A Coaching Model Created by Stacey Jo Aliotto
(Executive Coach, UNITED STATES)
You and I are facing one another. Imagine our hearts expanding out from our chests and reaching toward each other. They touch, slightly overlap and form into the shape of a romantic heart. The part where they overlap becomes a rainbow colored flame.
It is in this place of union where :
I have half of your heart.
You have half of my heart.
We are One heart one Love.
In the coaching environment, a coach and client form a partnership and engage in the coaching process for the purpose of raising the client’s self awareness and for development and growth in the client’s life. The Golden Lotus of One heart one Love is my unique expression of how I view coaching and support clients.
The Golden Lotus of One heart one Love is a combination of two images. The first image OHOL (One heart one Love) represents the three parts that are present in the coaching environment, which are the coach, the client and the coaching process. The coach is one half of the heart, the client is the other half of the heart and the rainbow flame is where the coach and client meet to engage in the coaching process where they form One heart one Love.
The rainbow flame of the coaching process is where the coach and client meet to explore all those colorful options for the client till discovery is reached. It is here in the rainbow flame where those “aha!” moments occur for the client. This rainbow overlap represents the third eye of vision where the coach and client trust their intuition and the client sees and knows his/her truth. The rainbow flame is also a symbol for pure consciousness, representing the coach’s self awareness as an objective observer and the raising of the clients self awareness to make conscious choices in the coaching session.
OHOL enables the coach and client to trust themselves, each other and the coaching process. OHOL supports the integration, transformation and wholeness for a coaching session. It creates a trusting, loving, nurturing and supportive coaching environment. With the OHOL coaching environment now established, we can surround it with the Golden Lotus, which addresses the stages of the coaching process.
In eastern philosophies the lotus flower symbolizes life, enlightenment, wealth and rebirth and for these reasons I have chosen to use the Golden Lotus to represent the increased self awareness and development and growth in the client’s life. With the lotus’s roots in the mud, the lotus ascends through the muddy water and reaches for sunlight to emerge as a fully blossomed lotus. The sun bestows its warm light onto the lotus making it gleam with golden colored light. In the same way the lotus flower goes through its growth before emerging from muddy water to become a fully blossomed flower, the clients self awareness does the same during the coaching process. This description of the lotus emerging from the water to the sunlight also symbolizes the change, development and growth that occur in the client’s life from the assistance of coaching. It is a representation for how coaching supports the client during the transition of developing ethereal ideas and manifesting them into material form. In the same way the lotus goes through its cycle of life so too does the coaching session and the client’s life.
The golden color of the lotus stands for empowerment, health, wealth, success, achievement, and enjoyment of life. These attributes of gold are the same attributes that are enhanced for the client in the coaching process.
The Golden Lotus of OHOL has eight petals representing the eight stages of the coaching session, which was inspired by the Buddhist Eight Petal Lotus. The Eight Petal Lotus in Buddhist mandalas is an embodiment of cosmic harmony. In the Buddhist tradition the number eight is completion, wholeness, all possibilities in manifestation and expresses the totality of the universe. Eight is also an expression of perfect rhythm, rebirth, prosperity, and infinity. These qualities of the Buddhist Eight Petal Lotus and the number eight are an ideal inspiration for the Golden Lotus of OHOL coaching session.
The eight golden petal stages are also inspired by The Noble Eightfold Path of the Buddhist tradition. The Noble Eightfold Path was discovered by Gautama Buddha during his quest for enlightenment. It is a practice to lead its practitioner toward self awakening. In the same way there are eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path that lead the practitioner toward self awakening, there are eight petal stages of the Golden Lotus of OHOL that lead the client to raised self awareness.
The Eight Petal Stages for the Golden Lotus of OHOL coaching model:
Present
The Present Lotus Petal is the first stage of the coaching session. Once the OHOL coaching environment is established, then conditions such as; the client’s present situation, the client’s desired outcome and the coach’s coaching process are presented. It is important for the coach and client to both have a clear understanding of the client’s present situation and desired outcome for an optimal coaching experience. Since coaching is about staying in the present and moving forward, the Present Lotus Petal stage is an expression of this viewpoint. In particular, it assists the client not to dwell in and regret the past and not worry about the future, so the client can be in the present with peace and move forward with grace.
Goals
This is the stage where the coach and client work on goals. Some clients know exactly what they want and some may need support to get a clearer idea of their goal. Some clients may change their goals because of their beliefs and values that they become aware of during the coaching session. It is important that goals are in alignment with beliefs and values for the client, so there’s no inner conflict. It is necessary for the inner person’s outer reality to match for balance, harmony, peace and wholeness in life. It is vital to have a personally meaningful goal so that it is likely to be achieved. Since the coach and client are investing their energy into the coaching session, it’s important for the client to achieve true goals for long term fulfillment.
Beliefs and Values
The beliefs and values of the client naturally arise during coaching sessions. It’s essential for the coach and client to be aware of what the client’s beliefs and values are, so they know if they are in alignment with the client’s present situation, goals and actions. During coaching sessions the client discovers beliefs and values for situations and determines whether these beliefs and values are supportive or not. During coaching sessions clients may gain clarity about knowing who they really are and what they truly believe and value.
Explore
This stage is where the coach and client explore all those colorful options for the client in the OHOL rainbow flame. This is where the coach asks powerful questions and the client’s answers are explored. Reframing perspectives assists the client during this exploratory process. If the client is feeling stuck, it is during this stage where exploration of options open things up and move the energy for the client. Options are initiated and evaluated.
This is when the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How questions are asked and answered. The coach listens to, challenges, acknowledges and encourages the direction the client is exploring and how the client is going to achieve that goal.
Discover
This is the “Aha!” moment for the client in the rainbow flame of the OHOL coaching session. During this stage the client discovers and consciously chooses the most suitable option for him/her. After the client’s options are explored and if they are in alignment with the client’s beliefs, values and goals, then the client will naturally discover the conscious choice that is best. This is where the client’s overall self awareness has deepened or reached a higher level. The client may have reframed perspectives and gained answers and clarity. The client knows the steps to take and knows how to achieve the goal! The client’s goals become reality one conscious choice at a time.
Action
Once the client has consciously chosen the next step to attain the goal; it is time for the client to act on it. The coach supports the client to take action. The coach and client develop an action plan that will assist the client in achieving the client’s goal. The coach holds the client accountable and the client makes a commitment to the action plan. Timelines and structures may be created for the action plan. The coach may ask questions to motivate and bring further clarity during this stage. The coach acknowledges the client for the client’s achievements during the session and encourages the client to achieve the action plan for the goal.
Encourage
This stage is where the coach strongly encourages the client to achieve the goal. The coach encourages action for the desired outcome, motivates, challenges and expresses faith in client. The coach may encourage the client to be persistent, stay on track, stick with priorities, and be consistent in between sessions if needed. The coach’s encouragement may be in face during the session or on phone or email between sessions. The coach encourages clients to trust their intuition and that they are the masters of their lives and they can manifest their goals.
Review
This is the final stage in the coaching session. The coach reviews what was discussed and what had occurred in the coaching session and the action the client agreed to take. The coach may further acknowledge and encourage the client for the client’s amazing goal, conscious choices and empowered action plan. The Review stage also cycles into the first stage for the next coaching session, starting the whole coaching process all over again. Then for the next session the client may review his/her actions for the previous week which gives the coach an update for the client’s present situation.