Taking this social context one step further, my model also acknowledges the social context of the athlete as part of a “team.” We all have people who support us in our lives and growth: family, friends, teachers, colleagues, health care professionals, etc.
My model includes the client’s “team” standing behind, ready to help out, ready to practice and play. This team evolves during the client’s life, but will be in place before this coaching relationship starts.
So what could make the partnership unequal? Even though the coaching community teaches that the coach doesn’t need to know the content, I believe that a coach brings greater value to the client if the coach can really be an equal participant. If my client wants to be coached in an issue with marketing their business, for example, my knowledge is limited and theirs might be too. I can coach this client, up to a point, and I need to be able to identify what that point is. One of my strategies is to seek and develop partnerships with other coaches, consultants, and trainers in areas beyond my expertise, so that I can help link my clients to the right people when I reach that point.
The Coaching Conversation
I started my coaching practice using Tim Gallwey’s Inner Game model. My model adopts some approaches from Gallwey. First, my model is not a step by step process. My experience is that life isn’t that clean; we tend to work more “organically,” working on our goals incrementally. I also like that Gallwey calls the elements of his model “conversations.” In my model, I can use the sequence shown below, but I’m more likely to bounce around them organically based on what the client brings up.
My model includes 5 key conversations that focus on success factors for athletes: Focusing, Appreciating, Committing, Expanding, and Trusting. These FACETs of the athlete are, intentionally, verbs instead of nouns to acknowledge the athlete being in motion.
What do the FACETs mean?
- Focusing: Successful athletes focus on motion, moving forward, accomplishing through the sport or athletic pursuit. This also includes prioritizing in order to refine the focus into a commitment. Each coaching session starts with what the client is focusing on right now, and this context drives the other conversations.
- Appreciating: Optimistic awareness of self and situation, including internal and external resources, and key dimensions in the client’s life. Optimism helps the athlete succeed; pessimism gets in the way. This doesn’t mean that the client ignores negative thoughts or emotions; instead, these are explored to help clarify or confirm the commitment and strategy.
- Committing: Setting a crystal clear intention, vision, or goal, as well as committing resources to it. Viewing each stage and each day as a new opportunity to revisit, clarify, and recommit.
- Expanding: Through curiosity, opportunities are opened up by exploring new options, learning and developing knowledge and skills, digging to deep to face new situations and develop organically. Targeted skills practice, for the athlete, is one way to demonstrate discipline, the necessary competence, and resilience to perform in the face of fear. Elite athletes over-prepare by expanding beyond what’s necessary for their commitment.
- Trusting: Start with self to extend the intention outwards to others, to the end goal or event. As the client increases trust in self and team, the client becomes more prepared and ready for Show Time.
How do I use the FACETs in a coaching conversation?
By using my model’s view of the multi-faceted athlete, I can approach each conversation from these perspectives:
- Overall, how is the client using the FACET to achieve the goal?
- How is the client using each FACET during each performance stage (Prepare, Show Time, and Recover): these questions help keep the client focused on the goal or commitment.
- How is the client using each FACET in their key dimensions in life: these questions help keep motion in balance.
- How is the client using each FACET in their social context: these questions remind the client that he/she is not alone, and can call on his/her team for support.
[1] Quoted from Sport and business coaching: Perspective of a sport psychologist, by Sandy Gordon, Australian Psychologist, December 2007. Original reference: Robertson, A., & Abbey, G. (2003). Managing talented people.
Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.
[2] Quoted from Structure and characteristics of effective coaching practice, by Qing Wang, The Coaching Psychologist, June 2013. Original reference: O’Broin, A. & Palmer, S. (2009). Co-creating an
optimal coaching alliance: A cognitive behavioural coaching perspective. International Coaching Psychology Review, 4(2), 184–194.