Coaching and Learning – Discovering, Applying and Integrating

I’ve just read a fabulous journal article by Kerryn Griffifths who runs the great Recipro-Coach Service.  Recipro-Coaching works that you coach one person, and are coached by someone completely different.  I’ve used it a few times and really recommend it.

As well as this great service, Kerryn has also been doing research into how coaching and learning fit together and has recently published it with the International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring.

When I was putting this post on coaching and learning together, I was searching for pictures to illustrate the point, and found this fabulous one of a lightbulb moment.  I’ve always personally found it’s those powerful, lightbulb “aha” moments which speak to transformation in the client, as part of the coaching process.

Kerryn is absolutely right – when we coach what we are seeking for is this transformation in our client.  What has been lacking is much research in how the client learns about themselves, and their situation, in order to get to a point where they successfully take action on their goals.

I also really like the quote she uses on what learning is “Learning occurs through experience and results in a permanent or lasting change in knowledge, skills or attitude” Lawton and Gordon, 1996

When I think about when coaching has been most powerful for myself, and for my clients, it is when I have had those breakthrough moments when I have learnt something and that has directly led to action to do something differently.

So – how does that happen?  It’s best to read in Kerryn’s own words, but some key highlights to be aware of as a coach are:

The importance in Coaching of discovering new things:

It is in the actual practice and process of coaching that we can help our clients to discover more things.  By being present and focused, by listening, by questioning to throw light on the subject, we can help them discover, to gain those new perspectives.

Application comes with understanding and reflection

When you reflect on what you learn, you have a mindful choice to make.  Your awareness is heightened, and you can then choose whether to stay as you are, or whether to apply, or implement what you discovered.  Coaching helps with application as by having regular contact with a coach you are upping your accountability factor which leads onwards to more success.  You have a positive circle – you learn, it works so you do more of what works.  You don’t do the stuff that doesn’t work.

Integration

This is where I think coaching, personally, has a huge amount to give in termsm of consolidating and creating that permanent, and transformative change we mentioned at the start.  When you work through what is going well, focus on continuing to take action, and spend time working with a coach, you can focus on how the actions you are taking are driving success.  Having a preparation form, for clients, helps them to see easily how much progress – how much they have integrated – just since the last time you started.  Even more powerful is showing where the client was at the start, and what progress they have made over time.

The joy of coaching, in real terms, is that although the lightbulb moment may happen in the session, the real and ongoing light happens from the changes that are being made in real time, every day, as the client aligns their life to the desired learning found in coaching.

I think of this, similar to what I have found about reading books recently.  I used to find that I used to do all my learning via mainly reading.  I was a long distance learner!  I now find increasingly I like to learn with an element of interaction, and I think it is that opportunity to apply, and then integrate, which makes this true.  In learning for my coaching supervision diploma, it was being able to see how I could apply it practically to work with my clients, and integrate it into the way I worked, which really made a difference to whether the learning stuck or not.