All Search (https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com) Menu 0 items - $0.00 (https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/coachingtools-catalogue/) The Seven Wisdoms WISDOM FIVE | By Fran Fisher, MCC July 5, 2019 Reading Time: 2 min 50 sec This week we continue a series of articles by Fran Fisher MCC, based on her book, "Calling Forth Greatness, Seven Coaching Wisdoms for Transforming Your Life". Fran is a Master Certi ed Coach, Author, Speaker, and Champion for Learning, Growth and Transformation. In this series, Fran shares her passion for bringing the empowerment philosophy and principles of coaching into everyday living. Her vision is a world where the coaching approach is woven into our fabric of life! WISDOM FIVE - Be Committed to Transformation / Feed a man a sh and he eats for a day. Teach a man to sh and he eats for a lifetime. Maimonides The goal of the coaching process is a transformational experience for the client, not just to ' x' their presenting issue. This is based on the ' shing principle' that Maimonides shared with us thousands of years ago. Typically, a client will bring an issue to be explored or resolved. Coaches know that the presenting 'issue' is rarely the real or underlying problem. And coaches also know that exploring for that deeper issue will provide a greater possibility for a transformation of the 'eating for a lifetime' kind vs. problem solving at the surface level and helping our clients 'eat for a day'. "Transformation" in the coaching context means that the client has shifted their relationship to their issue. For example, they now see the problem from a di erent perspective or they've accessed a capacity that frees up their ability to move forward. Most often this shift is from a victim relationship with their issue to an empowered relationship with their issue. In this context transformation = empowerment: teaching clients to learn how to sh for themselves vs. giving them a sh. / The ultimate goal of a coaching conversation is to assist the client in accessing their innate wisdom and building their capacities for resolving their own issues going forward. Fran Fisher A Coaching Example To illustrate this point, let's say that my executive client, Robert, is having an ongoing problem at work causing him a great deal of stress and impacting his job performance. I ask him to relate his feelings about the situation in a metaphor. He indicates the situation feels like he is on the deck of the Titanic, and he's aware that the ship is sinking. He feels compelled to rearrange the deck chairs, but he keeps getting pulled away to help with the lifeboats. I explore the metaphor further with him. So we imagine I am standing on the deck of that sinking ship with him, and he indicates that rearranging the deck chairs is his immediate priority. Dealing with the presenting issue If I align with him at this presenting or 'surface level' of his issue, then together we roll up our sleeves and rearrange the deck chairs to his satisfaction. The chairs are lined up in the number of rows and at the angles he desires. The nished product is aesthetically pleasing for him. We have done a piece of work together and we have accomplished a result. My client is feeling a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction - shortterm. But what about long-term? / That's right. There is, of course, an underlying issue that has not been addressed. The ship is still going down. And we don't know what is driving his need to rearrange those chairs rather than helping with the lifeboats. Exploring underneath the issue So, committed to supporting my client in shifting his relationship to his problem at work, I invite him to explore underneath his presenting issue. Now my client will have the opportunity for shifting his point of view, raising his self-awareness, learning more about himself and building on capacities that will positively impact all areas of his life not just the presenting situation. How speci cally might I do that? I ask Robert, "What's important to you about rearranging the deck chairs?" Let's imagine he says, "What's important to me is having orderliness." Then I ask, "If you had that orderliness, how would your life be di erent?" And he responds, "I would experience freedom from distractions and less stress." In a real-life coaching conversation, we would now step out of the metaphor and I would invite him to explore how this awareness connects with his current work situation, and what he can learn about himself. Now we are addressing the deeper 'want' - the underlying 'issue'. / Bless those who challenge us to grow, to stretch, to move beyond the knowable, to come back home to our elemental and essential nature. Bless those who challenge us, for they remind us of doors we have closed and doors we have yet to open. Navajo saying So, how can you explore underneath the issue? An e ective way coaches can help clients achieve a deeper, more lasting change is by inviting them to explore for the importance, meaning, or motivation for what they want. This opens up access to their essential self and to greater selfawareness. Clients begin to feel a sense of freedom to make more empowering choices rather than feeling restricted, stuck, powerless, or a victim of their circumstances. The deepest "wants" my clients then reveal to themselves are often core values, such as organization in Robert's case. Core values could also be integrity, partnership, freedom, clarity, inner peace, well-being, harmony, fairness, trust, etc. Then from this level of awareness we can explore how to honor those values more fully. The opportunity is now for the client to empower themselves forward. "Do you know that you are a more e cacious voice for transformation in the world than any book, teaching, philosophy or religion? In fact, you are the only dynamic point of transformation that exists!" Paul Tuttle / Wrap-up Being a catalyst for transformation starts with your commitment to living true to who you are at your essence. And being a catalyst for transformation in your relationships calls for 1) a commitment to being an empowering in uence and 2) being authentically curious vs. being judgmental. Learn to ask curious questions like, "What's important to you about that?" or "What does X mean for you?". This helps the other person access their deeper want, and raise their self-awareness of what is driving their choices or behaviour. How to Bene t from this Wisdom: As you read each of The Seven Wisdoms in this article series, you'll be asked to re ect on how you can apply these principles in your own life or work. Choose one way that works for you, and apply it to each principle. You could keep a speci c notebook for this process or simply use your journal. Here are a few ways you can bene t more deeply from this wisdom: Your Calling Forth Greatness Inquiry: "How am I contributing to profound, long-lasting positive change for myself and others?" Re ect on this Calling Forth Greatness Inquiry for a day or a week. Notice what shows up; notice the impact; notice what you learn. Visualize how your life and the lives of others around you could be empowered using this Coaching Wisdom. Using this Coaching Wisdom as your focus; Journal around your learning / or design your own inquiries to deepen your learning. Work with a support buddy; share your challenges, progress, and learning; celebrate your results! "There can be no more important task in our life than to get in touch with our own inner self, the source of all Being. The deepest self within each of us is the Self of the whole universe, and it's also the source of all healing and transformation." Deepak Chopra, MD Watch for Fran's Next Monthly Article, WISDOM SIX: "Call Forth Greatness" © 2019 Fran Fisher, MCC Contributing Author: Fran Fisher, Master Certi ed Coach, MCC. is a champion for the power of coaching and its transformational impact in the world. She is one of the pioneers of the coaching profession and a founding executive board member of the ICF. She specializes in mentoring coaches for the MCC Level. Connect with Fran on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/fran sher), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/fran shercoach/) and check out her free teleclasses (https://fran shercoach.com/teleclasses/). If this article resonates with you, get the whole book: Calling Forth Greatness, Seven Coaching Wisdoms for Transforming Your Life, available here on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/CallingForth-Greatness-CoachingTransformingebook/dp/B06XRKHYMY) in both Kindle and Paperback formats. / If you liked this article on Fran Fisher's Seven Wisdoms, you may also like: The Seven Wisdoms - WISDOM FOUR (https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/theseven-wisdoms-wisdom-fourspeak-empowering-language-byfran- sher-mcc/) - Speak Empowering Language by Fran Fisher, MCC Aha! Moments - Exercise 1 (https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/ahamoments-exercise-1-workingwith-imagery-to-go-deeper-witha-client-by-marcy-nelsongarrison/) - Working with Imagery to Access Intuition & Go Deeper with Clients by Marcy NelsonGarrison Sample Values List! 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