Reframing Systemic Approach to Coaching

Coaching is about the Coach's conversational, systemic approach to reframe the mindset of a client, disempowered by limiting beliefs, through a present moment partnered exploration, to move the client in awareness into anchored action to achieve the desired empowered client objectives.

Coacharya

This may sound obvious to anyone who understands coaching. However, multiple definitions abound, many confusing coaching skills and competencies with coaching objective. Objective of coaching is very simple and straight forward. It is to empower the client, in awareness, to anchored action, towards a desired goal.?

In addition, coaching is a partnered process in which the coach helps reframe client’s limiting beliefs to resonate with client’s aspiration values, through a systemic reframing approach of exploration.?

Most coaches understand the bits about partnering, exploration, awareness and action, since these are embedded in the competency framework they need to apply to be certified. The confusion is often about reframing, values, beliefs, anchoring and most of all, the systemic approach. What’s this word we haven’t been taught??

Freudian and Jungian fundamentals of human behaviour applied to coaching tells us that our conditioned belief systems may limit our aspirational values, further reflecting in our mindset, behaviour, action and outcome. When long held beliefs and generative values resonate, we move on successfully to our value-based goals. When they don’t, as Gallewey hypothesized, we have interferences that limit our performance to below potential. This in turn creates disempowered mindset, behaviour, action and outcome. Objective of coaching is to reframe client mindset to help resonance between beliefs and values. This is Psychology 101 applied to coaching.

The need to anchor actions requires practice to understand. Neurosciences 101 on neuroplasticity requires consistent repetition of a new behaviour over a period of time for it to become a new habitual behaviour. Without this ‘anchoring’ effort of consistent repetition through accountable follow up, old habits cannot be changed. Ask AAA! This is why though laser coaching once for 20 minutes can evoke awareness, it cannot change old habits, unless repeated over at least 6 months multiple times. This too should be part of coach training.?

What then about Systemic? What’s it even about??

Systemic approach is ancient, based on the Upanishad truth that we are all energy, connected, and resonant. Quantum science says we are entangled. Neurosciences are exploring sympathetic resonance. Kurt Lewin developed the management science of Organisational Development based on the systemic approach. Over time, Edgar Schein, Peter Senge, Otto Scharmer and others have added to this through the concept of Process Consulting, Learning Organisations, and Theory U.

In simple terms the systemic concept looks at the intersection of individuals with the community there are in, as part of a larger environment. Self, Team and Organisation are the 3 key elements of systemic OD approach. How they interact, impact one another, and what the dynamics are in the spaces in between, are crucial to outcomes. No individual can succeed unless there is support from the team and the organisation. Unfortunately, this foundation truth is forgotten by over ambitious, aggressive, and often toxic leaders.

Coaching has long been considered an individual interaction. This may be true physically. However, unless the coaching approach is systemic, addressing how the client impacts other stakeholders around them, and understanding how these stakeholders impact the client, there is no reframed awareness possible. As John Dunne said, ‘no man is an Island’. Systemic approach looks at the interconnected archipelago of islands, and the spaces in between.

Important as it is in individual coaching work at life coaching levels, as exemplified by the Family Constellation processes, the systemic approach is essential in the context of institutional coaching with any business, executive team, group and organisation. Coach needs to understand the dynamics of groups and team, how to bring them together, how to resolve conflicts in real time, how to involve stakeholders, how to deal with the spaces in between, and several other such group behaviour elements.

Systemic coaching is the future direction of coaching; and training as well. It has taken time for organisations to realise that without team performance, individual performance doesn’t count. Thanks to Project Aristotle and similar research, we now have a better idea of what makes team performance better. Many coaching credentialing agencies have now provided competency frameworks for team work in a systemic sense, which should help coaching more relevant and effective in organisations. You will find more information on systemic work?here .

A simple advice to coaches aspiring to be leadership coaches. Become proficient in team work using the systemic approach. Watch this space where I shall be posting on systemic approach to coaching every Thursday. Look forward to your responses.??

Ram is co-founder and mentor at Coacharya?https://coacharya.com . Ram's focus is integration of Eastern wisdom with modern science, spiritually, systemically and sustainably.