Coaching Model: GLIDE

A Coaching Model Created by Jayant Vishnu
(Executive Coaching & Transformational Coaching, INDIA)

A. 1glide

verb \ˈglīd\ : to move in a smooth way

of an airplane : to fly without engine power

glided gliding

B. Full Definition of GLIDE

intransitive verb

1:  to move smoothly, continuously, and effortlessly <swansgliding over the lake>

2:  to go or pass imperceptibly <hours glided by>

3: A  of an airplane :  to descend gradually in controlled flight

   B  to fly in a glider

4:  to produce a glide (as in music or speech)

transitive verb:  to cause to glide

C. Examples of GLIDE

1. The swans glided over the surface of the lake.
2. We watched the skiers glide down the slope.
3. The pilot glided to a safe landing after the engine failed.
4. The pilot glided the plane to a safe landing.

D. Origin of GLIDE

Middle English, from Old English glīdan; akin to Old High German glītan to glide

First Known Use: before 12th century

• Gliding is a wonderful experience;
• Yes it requires us to reach/climb a position from where we can take off,
• It does require some support while taking off,
• Lot of courage is also needed in order to leave the ground which is gained by hard work and has a beautiful view, also where we feel comfortable,
• One needs to have an ability to visualize the experience and eagerness/openness to see the world from a different point of view

Considering above characteristics I decided to develop my coaching model as “GLIDE” Model.

G – Get connected:

This step is about the connection between Coach and client and Client with his/her Goal. It’s very important for the coach and the client to understand each other. The coach must be aware about what works/clicks with the client. This can be achieved by the coach by being authentic and by having genuine interest in the individual. For a coach its equally important to be connected to self and have a greater understanding of self. This is very important to be a coach as the coach has to just be there without any prejudice and judgement. The coach may have plenty to speak about the issue getting discussed but that does not matter, what matters is – what client thinks and feels about the issue. The coach needs to control self from offering solutions or taking the burden on his/her shoulders and this needs great degree of self awareness –

what I am aware about myself, I can control; and what I am not aware of, controls me[1].

Self awareness is the key to great connect for both client and coach, As a coach we may try and implement the Kaizen of awareness for both (Coach and the client), to achieve the Kaizen[2] of connection.

L – Listen in:

(to the goals / purpose / the unsaid / feelings / meaningful / non meaningful)

Lot of work has been done on listening, and at this juncture of professional journey one need not explain what listening means. One may talk about body language, Transactional Analysis, Emotional Intelligence etc etc. what matters is to ask oneself

am I listening to reply or understand?

The intent matters. Quite often the business leaders find themselves alone at the ladder they are on and they just need some one to listen to them without any intent or motive. As a coach if we get into the conversation with an intent to “help” this does something to the ego and it has its own impact on the ego of the client (can we have a better word as client indicates a receiver, wherein in the coaching conversation its not about receiving but discovering).

I – Inquire:

The conversation should support the client in inquiring the realities and options. Challenge here for the couch would be to refrain from getting into the conversation with the intent to “help”. The minute we get in the mindset to help any one it does something to our “ego” and this “ego” would certainly interact with the “ego” of the client. The question is what it does to the client and would that be good for the coaching relationship? We as coach must have unconditional respect for whatever realities and options client comes up with.

D – enable Direction & Focus:

Once the client has inquired his/her realities and options or is in the process of doing so, a coach can engage in a discussion which may help the client see a clear direction. We may challenge the client at this level for a better clarity or direction. I am taking liberty of making an assumption here that the higher one gets in the organization there could be many issues (important/not so important) which one is not able to discuss freely with people around without getting judged or impacted, as a coach if one is able to provide a platform where the client can discuss any issue freely knowing that He/She is not getting judged and its not going to impact him/her any ways, may make some sense to the client.

E – Engage, Explore plan of action and Energize:

It’s good to discuss and reflect/dissect/analyze etc., but is it leading the client to the Goal? Coaches can ask and seek clarity on how is the client planning to reach his/her Goal. If the client is able to see how success would look like and what it means if not able to achieve the Goal. There are different types of people and they have their individual personalities, hence what may work with few people might not succeed with others, a coach needs to understand and make the client also connect with where is he/she deriving his/her energy from, what are the core motivators of the client, and what may derail him/her from implementing the plans. It may be of some use to explore the driving and restraining forces[3] for clients.

The Goal is of the client for the client and by the client GLIDE model denotes a naturally spontaneous and engaged movement.

Comparison of GLIDE model with GROW and ICF Competencies

As GROW model starts with Goals and ICF gives equal importance to Setting the foundation as well as Co-Creating the relationship. I thought about covering these above mentioned two clusters of ICF competencies in Get Connected step of GLIDE Model of Coaching.