At a personal level, what are the convictions that each of us holds deeply about our own life (which is severely limited in time and space) and the meaning to be found in living this life? If we are assisted by a professional coach, will this person in some manner become a spiritual guide or companion? Is this outside the bounds of professional coaching? At the very least, we might find that professional coaches will become our personal philosophers. They will ask us penetrating questions not about why we are anxious, but about what the term “anxious” means to us and to the decisions we make and actions we take in our world. Instead of assisting us in setting the agenda for an upcoming meeting, our coach might invite us to reflect on why the meeting is being held in the first place and about ways in which decisions are made about the convening of such meetings.
Our coach may even challenge us to examine underlying assumptions regarding why we choose to define certain other people in our organization as “recalcitrant,” “unmotivated” or even “our enemies.” While these kind of questions may initially contribute to the postmodern complexity, unpredictability and turbulence in our lives, and may increase rather than decrease the pain in our lives, they also keep us alive and vitally engaged in the real world around us. They help prepare us for the extraordinary world that lies in front of us during the coming decades of the 21st Century.
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