purpose. Your plan is a great experiment allowing you space to learn and grow with an appreciation for successes and perspective on missed opportunities.
Act: Deliver on the commitment you make to yourself and learn from your actions to sustain your vision.
Deliver – Creating “what will be”: You will take the leap into living your plan, test it out, and learn from it in the process moving closer to your ideal. The learning process is iterative with an expectation of some stumbling along the way. As you act on delivering the promise you have made to yourself to act to support your purpose, your ongoing learning and reflection continue to shape your goals, dreams, and vision of your life purpose.
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References
Cooperrider, D. Whitney, D. and Stavros, J.M. Appreciative inquiry handbook for leaders of change (2nd ed.). Crown custom publishing, Brunswick, OH.
Barry, Williams A friendship like no other. Loyola Press: A Jesuit Ministry.
[1]The Jesuits are a Catholic order of priests founded over 500 years ago by St. Ignatius