NLP and The Power of Coaching
By Ian McDermott
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Over the last few years the interest in coaching has exploded. Suddenly
everyone is a coach! In fact, though, coaching is a discipline in its own
right with principles to be applied and skills to be learnt. Now the market is
sorting itself out and people who want to be professionally successful which
involves being credible - are seeking accredited coach training. From my own
experience I can report that ITS has seen a rapid increase both in the number
of requests for personal and executive coaching we receive but also the number
of trainees applying to take full scale coaching training with us who are
coming from Europe and the United States to join us for the NLP Coaching
Certification Training.
One of the reasons for the popularity and effectiveness of coaching is that
it presupposes that anyones innate ability can be developed further. Even when
that ability is already quite highly developed it is often only in certain
areas of a persons life like the individual who has great technical
expertise but who hasnt yet developed the people skills which his management
know to be essential if they are going to be able to promote him.
Sometimes coaching is about figuring out how to get out of a hole that youve
dug yourself into - but only sometimes. I think one of the reasons that
coaching is becoming so popular is that good coaching doesnt just solve
problems. Its actually generative, by which I mean it enables people to become
more effective, more productive and more of what they can be. So the
possibility is there of being able to go further than you might have dreamed
possible. Good coaching means you have the regulated, structured support of
someone whose expertise enables you to achieve more of your inherent
capabilities.
If you think about what a coach does in athletics, he or she has the gift of
seeing potential and giving specific instructions that enable an athlete to go
beyond their previous best. The coach has practical how-tos to offer but is
also able to inspire the athlete with a vision of what is possible. There is a
magic play here between acquiring practical skills and inspiring realistic hope
of what is attainable.
You can understand why this might be appealing to people who know that if
they just had good support, good feedback and a little ongoing inspiration,
they could achieve so much more, both professionally and personally.
I am often asked what sort of people seek out coaching and what are the
subjects covered. The answer is virtually anyone and virtually anything.
Much of my coaching work is with senior executives who are technically
brilliant at what they do in their specialism but who find themselves in
positions where improved communication and people skills are vital to their
future success. Most of us were not taught communication or leadership or
influencing skills at school. So if you find yourself suddenly in charge of a
team of people with their own issues and challenges, you may have to develop a
new set of life skills around management, team building and interpersonal
skills.
But thats only one form of coaching. My wife Paulette often works with
people considering career changes. People know that theyre not happy in their
current job, but arent always clear about what they want to do instead.
Sometimes it is more what I would call personal coaching. People are aware
that they have personal issues and want to work with a professional who can
help them achieve clarity but above all provide any necessary tools for change.
We also receive enquiries from people with significant personal issues who have
decided it is time to finally let go of the past and move on.
Good coaching supports the whole person. As people become more professionally
adept, so their personal confidence can increase. Equally, as someone becomes
more personally at ease in themselves so they achieve a greater professional
presence and credibility. In my view, the coach is an ally. Its a
collaborative relationship.
The merit of NLP for anyone involved in coaching is that its very solution
focused and over the past 30 years has developed a very impressive set of tools
and techniques for promoting easy and rapid goal achievement. These tools are a
guarantee for the client that the field and this way of working is already well
developed. The NLP Coach is used to the mental discipline required to get to
the point and pursue success, rather than harp on about past failures and
disappointments.
NLP offers anyone in the coaching field an enormous variety of tools,
techniques and interventions but above all, a rigorously tested solution
focused way of thinking which will increase any coachs effectiveness. It will
also enable the coach to establish rapport, be at ease and work successfully
with a much wider range of people.
When Im coaching, Im very aware that Im much more than just a coach. Im
an ally. Apart from offering all of my skills, Im there to encourage, inspire
but also to give specific feedback. One person I was working with came across
as disengaged - through coaching they realised that the way they were sitting
made them appear to be laid back. At work this was being interpreted as low
energy and lack of commitment. In this case part of my role as a coach was to
act as a mirror to show them how they came across and the impression they were
making. Then it was easy to make some changes. We know it worked because their
promotion hung in the balance - they got the job!
Another highly effective aspect of incorporating NLP into coaching is that it
lets you create the future you want while handling anything from the past that
may be holding you back. NLP gives a well trained coach a set of powerful tools
to enable people to let go of these blocks once and for all, so that we not
only experience success in life, but the joy that should come with it too.
Theres a final, very important aspect to coaching. For me, even when someone
seeks out coaching for a specific issue or goal - there is something equally
important happening at a different level. A good coach will also be assisting
you to become more of who you really are. By developing your potential and your
talents, you are being more true to yourself. You are tapping your true
potential. This leads to greater congruency, success, happiness and fulfilment.
So NLP coaching moves beyond just getting clear on your potential. It also
offers you the practical tools to turn your dreams into reality. The reason I
do what I do is that I can help people Dare to Dream - and then give them the
tools to make it happen.
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