International Coach Academy

Coach Training School

  • LANGUAGES
    • English
    • Chinese
    • Italian
  • COMMUNITY
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Canada
    • Egypt
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Jordan
    • Lebanon
    • New Zealand
    • Singapore
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Trinidad Tobago
    • UAE
    • UK
    • USA
  • Contact Us
  • OUR SCHOOL
    • Training Methodology
    • Coach Certification
    • Why Choose ICA?
    • Our Story
    • Our Team
    • Our Alumni
  • PROGRAMS
    • Become a Coach
    • Add Coach Skills
    • Advanced (ACP)
    • Professional (CPC)
    • Vocational (VCP)
    • Workplace (WCC)
    • Life Design
    • Bridging Pathways
    • Group Coach
  • STUDENT LIFE
    • Inside the Classroom
    • Study Schedule
    • Coaching Confidence
    • Your Niche and Model
    • Portfolio Creation
    • Unparallaled Support
  • COACH LIFE
    • ICA Coach Alumni
    • Get A Niche
      • Life Coaching
      • Health Wellness Coaching
      • Leadership Coaching
      • Business Coaching
    • Getting Clients
    • Coaching Demonstrations
    • Coaching Tips
    • Day in the Life of a Coach
    • Community Library
  • FLIPIT
    • A Framework for Change
    • Certified Group Coaching (CCE)
      • FlipIt Facilitation License
    • ICA Power Tools
      • Graduate Power Tools
  • BLOG
    • Graduation Yearbooks
    • Coach Portfolio
      • Power Tools
      • Resources
    • Articles
    • Podcasts
  • Join Login
You are here: Home » COACH PORTFOLIOS » Power Tools » Power Tool: Naming Your Fear

Power Tool: Naming Your Fear

2016/04/12

power-tool-alyson-garrido-600x352

A Coaching Power Tool Created by Alyson Garrido
(Career Coach, UNITED STATES)

He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.―Aristotle

Case Study

Joanne was very good at her job as a Social Worker. She enjoyed her clients and knew she was making a difference in their lives. Joanne, like many of her coworkers, knew that layoffs were going to come to her team, probably sooner than later. As the new person, all signs pointed to Joanne losing her job. She started to look for something new, freshened her resume and even had some promising interviews. She was terrified, however, of being laid off. The idea of not having a job was a constant worry that caused her a great deal of anxiety and caused her to go into a rabbit hole of despair.

When she decided to address this issue in coaching she was able to examine the true root of her fear. If she lost her job, she would find a new one. Money was not the issue, her husband could support them and unemployment compensation would be available. The clients she enjoyed so much would go away, but so would the unpleasant paperwork and disgruntled coworkers. Losing the job may even be a relief, so why was she so nervous?

Joanne quickly realized that her fear was not based in losing something she loved or facing dire financial hardships. Joanne’s anxiety was based in the lack of control she had over the situation. She could not control if she was the one laid off, when it would happen, or how she would be treated. Upon realizing that her fear was based in a lack of control, she quickly identified what she could control. In that moment, she could work on her resume and try her best to get something lined up before layoffs hit. She also quickly saw various options available to her if she did lose her job. She could reach out to her network, she could explore other opportunities, she could even take some time away from the workforce. Knowing what she could control and how many options were available to her was exceptionally empowering and Joanne’s anxiety quickly turned to relief and excitement for the things that were within her control.

Joanne’s case is not rare. It can be very difficult for people to look beyond their immediate situation to determine why they are so distraught. Putting a name to the fear beyond immediate circumstances can have a powerful impact on how our clients move forward.

Coaching Application

A skilled coach can help a client get to the root of her fear to find ways to overcome her distress. The fear a client has is seldom related to the action or event they have described, but is related to the consequences of the event happening, or not happening.

Below you will find 6 common fears and how they might initially appear.

Fear of Rejection: I am so nervous about this job interview.
Fear of the Unknown: I am terrified to move away.
Fear of Losing Control: I will not work with the new person on my team.
Fear of Loss: I don’t think my daughter will be safe at college in another state.
Fear of Being Judged: I am unable to speak in public.
Fear of Failure: I want to be a doctor, but I cannot go back to school.

It is important for the client to talk about the fear itself to identify the underlying cause. Oftentimes when a client allows herself to reach the worst-case scenario she finds options that weren’t present before and could realize that fears are unfounded. Of course, this approach is not right for all clients and their emotional state must be taken into consideration.

Important questions to ask about fear include:

How do you feel when you think about…?
Tell me about when you started feeling this way.
When will this fear go away?
If a friend were telling you about this fear, what would you say?
What consequences do you imagine?
What options do you have?
How would your life change if the fear were realized?

Through questions such as these, clients are able to reflect on and identify the root cause of their anxiety. Once fear is identified options will come to light and allow your client to create a path forward.

Reflection

  1. When have you misidentified a fear?
  2. Do you ever think of the worst-case scenario when you are fearful? Is the process constructive or destructive?
  3. How do you conquer fear?
  4. Could someone have a ‘healthy’ amount of fear? When does it become unhealthy?
  5. As a coach, have you seen your client’s fear turn to exhilaration?

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. ― Nelson Mandela

Related Posts

  • research-paper-post--alyson-garrido-600x352Research Paper: Identifying Strengths
  • Power Tool: Fear vs. Courage
  • Power Tool: Freedom vs. Fear
  • Power Tool: Willpower vs. FearPower Tool: Willpower vs. Fear
  • Power Tool: Love vs. Fear
  • Power Tool: Fear vs. Success

Filed Under: Power Tools Tagged With: alyson garrido, career coach, coach united states

International Coach Academy

Categories

International Office

PO Box 3190 Mentone East,
Melbourne AUSTRALIA, 3194

ABN: 83 094 039 577

Contact Us Online

Ask Us A Question

Click HERE

Terms

Terms and condition
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · International Coach Academy ·

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT