A Coaching Model Created by Bruno Lucas
(Life Coach, URUGUAY)
The importance of action
It´s very important to analyze, discuss, design, get inspiration, visualize, decide, ask and answer, to achieve better clarity of vision, but all these things have no real impact if they are not accompanied by the right action. In the end of the day, it is action what brings new vision, new tools and what helps us really move forward. Action is what brings results.
What is this model for?
Perfect action is a model designed to help the client clarify direction and determine and take the best action possible here and now. It is especially useful for people that have to deal with too many elements at the same time, hence prone to hesitate between many possible options, feel overwhelmed and become paralyzed.
Defining “to many elements”
Some people are fortunate enough to have a clear and simple vision of what are the elements that make their life in practical terms, and managing or combining them to define the next action is not something that represents a major challenge. To illustrate this idea, we can think of, for example, a person whose daily activities are working, going to the gym, watching tv and spending time with his loved ones, or a university student with a very clear vision of her vocation, a part time job, and a lot of free time that she mainly spends studying and going out.
On the other hand, other people could have more elements in their lives, and that could bring a bigger challenge when having to determine the next action. For example, we could imagine a person that works, studies, has three hobbies, loves traveling, wants to spend quality time with his loved ones and on top of everything is considering a career change.
Of course, these examples don´t aim for making a value judgement on people´s decisions about priorities or time management, but rather for showing examples of different degrees of complexity. In situations like this, the challenge when deciding the next action could come from the existence of too many “drivers”. However, that challenge could also be a great opportunity.
Drivers
What makes a person take a particular action? There is something that acts as a driving force or motivation, and it could be (and generally is) more than one, operating at the same time. From core values to pleasure, from the desire to contribute to the need for safety, there are different kinds of drivers, and they can also vary in intensity, depending on the situation. The more aware the person is of those drivers, the more empowered he will be to decide how to combine them and use them, and the better his decision will be regarding the next action.
Identifying drivers
We could identify as many drivers and combination of drivers as people exist in the world. This model suggests a list of possible drivers to combine, align and work with:
- What I need
- What I need to do in order to move towards my goals
- What makes me feel good now
- What I can do to make a contribution
- What my intuition says
Describing drivers
What I need
In this category the client can think about what is a “must” now, what are his priorities. Every one of these items could be considered an end in itself.
Examples:
- Earn money
- Work
- Doing exercise
- Eating healthy
- Going to bed/getting up early
- Spend time with my loved ones
- Some practice (e.g. a hobby, playing music, practicing a martial art)
Useful questions for this category:
- What is important for you now?
- What is your priority?
- What do you feel the need for?
- What are the things without which you couldn´t continue moving forward?
- For how much time/ with what frequency do I need to perform this action?
What I need to do in order to move towards my goals
In this category the client can define the actions that are necessary in order to move towards his goals.
Examples:
- Studying (completing some unit or lesson in a book, in the frame of a course of career)
- Practice (some daily practice in order to develop a skill, for example in martial arts, music or work)
- Network (in order to meet like-minded people, potential partners or clients)
- Saving money (for travelling, paying a tuition fee)
Useful questions for this category:
- What do I want?
- What do I want to change?
- What are my goals?
- What are the actions I need to take in order to move towards my goals?
- For how much time/ with what frequency do I need to perform this action?
What makes me feel good now
In this category, the client can think of what are the activities that bring enjoyment, pleasure or joy to his life. Also in this case, every one of these actions could be considered an end in itself.
Examples:
- Reading
- Learning
- Going to nice places
- Meeting new people
- Having good conversations
- Walking
- Practicing a hobby (playing music, watching movies, practicing martial arts)
- Helping others
Useful questions for this category:
- What do I like?
- What does make me feel good?
- What does make me feel happy?
- What brings positive energy to my life?
- What brings peace to my mind?
What I can do to make a contribution
Behind this point there is the idea that making a contribution to other people´s life instantly brings fulfillment, good energy, meaning and happiness. Here, we will invite the client to explore his potential to help other people now.
