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August 14, 2008

To study or not to study?

I'm currently in a dilemma about "what next?" in terms of my professional development. Over the past couple of years I've attended numerous workshops and conferences, many of which I enjoy in the moment, but on reflection I'm not always sure whether what I may have learned impacts on how I work. I'm also aware that I am motivated by belonging to a learning community, so I've been looking for a course or project that will acknowledge my experience and at the same time stretch me in terms of learning and development.

So, where I'm at right now is considering two options. This is not necessarily an either-or, it could be a both-and, except in terms of timing, and of course cost.

The first is to sign up for an MA in Psychological Coaching at the Metanoia Institute in Ealing in West London. This would provide me with a fresh grounding in the different psychological models that underpin coaching (many of which are familiar to me through my MSc in Change Agent Skills at Surrey University in 2000), and I would join a learning community of coaches wishing to expand their knowledge and skills. However, it would not earn any recognition from the British Psychological Society, which gives no credence to any postgraduate qualifications without an undergraduate degree in psychology.

The second option I'm exploring is to enrol in a professional doctorate programme in the Institute for Work Based Learning at Middlesex University. This seems an exciting proposition, and any research I do will be based on my actual work of coaching supervision. At the same time, everyone I speak to who has done a doctorate forewarns me of what a tough project this can be. And it feels like a "big leap" from being a practitioner to DProf research practitioner.

At the moment, the jury is out. I seem to vacillate in each direction depending on who I discuss it with, so I guess I have to "do nothing", and what needs to become clear will become clear when I'm ready.

I'm reminded of Ernesto Spinelli's presentation at the EMCC Conference in Sweden last year when he described the existential phenomenon of "meaninglessness". He proposed that when we are clear about our personal identity, we have meaning. We may then seek a new identity and meaning, which becomes clear. But there is a space/time between these two when we exist in a state of meaninglessness and it is the challenge of the coach to support the "coachee" during the state and transition from one identity to another. The idea can be represented like this...

Adapted from presentation by Professor Ernesto Spinelli at EMCC Conference, Sweden 2007.

I have a sense that I'm partly in one of those states of meaninglessness as I choose possible next steps towards an as yet not entirely clear new identity. Whilst it's not an easy or comfortable state to be in, at the same time, it does allow me to empathise with my coaching clients when they share their own dilemmas and periods of transition and change.

Posted by Alison at 02:40 PM | Comments (0)

August 04, 2008

Yes, but...

At the recent AC Co-Coaching Forum we did a group coaching exercise where we deliberately "gave advice" or "made suggestions" to the coachee. What was fascinating was that although the coachee had asked for help, when we gave it, he or she constantly responded with, "Yes, but...!"

What became apparent for me during this scenario was that by giving advice we unintentionally (or was it?) and yet implicitly appeared to criticise both the coachee's interpretation of their issue and the actions they had taken so far. Their defensive Yes, butting was their mechanism for self-protection. It was their way to avoid the pain or shame of their fear, the fear to take what they knew within themselves was an appropriate next step.

Even with the best intentions to help, as a general rule, I really must be mindful and resist giving advice, even when asked. It can be so arrogant and at the same time debilitating for the client. And at the same time, sometimes it is really hard to resist when I think I know the answer!

Posted by Alison at 09:08 AM | Comments (0)