The Four Elements of Success in Stage 4 of Change ~ on the Path.
December 17th, 2009
The Elements in Stage 4 of Change
Action – On the Path –
Clients in this stage are moving on their Path. With your coaching they have built their confidence, made their commitment, garnered support, and created their plan of action. They have identified the behavior they want to establish and are doing it consistently. Now the coaching steps up to provide the necessary support to keep moving along the path . . . this is the time when we get out our coaching pom-poms to manage progress and accountability. It’s also the time to be on the lookout for signs of lapses or relapses.
Because Earth clients thrive on getting tasks done according to plan, in this stage they feel like they’ve hit paydirt . . . but it can turn into quicksand because of their need for perfectionism. While practicing new behaviors and establishing new habits, help them establish realistic standards of measuring success for new actions taken. This is really important because the Earth client is so averse to making mistakes. Reframing is a valuable tool here to help them evaluate any misdirection or “less than perfect” performance as a learning opportunity rather than a failure.
This can be a delicate time for Water clients because of their desire to please others. Managing their progress and accountability requires helping them stay true to their path and not be swayed or distracted by the needs or agendas of others. Help them anticipate and be prepared for lapses by developing strategies to cope with situations before they actually arise. Be generous with acknowledgment and affirmation for the steps they’ve taken, while continuing to challenge them to set short-term objectives.
In this stage encourage your Wind clients to develop new relationships with people who share their interests and behavior goals . . . more cheerleaders, so to speak. These individuals need a social context of fun and relationships in a network that will help them prioritize according to purpose rather than urgency. In addition, this network will help you help your client objectively assess their behavior and by-pass their tendency to self-promote with exaggeration or manipulation.
The biggest challenge for a Fire client during behavior change may be their fear of being seen as vulnerable or of losing a sense of prestige. In order to maintain their sense of being in control, they may try to exert pressure on others to respond in kind to their own behavior change. Help these clients think about the value of re–engineering their environment instead of the people in the environment.
This phase is a time for choosing, refining, and committing to specific behavior changes. It is a time for learning effective problem solving processes and taking corrective actions as outcomes are assessed. It is a time for brainstorming and experimenting. A key component of coaching during this phase of behavioral change is helping all clients, irrespective of their Element, appreciate that setbacks are normal and are to be appreciated for their learning value, not viewed as failure.
By Jacque Salamy: Path Coach Training Instructor
