A Coaching Model Created by June Hogan
(Leadership Coach, UNITED STATES)
My coaching model is inspired by the work of Brene Brown, her TED talks and her books ’Daring Greatly’ and ‘The Gifts of Imperfection’. I also make reference to Debbie Ford’s book ‘The Dark Side of the Light Chasers’.
My journey through ICA started in February 2016, just under 12 months after our family moved from the UK to America. I followed a dream to become a coach whilst exploring a new country and culture. My time at ICA has allowed me to see the world and my life from a new perspective and has been an integral part of the success of my family’s time in the USA. I feel blessed to have the gift of being able to coach others and have learnt so much about myself and met lots of great people and wonderful coaches.
My model is designed to help my clients to see the whole person. To EMBRACE everything about themselves that has brought them to this moment: success, failure, happiness, challenges – these are all part of the journey and how we approach these situations and decisions makes us who we are. u As I read more about coaching and continue my journey I feel my model will evolve and mature, it is my intention is to keep this as a ‘work in progress’ throughout my practice.
I hope you enjoy reading it!
Within ourselves we possess every trait and its polar opposite, every human emotion and impulse. We have to uncover, own and embrace all of who we are Debbie Ford, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers
- We are all unique. Our genes, our childhood and our experiences that have combined to this moment mean we have all had a unique journey.
- EMBRACING who we are means we learn to understand and accept the whole picture, the light and the shade in our lives.
- Life is not a straight line to your goals, in relationships, in our parenting or in our work. We have all experienced light and shade at some time in our lives to a greater or lesser degree: not getting the promotion, being made redundant, the end of a relationship, illness, bereavement, negative feedback. However we have to experience shade in all aspects of life in order to appreciate the light and this experience is what makes us unique.
- I was inspired by the analogy of light and shade as I feel it lends itself to the basis of coaching: in order to feel ‘whole’ we need to understand all aspects of who we are and how we see the world.
- Once we can EMBRACE all aspects of who we are and celebrate our uniqueness we can understand the light and shade in our lives and the richness it brings to each day. Once we EMBRACE ourselves we can know ourselves and our belief in our gifts, talents, skills and resourcefulness will bring enlightenment and a new perspective to our challenges and goals.
- My EMBRACE coaching model is designed to help increase awareness and help find a new perspective to be your best self.
The dark does not destroy the light it defines it. It’s our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
EMBRACE
Expectations – what does the client want to bring to coaching?
Moment – where are they now?
Beliefs – explore their underlying beliefs and values
Road blocks – what’s getting in the way?
Awareness – the magic happens here!
Change – moving into action, making plans
Evolve – implementing plans and making change
Embrace
Expectations
This is where we begin to establish trust and explore what the client bringing to the coaching space. The
coaching agreement is established here.
Some questions to ask:
- What do you want to bring to coaching?
- What is important to you about this?
- What is the most important aspect for today’s session?How can coaching serve you with this
- expectation?
- How will you know if coaching has made a difference?
EMBRACE insight: this is the first opportunity for the client to share and for the coach to gain an understanding of their level of self awareness, however the topic they bring to coaching is rarely the actual issue so digging deeper to establish the coaching agreement will bring forward new insight.
eMbrace
Moment
Having established their expectation for the coaching sessions the next stage is to understand where are
they now in this moment
Some questions to ask:
- Where are you now with your goal?
- What steps (if any) have you taken so far?
- How do you feel?
- How would you like to feel when you achieve your goal?
- How would you like to feel at the end of this session?
EMBRACE insight: How does the client view their current situation? What is their perspective? Do they have self doubt? Are they fully committed? Are they chasing perfection?
emBrace
Beliefs
This is where we start to peel back the layers, dig deeper and understand what’s really going on for the client. Exploring their values and beliefs which are the driving force behind their goal and may also be getting in the way.
Some questions to ask
- What could be holding you back from achieving your goal?
- What lies beneath that?
- Where does that assumption / statement etc come from?
- How do you know that is true?
- What impact would removing this have on your goal?
- How could this help in the broader picture of your life?
EMBRACE insight: Can the client see their light and shade? What do they believe about themselves? Are they chasing the ‘light’? How do they feel about the ‘shade’?
embRace
Road blocks
The client will have identified certain things which are getting in the way of their desired goal, these could be thoughts, feelings, values, beliefs. Understanding more about them and the impact they have will help the client see a different perspective and a way through to begin action planning.
Some questions to ask:
- How do you feel this (thought / feeling / belief etc) is helping you with your goal?
- How does this (thought / feeling / belief etc) support your goal?
- What about this (thought / feeling / belief etc) do you want to hold on to?
- How would if feel if you let go of this (thought / feeling / belief etc)?
- When might you feel ready to let go?
- What would you need to support you?
EMBRACE insight: Does the client have a realistic view of what’s holding them back? Can they appreciate their experiences of ‘light’ and ‘shade’ that has brought them to this place?
embrAce
Awareness
This is all about the client and their change of perspective, a new awareness of themselves and the impact this has on their situation. Looking at things differently will allow them to think about next steps. However their new awareness may mean the coach has to re-contract and go back to their objective and check whether or not this needs to be re-defined.
Some questions to ask:
- We started the session with you wanting to work on xxxxxx, how is this still moving you in the right
direction? - What is important to you now?
- What does a good outcome look like for you?
EMBRACE insight: What impact does their new understanding have on them? Can they appreciate how their new perspective can make a difference in their life?
embraCe
Change
If the client feels ready they can start to work on their action plans. What do they need to get them to their goal?
Some questions to ask:
- What steps could you take to help you achieve xxxx?
- How realistic are these plans?
- What support might you need to make this happen?
- How will you know when you’ve achieved this?
- When will you start / finish this by?
- How would it feel to achieve these?
- What difference will this make to you?
- How committed are you to this action plan?
EMBRACE insight: Now the client is more aware they can work on ways to realistically and practically look at how to they want to move forward. How committed are they to these plans? What structures do they have / need and what existing structures could be getting in their way?
embracE
Evolve
The client will return for multiple sessions and the coach will observe how the client is changing and moving toward their goal. After all, it is in between coaching sessions where the client will grow and evolve as they take their new awareness and insight from coaching and have the confidence to apply this to their lives. This will be different for each client and at the start of each session the coach will invite the client to share their progress with action plans. The client’s level of commitment will inform how the coaching sessions continue.
Some questions to ask:
- Would you like to share your progress / reflections / learning from the last session?
- What about our last session had the biggest impact on you and the broader picture of your life?
EMBRACE insight: how is the client moving forward with their plans? How committed are they? Have they EMBRACED all aspects of themselves? Are they comfortable with their vulnerability? What other ‘dark corners’ does coaching need to shine a light on?