Boundaried time (from beginning to end of coaching relationship) – client and coach contract a programme of sessions with SMART* outcome. If coaching is not producing significant results it may be indicated that a factor is involved such as pathology which may need to be addressed by another discipline, possibly psychotherapy.
Bracketing (the withholding as far as possible the character of the coach)– the coach intends to be non-judgemental and hold the coachee in unconditional positive regard.
Following this tour d’horizon of what coaching is and what it isn’t we will now consider in more detail a specific coaching modality Neuro Linguistic Programming.
The name itself, in particular the word programming, and the apparent technical formulation of some NLP models (Meta, Milton) (4) can initially at least give this coaching modality a complex, opaque feel. We will here consider a definition and immediate applications of some of its techniques, which can in practice be simple and produce forward results quickly. (5) Consider the following example before a definition is given:
A coachee is describing to the coach their work and a possible promotion in a team. They introduce themself saying ‘it’s only me’ and what they do saying ‘I’m useless at meetings, everything always goes wrong for me’. The coach may mirror back these speech patterns: ‘why do you say ‘’it’s only me’’?’, ‘how does saying ‘’it’s only me ‘’ make you feel / sound?’. ‘Are you useless at all meetings, does everything always go wrong for you, how would being successful at meetings look / sound / feel like?’ ‘Who do you know who is effective at meetings, what do they do ..?’
Even this brief interaction could produce noticeable changes for the coachee and for those around them.
The definition of NLP is in the name:
Neuro= how the mind and body interact
Linguistic= insights into a person’s thinking that can be obtained by attention to their use of language.
Programming= study of thinking and behavioural patterns or programmes (rather than programming) which people use in their daily lives. www.nlp-now.co.uk www.professionalguildofnlp.com 2011
Download Article 1K Club