Examples:
- Help
- Write
- Listen to someone that needs it
- Smile at others
- Lend books
- Make someone laugh
- Be patient with others
- Give
- Spend time with someone (your loved ones, the elderly)
- Babysit your friend´s kids
- Cook for someone
- Teach
- Sing, make music
- Join efforts, get involved in your community, help at some NGO
Do your job with the right intention and care (whatever your job is, you can always use it as a vehicle to have a positive impact in others people)
Useful questions for this category:
- What do I have to give?
- What can I contribute with?
- What are my talents?
- What is the best thing that I have done for other person?
- What tools do I have to help others now?
- So far, have I used my full potential to make a positive impact in the world?
What my intuition says
Intuition is a powerful source of information, and that information is of a particular nature, different from the information we can get through our senses or through reasoning. Sometimes, when feeling overwhelmed by to many thoughts or options in our mind, a good option is to stop, breathe and feel what our intuition says. There is vital information there, about what the best next action is.
Examples:
- Relax
- Enjoy
- Connect with others
- Work harder
- Be patient
- Wait
- Help
- Have a rest
- Take care of yourself
- Practice
- Refine your craft
- Go out
Useful questions for this category:
- How do I feel?
- What do I feel?
- What´s the first thing that comes to my mind?
For this category, there are exercises that can be particularly helpful, for example breathing, relaxation and visualization exercises.
These categories are not mutually exclusive
It´s important to remember that sometimes these categories overlap each other. As in every model, this is a theoretical representation, but reality is always more complex and boundaries are always more blurry in real situations.
Resources
Every action requires certain resources. From time to money, from energy to information. Part of the process of determining the best action is define what are the resources needed.
The more clearly the needed resources are identified and defined, the better the decision will be made regarding the next action.
Also, a lot of times, the client already possess valuable resources that could be used to take the right action now, but he is not aware of that. This step is very simple, but yet not obvious. Becoming aware of the resources we already possess can be extremely inspiring and empowering.
Examples of resources:
- Time
- Experience
- Knowledge
- Skills
- Energy
- Information
- Network
- Tools (laptop, cellphone, internet)
- Job
- Money
How the model works
As it was mentioned before, these drivers are always present, coexisting and varying in intensity. They can be all equally important or not, depending on the client and the moment.
This model suggests working with the client to help him identify, define, align and combine the drivers that are important in that particular moment, in order to help him take the best, most suitable and powerful action, preventing him from feeling overwhelmed or losing momentum due to elements like procrastination or fear.
A possible structure for a coaching process based on this model could be:
- The setting of the foundations and coaching agreement.
- The establishment of a relationship built on trust, clear communication and confidentiality.
- The formulation of goals and expectations for the coaching process and/or for the session, based on client´s needs.
- Defining the drivers that we will work with. It is possible to use the suggested drivers, or add other drivers following a more "tailored" approach. Also it is possible to first define all the drivers and then start with the next step, or define the first driver to work with, and start the next step with that driver right away, continuing later with the next driver and so on. Again, like every coaching process, it should be flexible, organic and always adapting to the client and to how the process unfolds.
- Defining resources required for the possible actions.
- Once we defined the existing drivers for that client and that particular moment, there are two steps to be taken, in no particular order:
- *Prioritize drivers: we could help the client to decide which driver to follow first when taking the next action (e.g. what´s more important now? : to move towards my goal or to feel good?).
- *Identify which drivers could be aligned, combined or integrated when taking the next action.
- If a resource is not available, getting that resource could become a new driver ("what I need")
- With this vision about drivers, alignment and resources, the coach will support the client in defining and taking the next action.
- After the action is taken, coach and client can review and assess the result of that action.
Also, a new process could start. Action will bring results, new vision, new resources, new needs, new drivers, and with that a new opportunity to use the model.
Benefits of this model
- Defeating procrastination and resistance: A lot of times, we have all the necessary conditions to perform useful and healthy actions, but inner resistance and procrastination sabotages us. The more aware a person is of the drivers for his actions, the more determined he will be to take the right action right away, and the more focused and powerful that action will be.
- Identifying how sometimes an action can serve to more than one purpose (more than one "driver"), will energize, empower and add momentum.
- With this model, the process of choosing what action to take next becomes easier and fastest, especially when we have a lot of areas to consider at the same time.
- Also, using this model makes it easier to determine, clarify or remember what is the course of action that serves as a frame for our next step, bringing determination, assertiveness and effectiveness.