Load up the car
OK, so you know now where you’re headed. You’re getting there, but you’re not quite ready to turn the key and get on the road. There are a number of things that need to happen first to ensure the trip is a success. This is the equivalent of loading up the car with essentials. First up, the obvious – planning the actual route (i.e.: what’s your Action Plan) including:
The basic route
Rest Stops: This should include:
- A to B to C (the milestones/steps towards the goal)
- Sights (the celebratory milestones along the way)
- Petrol-stops: (how you recharge along the way)
Traffic/Road Updates (what obstacles might I face? Do I need to adapt my basic route?)
Travelling Companions: Who are your champions/supporters? Who will you ask for support from? Who will you celebrate with when you reach your goal? Who will keep you accountable?
Coaching Tools to assist
- SMART Goal setting
- Cartesian Questions (What would happen if you do/don’t; What wouldn’t happen if you do/don’t?)
Coaching Questions
- What are the steps along the way?
- What support will you need? From yourself? From others?
- How will you keep yourself accountable?
- How will you keep yourself fueled up?/What self-care will you build in?/How do you rejuvenate?
- What else do you need to consider?
- What are the risks? How might you approach them?
- What might be tough/what could go wrong? How could you support yourself/build in support?
- How will you know that you have gotten there/succeeded?
- How will you celebrate?
Tracking the Journey – HOW’S YOUR ETA?
Once the journey has started, you are going to want to keep an eye on progress. There will of course, be things that slow you down, or enable you to get there quicker. So as you travel, you’ll need to check if your ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) needs updating:
- Was traffic busier than you expected (the known obstacles were more complex or challenging than you expected)?
- Was there an accident (a new obstacle you hadn’t considered)?
- Are you lost? (lost focus on the goal)
- Are you fed up with the journey already (lost the joy in the process)?
When you come across these issues, how do you need to adapt our ‘basic route’ plan to keep it realistic?
Coaching Tools to assist
‘Get Excited’ instruction[2]
Power Tools:
- Reframing exercises (i.e.: Perspective-taking: taking turns viewing the situation from others vantage points; 20 Powerful Perspectives)
- Lightness v Significance
- Reacting v Responding
Design Your Life (self-care exercise)
Visioning exercises (see earlier section on ‘Where are you Headed?”)
Byron Katie’s 4 Questions[3]:
- Is it true?
- Can you absolutely know it is true?
- How do you react, what happens when you believe that thought?
- Who would you be without the thought?
Coaching Questions
- How can you find a way for it to be fun?
- What do you need more of/less of right now?
- What expectation/judgement did you have? What was the impact? What’s another view that you could take?
- What support do you need to accomplish _______?
- What’s the worst that can happen, and can you handle that?
- What’s the downside of your dream?
- What’s stopping you from taking action?
- Who wouldn’t like it if you succeeded?
- What will you have to give up in order to make room for your goals? Who can help you with this?
- What is perfect about this situation?
- Does your current habit fully support who you’re becoming?
- What do you need in order to succeed here?
- What plan do you need in order to achieve your new goals?
- What’s worked well this week?
- What brings you joy? How can you bring this in?
Summary
We are constantly on the move, trying to achieve what we need to do each day, each week. I have therefore used the idea of a Roadmap as it is a simple and recognizable concept for us to relate to. Whilst there are similarities to the GROW Model, I believe this Coaching Model goes further. The ‘Coaching Roadmap’ guides clients towards their goals in a way that respects what is important to who they are becoming/what they value in their life (their legacy), and takes time to notice up-front what obstacles they may face, what support they want to build in, and importantly how they will celebrate their successes along the way. I hope you enjoy the journey.
[1] Howards Gift, 2012 (Sinoway)
[2] “Get Excited: Reappraising pre-performance anxiety as excitement” Alison Wood-Brooks
http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=45869
[3] http://thework.com/en/do-work#questions
