Life long learning rocks!

I spent three days last week at Henley Business School on the latest module (Advanced Coaching Practice) of my MSc in Coaching For Behavioural Change. I was chatting to a work colleague about this and he said, “I’d forgotten how much fun it is to learn something new.” Never a truer word spoken.

I love being in the presence of my like minded cohort from whom I learn so much, listening to the amazing practitioners and academics share their insight and experiences, and getting to practice new coaching approaches and techniques in a fun and safe environment.

Last week we covered Gestalt, Positive Psychology and Transactional Analysis – all very different. One of the things I love when learning about other coaching approaches is how you can grab bits to integrate into your own eclectic coaching style. It’s about what feels right to you.

Gestalt coaching has a strong observational focus on what is happening in the moment for both client and coach and how we create our experience based on the context and environment we find ourselves in. Everything is data for the coach, even what the coach is experiencing themselves in response to what they are observing from their client. It has a strong experimental, almost playful angle to it, which enables the coach to try things out to see what new perspectives emerge. Gestalt is often associated with “Empty Chair” as an experimental approach.

I was already a big advocate of the Positive Psychology school of coaching. It is the science of optimal human functioning, well-being and human strengths. You focus on building what is strong, rather than fixing what is wrong. It’s where the concept of Growth Mindset, Neural Plasticity and Flow states come from. I use a strengths-based approach to working with my clients, both individuals and teams, so much of what we learnt here really resonated with me. We spent a large chunk of the day on well-being and happiness, and I found some of the cross-cultural elements fascinating. For example, it won’t be a surprise to anyone who has been to Japan to learn that for Japanese people, happiness is rooted in the happiness of their network not the individual.

Transactional Analysis was for me mind blowing – I’d not come across it before, and it is built around the idea that there are three distinct ego states, which represent different parts of our personality and from which we operate, behave and communicate:

·?????? Parent: Represents the attitudes, values, and behaviours we’ve absorbed from our parents or authority figures. The Parent ego state can be nurturing or controlling.

·?????? Adult: The logical, rational part of ourselves that processes information objectively and makes decisions based on facts and reality.

·?????? Child: Represents our feelings, needs, and emotional responses from childhood. It can be free, playful, or rebellious, but also vulnerable.

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Once you begin to understand in which ego state you are in a given situation, you can decide whether you want to be behaving, responding, or communicating from that state. For example, searching for approval may suggest you are operating from a Child state – becoming aware of this may enable you to switch to an Adult state, which may be more beneficial to you.

For my own coaching practice, this will really help open up conversations further. For example, if I am exploring a narrative with a client, this provides another lens to explore that narrative. What ego state is that narrative emerging from? What would it look like if it emerged from a different ego state? How might that be better for you??

Group Dynamics & Systems Thinking next up – cannot wait!

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?? Hi ??? I’m Mauro, and I’m a narrative coach - I work with businesses to craft more engaging stories and support leaders and their teams to thrive and flourish, by transforming their narratives into a source of strength, inspiration, and empowerment.

Please DM me, or click on the link in my profile to find out more where you can arrange a time for an initial discovery call ??