A Coaching Model Created by Kenetha J. Stanton
(Transformational Life Coach, UNITED STATES)
A geode is a rock formation that is plain on the outside (see left photo above) but contains a hollow space filled with beautiful crystal formations inside (see right photo above). The beauty of the crystal-filled interior can only be seen once the geode has been broken open. In the same way, coaches believe that all of us have our own beautiful crystals inside of us in the form of our inner wisdom, our intuition about our lives, and our access to the answers that we need to reach our goals. The problem is that these beautiful resources are often hidden away beneath our protective shells, and we may need to find a safe, supportive space in order to break through these defenses to reach them.
Geodes are commonly broken open with a hammer and chisel, but those are obviously not the appropriate tools for doing inner work. The best tool that we can bring the process of breaking through these inner defenses is curiosity. Genuine curiosity is the ability to explore questions in an open, nonjudgmental way that brings freedom and spaciousness to the process. It allows the client to consider all possibilities in a safe environment where the defensive barriers are not needed.
The coach’s role in this process is to provide that safe and supportive space and to help clients move through the following steps on their journey within to find the answers they seek to transform themselves and their lives. This model will work for individual coaching sessions and for a coaching relationship as a whole. In the description below, I have focused on the use of this model over the arc of a coaching relationship, but it should be clear how this could also be used for single sessions.
Goal setting
The goal setting process would involve clarifying the client’s goals for the coaching relationship to ensure that both the coach and client have a clear understanding of what success looks and feels like to the client. This ensures that both people are working toward the same thing. In some cases, the goal may be readily apparent to the client from the start. In other cases, this may still be a bit unclear at the start, but there should at least be some sense of a clear direction to work toward.
Exploring the current state
Once the goal is clarified, the current state can be explored using our tool of curiosity to fully map out the present terrain through deep self-awareness. This may involve clarifying values and life purpose, identifying patterns of behavior that need to shift to enable movement toward the desired goal, identifying underlying beliefs that are no longer helpful, and taking an inventory of current structures and relationships that may be acting as barriers. On the flip side, this process will also involve identifying those patterns, beliefs, structures, and relationships that are supporting forward movement to strengthen those areas.
Opportunity identification
Curiosity again comes into play as the coach supports the client in identifying opportunities for shift and options for taking action toward the desired goal. During this process, it is likely that additional information about the current state may come to light as hidden barriers of various kinds reveal themselves. With gentle curiosity, these barriers can be a springboard for identifying new opportunities to shift patterns and beliefs to make room for the new life that is being created.
Deciding on action
After the opportunities and options have been identified and considered, there will come a time when it is necessary to decide to take action on a chosen opportunity in order to make progress toward the goal. Each choice along the way may appear to be a baby step in the direction of the client’s dreams, but continued, focused baby steps are how journeys are traveled.
Empowered transformation
Throughout the process, the coach will be offering acknowledgment and encouragement to the client to empower them in taking action, both internally and externally. This becomes especially important as the client takes action toward the desired goal. The accountability, acknowledgment, and safe space the coach provides the client empowers them to truly transform their life one step at a time.
Acknowledgements:
The pictures of the geode used in the image for this model were taken from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Druse.jpg, which was uploaded to the German Wikipedia by Saibling on 15 Dec 2003 under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (CC BY- SA 3.0) as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en.
The image created from the use of the above resources is likewise covered under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-SA 3.0) as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en.