A Coaching Model Created by Anda Bog
(Executive Coach, ROMANIA)
Reveal Explore Acknowledge Lead
A coaching experience is a journey for both the coach and the coachee, with equal implication and commitment. The more REAL it is the better chances for the journey to be a pleasant and successful one.
It so happens the capitals for Reveal, Explore, Acknowledge and Lead to fit in a purposeful manner so that the acronym speaks both for the purpose and for the journey. This is a REALity that needs to be built upon in the coaching conversation.
The model is obviously centred on the coachee (YOU) in the sense that all steps need to be taken by them:
- Reveal the objective
- Explore the steps you need to make
- Acknowledge and reality check
- Lead the action
Reveal the objective
It seems straight forward and simple but many a time an objective is not that easy to set, this is why I prefer the word “reveal”. It is a discovery journey that can be sinuous and comprising of deep introspection where the coachee needs to be assisted in order to find a relevant and well accepted objective by themselves. I have in mind the situations where the coachee opens the discussion on a topic that eventually migrates into something totally different, that maybe is difficult to articulate or accept. This is essentially the bottom issue they want to address. This is The OBJECTIVE and its revealing can take a fair amount of effort and concentration on both sides.
Explore the steps you need to make
Just like the first phase of the coaching conversation, the steps needed towards the objective may not be that obvious and easy to set. This is why we are talking about an exploration which can be trial and error based or simply following the stream of thoughts of the coachee. This stage should finalize with reaching the steps to be taken in a manner that is as concrete as the coachee is prepared to handle.
Acknowledge and reality check
We have the objective and the steps towards it are defined. Question is, has the coachee acknowledged them fully and also, are they REAListic? These two are correlated and hence “double checking” and running some scenarios might be helpful. Exploring the steps might have triggered some urgency to come down to something which eventually might need adjustment and clarification. It is here that the coachee has the opportunity to do the fine tunning necessary to ensure that once started, they will get done with the steps.
Lead the action
Action is the part that seems fun, or at least should be so if all the previous stages have been carefully completed. Leading the action has two nuances here, leading infers a continuum and then somebody to be in charge, ie the coachee. So the fun part turns into hard work in order to reach the objectives.
The role of the coach in the REAL coaching model
The model is rather prescriptive and this is why the coach plays an important part, being alternatively time keeper, sounding board, motivator and challenger. It is even more a partner in a journey that has clear milestones. Putting in practice adequate tools and being true and REAL towards the coachee are mandatory. Tools are easy to use but skillfully choosing them depending on the context and state the coachee is in, ensures that the relationship grows into an excellent one.
