A Coaching Model Created by Susan Chen
(Change & Career Coach, SINGAPORE)
Be the change that you wish to see in the world.- Mahatma Gandhi
Unlearn:
A process of removing barriers that blind us to our authentic selves, questioning our classical conditioning, deconstructing and re-ordering our identities, identifying and discarding negative values, repeatedly focusing awareness towards one’s state of being.– Steve D’Amico
This model focuses on helping you to unlock and unleash your hidden potential and make sustainable changes through leveraging current strengths and tap into your neurological power to unlearn. The model focuses on its application to support you in unlearning current habits/undesirable thoughts and behaviors in order to learn new perspectives and create new positive thoughts and habits. This model is based on the assumptions that the Unlearning process is a looping process, where you go through various phases of Learn, Unlearn and Relearn.
Uncover
This is the critical first step to Unlearn, which is to discover what you have learnt/ know already. At this stage, the coach works with you to understand what are the changes required and what will successful change look like. This is the contracting stage for the coach and you. This stage challenges the idea of what you have learnt already and how are they reflected in their behaviors.
- What to change?
- Why the change?
- What will change look like?
Neutralize
This stage beings the journey of unlearning by supporting you to recognize and share the obstacles that may be blocking the road to change. It is important to not only identify the obstacles, but to reframe your perspectives. The reframing forms the foundation in neutralizing the threat to sustainable change.
- What are the obstacles/ roadblocks to achieving the change?
- How do they make you feel?
Leverage
This stage continues with the unlearning focus and to shift you from the disempowerment state of the previous stage into an empowered stage by considering your strength and how it can be leveraged to achieve the changes. In this stage, the coach supports you to tap into the parts that the brain already know/learnt (i.e. their strengths), and support the unlearning process with what already exists.
- List your 5 strengths
- On the scale of 1-10, how often do you use these strengths?
Enable
This stage combine the outcomes from the ‘Neutralize’ and ‘Leverage’ stages and truly reframe your perspectives to enable the brain (and the heart) to unlearn the perceived disempowerment and be empowered to change. In some cases, the ‘Leverage’ and ‘Enable’ stage may be merged through the shift of perspectives and becomes fluid.
- How can your strength above help you achieve the change?
Adjust
This stage is about creating action, but focus on making modifications from what they are doing already. This stage frames unlearning through transactional changes.
- What can you do differently to what you are currently practicing?
- What does success look like?
Renew
This stage is also about creating action, but focus on taking new actions and supplement what you are doing already. This stage frames unlearning through transformational changes.
- What is something new that you can add and start practicing?
- What does success look like?
Nurture
This stage is focused on supporting you to shift from Unlearning to Relearning. This stage seeks to create structure for the changes intended to become part of the ‘Learnt’ repertoire for you.
- How can you sustain the change?
- What does success look like?
My Coaching Style
My style is energetic and at times relaxed. We will share a smile and laugh. I will challenge you to stretch and take action to move forward as well as acknowledge yours thoughts shared. I listen with an open mind and will invite you to occasional silence to support your reflection and tapping into deeper depth of the brain. My philosophy is that everyone is unique and full of potential. All discussions are confidential.