Why Transformative Coaching Takes Guts

How do you know what to say to trigger the brain to learn?

The powerful questions that change clients’ minds emerge when you listen to your heart and gut as well as your head. You ask about what you sense—what fears, disappointment, needs or desires are conveyed to you without words. Your client then stops and questions herself.

You need to access your entire nervous system to pick up signals from your client’s entire nervous system. Some people define this process as listening to your intuition; biologically, it means you’re listening to and trusting all of the signals you receive from your heart and gut, as well as your head. In so doing, you access the critical data you need to fully comprehend what is going on in the human you are conversing with.

To activate your full sensory capabilities, you need to feel grounded in the present moment and visualize opening all three centers in your neural network where you receive input. Then you have to trust what you sense and courageously ask your client for permission to share these notions. When you do, you need to bravely accept how she reacts.

Depending on your personality, you may find it easier to access one sensory capability over the other. People who tend to be helpers listen more easily from the heart than the gut. Risk-takers who move quickly on instinct find it easier to listen from the gut than from the heart. As a born risk-taker, I have to consciously open my heart when I coach, teach or argue with my partner. I may feel vulnerable, but it’s effective.

If you intentionally practice listening from your various centers every day, you will come co more naturally access your intuition. This will help you discover the reflections and questions that will crack the force field protecting your client’s sense of self and reality, allowing a new awareness to emerge. The more you can get the neurons sparking in the brains of your clients, the greater the chance for a breakthrough in awareness to occur. Have the guts to use your heart and guts in coaching.