A Coaching Model Created by Sarah Wiseman
(Transformational Coach, UNITED KINGDOM)

Introduction

This coaching model helps clients to explore all the things they dream of doing ‘one day’, work out which of these things they might like to do right now, define the steps that they need to take to turn the dream into reality and to make the dream happen.

It is for people who get stuck in dreaming up ideas but don’t put them into action, people who have so many dreams they don’t know which one to choose, or people who think they have no dreams at all but are not happy where they are.

I have seen so many books and articles about ‘how to achieve your dreams or goals’, but what if a client doesn’t know what their dreams or long-term goals are? What if they have no clue what they want to be doing in 5 years, they just know that they don’t want to be doing what they are doing right now?

I have often been in this situation, in a job I have outgrown or a lifestyle that no longer suits, looking around thinking ‘what next’, wondering how to weave all of my skills and interests into a job and a lifestyle that works for me.

It’s like starting with a map with huge blank areas on it. A client may see in the landscape a distant mountain they might wish to climb, but the map doesn’t contain enough information to help them to get there, or to help them to plan the best route to the top, or for them to know if it’s even worth climbing in the first place. The client chooses which part of the landscape they want to explore, starting from where they are, filling in more details on the map as they go. They may set off on a path that turns out to be a dead-end and have to backtrack, they may get stuck in boggy ground and think ‘I’m not going that way again’. They may seek information, asking other people who have walked the landscape about how they got to where they want to go, looking for guidebooks, old maps, tales from explorers. Eventually, a clear direction emerges, the client knows where they want to go.

The coach acts as a guide through the process but the client sets the direction. The coach can assist when the client gets stuck, perhaps pointing out that the client doesn’t have to jump across a dangerous ravine as there is a bridge just around the corner. The coaching sessions help the client to fill in the blank areas of the map and to work out what they want, what their values are, what is holding them back, what they need to do to turn dreams into reality. The coach supports the client when the journey seems too difficult, reminds them of their destination when the mist comes down, and supports them to take actions to make change happen.