A Coaching Model Created by Victor Ng
(Executive Coach, SINGAPORE)
Successful people know that the path to greatness is never smooth. It would be easier if they have someone to support them along the way.
As Bill Gates said,
Everyone needs a coach.
Google’s Eric Schmidt said that the best advice he ever received was: “Get a coach.”
A partnership with a coach can help you achieve your goals, find your passions, gain greater self-awareness, reach inner fulfillment, or simply live with purpose.
According to the International Coach Federation, coaching is when the coach partners with individuals in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to find their own solutions. This maximizes and unlocks their potential in all aspects of their professional and personal lives.
Like how every individual client is different, so is every coach. My coaching approach is centered on unlocking your hidden or trapped potential to truly excel in work and life.
The coaching model I have created is “Lock & Key”. It is an intuitive yet structured framework to guide the coaching experience toward positive, transformational results.
The Lock
Many people are pursuing their greatness. What they do not know is, true greatness is already within them. They just cannot see it yet.
We can often see the potential for greatness in other people — through their drive, their work ethic, their determination, their focus, their resilience, their empathy, or the audacity of their dreams. You too have those qualities.
So why can’t we see — and use — our own potential? The answer is, there is something that keeps it locked away.
The lock on the door to your potential can take many forms, including:
- Limiting beliefs
- Fear
- Past failure
- Procrastination
- Lack of confidence
- Guilt
- Inability to focus
- Negative self-talk
- Pessimism
- People-pleasing
- Self-judgment
- Lack of commitment
- De-motivation
These “locks” prevent you from accessing the wealth of your potential. You are not alone. Here are what some of the challenges my clients have faced:
I want to be a team leader but I’m worried if I’m good enough.
I have to make a big presentation but public speaking totally terrifies me.
I have too much on my plate because I can’t seem to say ‘no’ to people.
I hope to get that promotion. If only I can get through to my boss.
I don’t think I can do this because I’ve tried and failed at it before.
Do any of them sound familiar? There is always something getting in the way of the success we seek (and deserve).
In the coaching process, the stages of acknowledging and identifying the lock are:
- Establishing trust, open communication and confidentiality right at the start
- Identifying your desired goal and expectations for the session
- Sharing your current situation and recognizing your reality
The Key
To unlock whatever keeps your potential for greatness trapped, you will need a “key” that is forged by the coach with his or her set of skills and tools.
The tools at the coach’s disposal are many and varied. I personally use:
- Strategic powerful questions
- Proactive listening
- Challenging of limiting beliefs
- Re-positioning of perspectives
- Power tools such as my very own “I Want” vs “I Will”
- Visualization
- Confidence building
- Motivation
- Accentuating of personal strengths
- Acknowledgment and encouragement
- Insightful observations
- Brainstorming for ideas
- Sharing of experience
- Feedback and accountability
- Co-created action plans
The skill of applying each coaching tool is dependent on the coach’s background and experience. Based on your needs, I will use a unique combination of coaching techniques that is customized for you and your goals.
The coaching challenge is to create the right key to open the lock on your life and work. This is where we will work closely together as partners. Here are the stages of this process:
- Exploring your self-awareness and emotional intelligence
- Shifting to empowering perspectives or beliefs
- Developing new confidence, motivation, ideas, and focus
A Turn Of The Key
Once the key is created, you will have to, so to speak, turn the key. As the client, the coaching is always centered on you — your goals, your challenges, your actions, and your outcomes.
As your coach, I can help create the key with you, but only you can turn the key to unlock your greatness. Change takes time and success never comes easy, but you are in control of your progress and the outcome.
Here are the stages in the final phase:
- Developing an action plan or specific next steps for positive change
- Setting accountability, making commitment, and sustaining motivation
- Learning and growing from the coaching process
Now imagine yourself actually unlocking the door to your hidden potential and stowed-away gifts. Imagine the glow and warmth they will emanate. Imagine how much you can achieve with them. Imagine the satisfaction and joy they will bring to your work and life.
All it takes is a key and a turn of it. You can do it.
