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| John Grinder |
I was lucky enough to attend John and Carmen’s 5 day (plus one day’s accreditation) coaching seminar in Croydon on the 26-30th November 2004 with about 50 delegates. I was particular interested in this particular seminar because in addition to John being an NLP co-founder both John and Carmen have a track record in business coaching. I was also looking for any ideas to improve our own coaching training.
It was a great learning experience which is a
reflection not only on John and Carmen but also on the NLP Academy and
the other delegates. Having five days to model John was great; having
five days to practice coaching with open feedback was also great. Unlike
the ‘new code’ seminar I stayed for Carmen’s sessions. What follows is
my recollections of some of the key points as I remember them; I’m not
claiming they’re accurate and they’re not comprehensive but I hope
they’re useful.
As a preamble I’ll say that all learning in the
context of coaching is experiential; what’s important is noticing
(hearing and feeling?) what works. I’ll also quote John quoting Gregory
Bateson, “The logic of unconscious process is profoundly different from
the logic of conscious process; it’s the collision of these two
processes which is the basis of creativity and art.” For the sake of
this article I’m concentrating on some of the conscious logic; use your
experience or come to the next seminar to fill in the rest!
Headings
Two types of coaches
Some characteristics of excellent
coaching
Coach’s purpose
Phases of coaching
Bostic–Grinder Coaching Model
The purpose of tasking
Some neat exercises
Accreditation
Two types of coaches
Some coaches are experts at what they do and their
feedback against what works is invaluable; some aren’t and therefore
have to manage the process – which in a different way can be a
significant advantage
Having knowledge of the context or being an
‘expert’ can give additional rapport
Some characteristics of excellent coaching
It’s a learning process for both the coached and
the coach
You do not build a dependency
Set up an agreement that the person coached may be
asked to do a task without understanding the reason why
Nothing happens without rapport – defined in this
instance as having the full conscious and more importantly the
unconscious attention of the individual being coached
Effective change occurs at the level of ‘state’
rather than ‘behaviour’.
Explanation can hinder change
Coach’s purpose
Elicit
Define
Refine
Challenge
Facilitate, assist but not
(necessarily) give solutions
Phases of coaching
Gain rapport/contract
Establish frame
Elicit information
Create action plan
Get commitment
Follow up
Bostic-Grinder coaching model (as a guide)
Elicit information
Working goal
Is goal ecological for coach or
client?
Goal’s intention
How many ways can this be
satisfied?
Graphically or spatially represent
options
If the client were to choose X,
would they commit to an action plan
Negative and positive consequences
of X
Sensory representations of X
Test – summarise and check
congruency
Commit to action to plan (could use
Smart goals)
Commitment (could use unconscious
signals)
The purpose of tasking
A task set by the coach which will provide a
counter example to the clients limiting belief/value
For example a man shy of talking to women could be
asked to complete market research in a women’s store; the task could be
a game or a specific NLP technique
Some neat exercises in 3’s
Client talks too much – how many pattern interrupts
can you use?
Client doesn’t know what he/she wants – how many
interventions can you use?
Client doesn’t want to explain content – agree a
metaphor with client; discuss options and solutions using the metaphor
Coach and observer work as one – Observer tells the
coach which technique (or part of a technique) to use in real time and
the coach executes it. The observer is responsible for ‘strategy’ the
coach for ‘execution’.
Accreditation
In 3’s the client and coach were briefed
separately, the observer wrote a brief report on what happened. Results
collated with John and Carmen’s observations. Delegates were either
accredited or had to come back to demonstrate proficiency in something
they hadn’t shown proficiency in yet.
After thoughts
A great learning experience; I recommend John (and
Richard) to anyone who wants to develop their NLP attitudes, modelling
skills and techniques.
The oddest thing was listening to John tell a story
that I normally associate with Richard; I’m sure the voice was the
same…..
Highly recommended
Michael