Coaching Model: DARE

A Coaching Model Created by Marius Sirbu
(Executive Coach, ROMANIA)

Nosce te ipsum (know yourself ) – Socrates

DARE

• My model represents on my own coaching approach and life philosophy. For me, coaching is a lifestyle, a way of being, an attitude. From the perspective of social programming, coaching is about discovering the context in which a person lives.
• Self-discovery is a continuous process, which, once started, continues on and on. It’s like a snowball that has formed and slowly, starts to roll, increasing in size and speed until, with the power of an avalanche, triggers changes in and around it. The amount of time needed for the transformation to occur is different from person to person.
• Allow yourself to dance with the client as he/she dares to explore options, makes choices regarding aspects of life and evolves. The model is not a procedure, but a clear and flexible approach that leads the client throughout the process of transformation and continuous personal development.

Discover

This phase comprises the following steps:

• Establishing the relationship with the client. The coach gets in contact with the client, checks the chemistry between him and client, sets up boundaries and creates the appropriate environment for the coaching process to proceed. This environment is characterised by trust, in order for the client to be able to open, to get deeper and deeper inwards and express his feelings and thoughts, and to grow.
• Exploration. After the coaching relationship has been built, the coach gives the client the necessary space and support to explore, at the deepest level, the current state as well as the desired state. The client talks about his reality, where he is, what he does, and where he wants to be. As the client opens various discussion threads, the coach will follow these in order to make the client develop the ideas to their maximum. The current state contains the problem, while the desired state encompasses the solution. The coach will ask questions that will allow the client to explore his/her values and beliefs. Client’s discourse will offer valuable insights regarding his/her frame of reference.
• Identifying the gap. Accompanied by the coach, the client identifies the missing part between where he/she is and where he/she wants to be. Often, this missing part between the current status quo and the desired one is a big “I don’t know”. The gap is the challenge and will be replaced, in the following phases, by a connection that moves the client from here to there.

Let’s continue to step by step to this transformation.