Broad-based, macro-strategies are often aligned in the field of professional coaching with the kind of client being served. A typical distinction is drawn between coaching being done with clients working in an organizational setting and coaching being done with personal clients. The former “type” of coaching is frequently referred to as executive coaching (though organizational coaching is often done with clients who are not operating at the executive level). The second “type” of coaching is often referred to as personal coaching or life coaching. It is assumed that the role played by the person being coached and the source of funding for this coaching endeavor are critical in the formulation of macro coaching strategies. An alternative categorization is based on the nature of the coaching function being serviced, with macro strategies being aligned with improving decision-making processes, improving behavioral performance, or enhancing clarity regarding a client’s aspirations (Bergquist and Mura, 2011).
Regardless of the perspective taken regarding macro-coaching strategies, certain micro-coaching tactics can be engaged regardless of the coaching strategy being deployed. There are “coach-ful” interludes in any session when specific micro-coaching processes can be introduced that help to move the coaching session forward. These interludes hold the potential of introducing small interventions that can have a major impact. These micro-coaching tools are based on the basic assumption that small things and small changes often should be the focus of a coaching session. As Paul Watzlawick (1986, p. 92) concluded many years ago: “the great lies dormant in the small; therefore we should respect and protect the small.” As Watzlawick notes, the big “ultra-solutions” often backfire and allow for no minor corrections. They tend to be win-loss (this solution is correct and other solutions are wrong). Small solutions tend to be correctable and allow for collaboration and a win-win pathway to the use of and testing of multiple small solutions.
Furthermore, these small things and small changes are best introduced in an Interlude (a small space and short time of safety). The Interlude should be filled with small things that generate insights and small changes that can serve as a fulcrum for much bigger changes. Finally, the interlude should be designed to enhance, for a moment, something called second-order learning and something called second-order change. It is in micro-coaching interludes that our clients can glimpse something quite different from what they currently think is “reality” and glimpse a quite different way of being in the world.
At this point, a cautionary note is in order. While it is of great value to set up small steps that can be easily modified, it is also essential to have an overall strategy in mind, alongside desired outcomes (that can be adjusted over time); otherwise, there is the potential of “incrementalism” (Michael1973) to gain traction, leading to what is often called “mission creep.” Small steps are taken that gradually lead an institution in the wrong direction or leave it “wandering in the wilderness.” It becomes “safer” for the leaders of an organization or government to supply the day-to-day tactics, without ever addressing the bigger strategic issues. Tragically, we saw incrementalism in full operation during the Vietnam War. As documented by David Halberstam (1993), small decisions kept being made by the White House that led to gradual expansion into a full-scale and extended war. There is reason to believe that something similar has been occurring over the past decade or two regarding American foreign policy, particularly as related to the defense or invasion of other countries.
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