5. Coaching as “friendship”:
Suggests that executive coaches should devote more attention in their own motivations and patterns of behavior as a coach—what “lights up” inside themselves and in the clients they serve.
Comment made by presenter:
As executive coaches we should reflect on what “lights up” for us in our relationship with a client.
6.Mirror neurons and empathy:
Suggests that executive coaches should become more knowledgeable about “emotional intelligence” and bring concepts from this field into their coaching sessions.
Comment made by presenter:
Emotional intelligence is an important concept to introduce in executive coaching practices.
7.Neuroplasticity:
Suggests that executive coaches should devote more attention in their coaching to the unique strengths of their clients and to areas/functions that are not being used (and perhaps should be more frequently used) by their clients.
Suggests that executive coaches should remain optimistic about the potential for their clients to make significant progress in their improvement of important skills.
Comment made by presenter:
Executive coaches should engage in appreciative leaning into the future with a focus on strengths when working with their clients.
8. ”End-of-the-line” integration of sensory data:
Suggests that executive coaches should devote more attention in their coaching to the potential distortions in the perceptional of reality in their clients and the potential reasons for these distortions (biases).
Suggests that executive coaches should devote more attention to the potential distortions in their own perceptions of their client’s reality and the potential reasons for these distortions (biases).
Comment made by presenter:
Human beings are always “going beyond the information given” when taking in reality.
9.Oxytocin as bonding/nurturing:
Suggests that executive coaches should increase their sensitivity to ways in which their own personal desire for bonding and nurturing are influencing their own work as a coach.
Suggests that executive coaches should read about neuro-social biology (such as found in Robert Sapolsky’s Behavior) and apply insights from this work in their coaching sessions.
Comment made by presenter:
Human beings are bonders and nurturers. Even introverts find it hard to be isolated.
10.Preserving sense of self:
Suggests that executive coaches should devote more attention in their coaching to the somatic (bodily) experiences of their client: how are they “feeling”, where does this “feeling” come from in their body, and what is the impact of this feeling.
Suggests that executive coaches should focus at times on their client’s images of potential future selves. How do their clients anticipate their sense of self shifting in the future and what might bring about this shift?
Comment made by presenter:
It is important for executive coaches to recognized that our sense of self is “embodied” in ongoing sensing of our body. We gain a sense of our continuity of self from our body. Our sense of future self is an important issue to be engaged in executive coaching sessions.
