January 17, 2012

The value of "thinking out aloud"

I was working with a small group of fellow-coaches in a practice group recently and the recurring pattern which seemed to emerge for each of us as client was that we wanted the space to think our issue through, without necessarily having a specific or tangible goal for the coaching.  

I am increasingly aware that for me this is what I find most helpful – the opportunity to explore my world, out aloud, with another listening and engaging with few and pertinent questions.   How this conforms to some definitions of coaching is interesting I.e. If we don't have a coaching goal and don't commit to specific action as a result of the conversation, does this mean it isn't coaching?  And if it's not coaching, how do we define these conversations, which are truly productive in developing our thinking, and when the action and change may emerge when the client has left the room?  And maybe part of the answer lies in how do we co-create relevant coaching contracts - be that for a session or over a period of time.

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