The Four Elements in Stage 3 of Change by Path Coaches Corner
December 9th, 2009
The Elements in Stage 3 of Change (Part 4 of 6)
Preparation - Ready for Change
Yay-y-y-y – Clients in this stage have overcome most of their ambivalence. With your help they have identified a strong motivator. They understand what the likely barriers are, and they’ve formulated possible solutions. Probe carefully here and don’t take statements at face value because if these thinking tasks have not been thorough the client is still in the Contemplation stage. This is the time for helping your client design plans of action, and the Eight Steps to Success taught in The Path is a great tool to use in this stage. This is the time to Discover, Design, and Do.
This may be the most challenging phase for Earth clients because of their desire for assured outcomes, but they are very capable of transforming thought into action. Use your coaching skills to help them move beyond the known to explore alternative ideas and solutions. The strength they will bring to this process is the ability to communicate candidly and objectively. Point out and celebrate the value of experimentation and acknowledge the successes immediately.
This is an interesting time working with Water clients because of their tendency to procrastinate unless they are being reactive to some event. They have a hard time moving from thinking to action. Pull your coaching skills into helping them imagine possibilities that they’ve never experienced. Use your edge to move them off the mark and provide direction, but don’t overwhelm them with the broad scope of things. Be patient with their baby steps in the beginning and remember these clients are highly adaptable. Once parameters have been established and agreed on, you’ll find they often are most comfortable finding their own way but like to check in with you for clarification or affirmation.
Wind clients become highly in this phase because action is involved. Encourage them to design a variety of actions that are fun, but in alignment with the client’s agenda; don’t let them sidetrack themselves. Help them check their impulsivity and spontaneity long enough to establish clear short-term objectives with clearly defined measures of success. This will help them manage their tendency to get bored with long-term goals and accept responsibility and consequences. Provide the inquiry and reflection that facilitates their ability to assess their activities and outcomes objectively without their usual tendency to embellish.
During this phase Fire clients may feel like they’re getting an oxygen feed because they are so oriented toward goals, actions, and accomplishments. At this point they are likely to act prematurely and take precipitous action before thoroughly thinking through an action plan. Use your coaching skills to help them become more aware of and respectful of the thoughts and feelings of others as they form their strategies. The coaching challenge in this phase may is to help your client delay making decisions in favor of more complete data gathering, paying attention to the details they prefer to ignore or diminish.
Remember, although we may want to teach our clients the tricks we know about being successful, it’s our job to assist them to discover, design, and commit to their own strategies for forward movement . . . because that’s what sticks!
Jacque Salamy: The Path Coaching Training Program, Program Instructor
