A Coaching Model Created by Dr. Sangharsh Daithankar
(Life Coach, INDIA)
Foreword:
Osho in his talks , Awareness Is Simple, Very Innocent
I have no idea about what “right awareness” is. How to judge that I am going in the right direction?
“There is no right awareness, because there is no possibility of wrong awareness. Awareness is right. So first drop the wrong question. Once you are asking a wrong question to yourself you cannot get the right answer. “Don’t ask what is right awareness. Simply ask what is awareness. Your question gives the fallacious impression that you know what awareness is, that the only thing that you don’t know is what is right awareness and what is not right awareness. Erase that fallacy completely from your mind.“Awareness is simple, very innocent. Everyone has it, so it is not a question of achievement. One wrong question leads to another wrong question: first you ask what right awareness is, then you ask how to achieve it. You already have it. When you see the sunset, are you not aware? When you see a rose flower, are you not aware? You are aware of the beautiful sunset, you are aware of the beautiful rose; all that is needed is that you become aware of your awareness, too. That is the only thing that has to be added, the only refinement.
“You are aware of objects. You have to be aware of your subjectivity. When you are looking at a sunset, you are so absorbed in the beauty of the sunset that you completely forget that there is a greater beauty which is making it possible for you to know the beauty of the sunset – it is your awareness. But your awareness is focused on an object – the sunset, the sunrise, the moon. Drop the object and just remain engulfed in pure awareness, in silence, in peace. Just be alert.”
Introduction to the A-P-P-L-Y Model of Coaching
According to the ICF, “Coaches provide an ongoing partnership designed to help clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Coaches help people improve their performances and enhance the quality of their lives.”
One of the key competencies of a Coach, thereby, is the belief in the inner potential (light) of the client and providing support to discover the answers within himself / herself.
The APPLY Model of coaching moves a client from discovering potential to accepting reality to becoming aware of insights, taking initiative to shift and reframe perspectives and help him / her manage, monitor and be mindful of the solutions.
Origin of APPLY
Middle English applien, from Anglo-French aplier, from Latinapplicare, from ad- + plicare to fold — more at ply
First Known Use: 14th century
“APPLY” means to bring or put into operation or use so also the Coach with his / her ability and trust in the client’s potential (inner light) to find answers within is able to identify potential, make him/her aware of the current reality, support him / her to find insights and thereby shift perspectives and finally help the client to monitor and implement the desired change.
“APPLY” means to employ diligently or with close attention so also this Model believes that it is the intrinsic and innate ability of the client that is responsible for him/her finding the answers and reaching the desired goals. Also it aims at change not at thought level however at Action Level.
The linkages of this Model are represented and explained below
Assess The Current Situation & Be Aware Of The Potential Goals
This stage of the coaching process is multi-dimensional. By having a conversation with the client, the Coach at this stage is able to establish clarity on the potential goals that the client would like to achieve.
The questions that a Coach can ask at this stage of the process are:
- What areas do you want to work on?
- What do you want to achieve as a result of this session?
- What will make you feel this time has been well spent?
Moving ahead, once the goals are clearly established, the Coach, by questioning and listening and supporting is able to help the client discover and find the answers within themselves.
Ponder Into The Reality
This stage is about the client looking at their situation and becoming aware of the inner reality of how they got there. It is also about questioning and challenging where they are, what has worked so far and what hasn’t.
This stage of the process, probes deep into the emotions, feelings, intuition and unknown layers of the client’s psyche. The coach with his / her expertise can use this stage to get into the heart of the matter and raise the client’s awareness about their values, priorities and beliefs.
The reality check can be done by the coach by asking:
- What has worked for you so far ?
- What makes this so important for you ?
- What progress have you made so far?
- What stops you from moving ahead ?
- What do you expect of yourself at this point ?
Play The Insightful Game
Once the reality has been established, understood and accepted, the Coach needs to support the client to go deeper and search inward for answers to the present situation being faced by them.
During this stage, the coach can also use various tools like visualisation, role playing and the pertinent power tool to make the client aware of his / her inner self.
Once the client is able to get some insight about the situation under discussion, he / she needs to be probed on what initiative they may want to take to handle the same.
Since coaching is all about the client, at this stage the coach needs to be extremely careful about not being judgemental or biased about what is being shared. In case the client is not interested in looking at initiatives at this stage but would like to reflect on the insights gained, the coach needs to be open enough to allow that.
Leverage To Shift Mental Model/State
The insights that are gained at the earlier stage can be further reinforced by probing the client on what he/she would like to do next ? Powerful questioning and listening is the key here to support and guide the client to be able to shift their current state of reality to that of a more acceptable and positive one. The coach needs to be extremely positive and maintain energy at this stage especially if the client is in a negative mode.
Questions that can be used here are:
- What could you do differently?
- Who do you know who has encountered a similar situation?
- Give me 5 options.
- If anything was possible what would you do?
- What else?
Yeild The Shift And Savor The Change
Once the client is clear about what changes they would like to bring about in their current situation, the coach needs to support them to manage their action plan and help them monitor the progress of the same.
The questions that can be asked here are:
- By when would you like to begin working on this action ?
- Would you call / email me as to how things are working out ?
- If you need my support in putting this action in place, would you let me know ?
In conclusion, coaching is all about helping the client fulfill their personal and professional goals through a process of inward self discovery. The A-P-P-L-Y model of coaching, through its focus on strengthening the client’s inner light, aims to do just that !!