The Evolution of a Coach

Most things in life evolve. There is something quite natural about the evolutionary process. One of the greatest joys of those involved with learning is watching others evolve around you. But what about your evolution? What have you noticed about that or have you been too focussed on others to have a raised awareness about yourself? I often listen to tapes and CD's of conferences I have attended in the past and it is interesting to note that the lessons learnt are different from the ones I learnt either at the conference or on subsequent listening. I'm not entirely sure that it is all down to my familiarity with the subject that is making the main difference. In other words it isn't just because I have heard things before that makes me see things differently. I have come to the conclusion that I am in a different place. Yes I would argue that it is partially because I have more knowledge on a subject or I have developed greater skills in that area. But there is more to it than that. I have also developed my "listening for" capability based on the acquisition of this knowledge or these skills. My intuition is greater in these areas, my senses have become accustomed to their new surroundings - I see more, I hear differently, my touch more deft, my mouth gets drier less as the situation becomes less stressful, I can smell the "BS factor" in conversations. Indeed my daughter produces a fake sneeze when she hears a "parental fib" and offers the explanation that she has an allergy to BS!

Collectively I would call the above transition "Evolution" As a coach, this evolution has been very powerful, and as an individual I would have like to have started it sooner. Evolution is not very easy to manage or measure and you may ask, "Why should we?" "Surely we should just evolve" and part of me agrees with that. However part of me says that if we evolve in a state of heightened awareness we can not only help ourselves but also help others. Indeed just trying to think about the stages of evolution of a coach has helped me enormously.

I have collected my thoughts on this and added some further thoughts from colleagues and companions and would use this to further the debate and discussion. It should be noted as in the best theories of evolution you can move backwards and forwards through the stages. Finally it is also worthy of note that these stages of evolution are best viewed through the lens of not "who you are or what you do" but of "what you are".

Coaching Dependency

In this category, I have noted that I am benefiting as the recipient of coaching. Much of the coaching and its qualities and attributes are being imposed on me with my permission. Thankfully my coach has taken care of all of this by offering a diligent ethical approach. I have accepted the coaching and am learning much from it. Unfortunately, I am attributing much of it to the coach - in the belief that I could not have arrived at any profound conclusion on my own and indeed part of this is correct. I have started to note that there are some very interesting skills and styles on display in a very self-effacing way. On many occasions, whilst they are on display, I am blissfully ignorant of them such is the subtle elegance of them. In Philip Pullmans dark trilogy, he talks of a subtle knife that allows the bearer to pass between dimensions effortlessly. In my experience the master coach uses this subtlety to pass effortlessly between knowledge and wisdom. I have no idea of the potential of these techniques for use with others. I am aware that they work for me and therefore I am focussing all of my energy on my issues.

Coaching Independence

I can begin to see some potential in these techniques outside of myself and may have started using them in my relationships. I would use them as a manager and as a parent and possibly in my marital relationship, although my confidence is not that strong as yet. I learnt well from my coach and have developed a hunger for more knowledge, as this reinforces the independence state - I am seeking out more knowledge for myself and exploring different ways of using it. On our longer qualification courses, it is easy to see and experience these stages and independence and usually comes after around 5 - 6 hours of being coached over a period of around 8 weeks. Delegates ask for guidance outside of the coaching contract, they tell you of books or articles they have read and they recall DVD or television programmes that have particular coaching moments in them. They are starting to develop an opinion for themselves. They understand that Mentoring can offer an educated opinion on an activity or style and that Coaching helps an individual by raising their awareness on their approach to any given situation. It is this very action, helping to raise an awareness of how they will approach something that has allowed this independence to develop. This is an important stage in the evolution of the coach. To rush this stage would not be wise. It is important to gain both experience and credibility in this stage.

Coaching Interdependence

In this stage, the coach is involved in coaching other development specialists such as mentors, coaches and trainers. On the training programme that we facilitate, the delegates are usually coaching their colleagues on the same programmes, with some degree of expertise during this stage. Most of this has came about as a result of due diligence in the previous stages. The credibility is an important factor here. Without it one would not get asked. The hunger for knowledge is still there, but my feeling is that the trust is much higher. This means trust in both themselves and the client. It is interesting to look at trust in this stage. Trust is made up of three core components. 1. Integrity - this means doing what you say, holing your contract and keeping your word. Others respect this. 2. Competence - this means being good at what you do and being regarded by others as good. 3. Benevolence - this means care, belief and respect for the other person in the arrangement. Others can tell if this is present in a relationship. In this stage it is not difficult to see that if the trust, and its constituent parts are high then this is a natural platform for success.

Coaching Strategically

This is an interesting stage. Not everyone will attain it, nor should they. It is also fair to say it is not the end of the line. Many people return to the third stage periodically and spend most of their time in stage three, venturing into stage four only when the commission comes. Coaching strategically means putting something back into the profession on a much broader scale. One of our associates helped design a set of competencies for coaching and another one has developed a set of coaching competencies from the EMCC framework, that looks at five different domains in the domain specific competence area, no 2. Several colleagues have had papers and books published. Others have produced coaching CD ROMs and DVD's. One or two colleagues have been asked to sit on advisory boards and panels. All of these are examples of putting something back in to the profession. There is a shortage of quality research in Coaching and it is my belief that it will come from work commissioned in this area. It should be acknowledged that there is some great research around, but in my opinion, not enough. Strategic coaching will also be involved in design and building of new coaching cultures. These cultural architects will be coaching strategically.

Conclusion

This whole process looks very neat ant tidy in a linear format, but in truth, people are dancing about from one place to another very quickly. My feeling is that if our awareness of where we are in our evolution is raised we stand a better chance of success, not only in our coaching, but in our development as a coach. Raising awareness is what coaching is all about, so this is not unfamiliar territory. It may take a degree of courage to face and admit where we are in the evolutionary cycle, but that is no bad thing. As usual coaching is all about tough conversations and maybe the one you have with yourself is the most difficult one.

Peter hill is the managing g Partner of CFM Consulting Ltd, a coaching consultancy based in Dunblane in Scotland. He is the author of "Concepts of Coaching", published by ILM and features in the DVD "Concepts of Coaching GROW" released by CFM Consulting Ltd. He can be contacted on Peter@cfmconsulting.net or 01786 821272