Coaching, Coaching Psychology and improving

performance

Beyond GROW

Dr Alison Whybrow

Special Group in Coaching Psychology, British Psychology Society

Route Map

Coaching – why and the how

GROW and similar models

Is there more to coaching than GROW?

The Psychological underpinnings of Coaching – three frameworks

Practical tools

Reflections

Why? Improved effectiveness

Increase practical skills Increase resilience under pressure Enable a focus on the outcomes Increase decision making and

personal effectiveness Increase self-awareness

Coaching is….

….unlocking a person’s potential to maximise

their own performance. It’s helping them to learn rather than teaching

them (Whitmore, 2000)

GROW

GOAL

OPTIONS

WILL

REALITY

The underpinning questions…

GWhat is it you are trying to achieve?What does that look like?How will you know when you’ve achieved that goal?

RWhere are you now? What is happening at the moment in relation to this goal? What is a realistic deadline for achieving the goal?

OWhat options do you have?Who can support you to achieve this goal?What information / training do you need?

WWhat is the first step that you need to take towards this goal?How motivated are you to achieve this goal?What small action will you take when you leave this session?

Other models

STRONG

T-GROW

Any others

Some of the basic skills….

Rapport / engagement Delivering messages Listening skills Questioning skills Process skills Self Awareness

Psychology and Coaching

A little exercise

Spend 4-5 mins reading the story AND answering the 18 statements with ‘true’, ‘false’, and ‘don’t know’.

Add up the subtotal for each column

Be prepared to share those results

There is no one truth or ‘right’ world view

We don’t see the world as it is, we see the world as we are

(Anais Nin)

More on perception

oxxxxxxxoxxxxxxxoxxxxxxxoxxxxxxxoxxxxxxxoxxxxxxxo

Feelings and emotional about

the world and about changes

that they’ve identified in their

heads?

Acquiring the specific skills and

capabilities to succeed in

applying new practices,

behaviours and processes

Rational-analytical side,

addressing preconceptions/ ‘mental models’ that people have about the world

Three Psychological Frameworks

Gestalt – Existential Perspective

Cognitive Behavioural

Solutions Focused

Fritz Perls and Gestalt

Full awareness in the moment Patterns of behaviour / thought in

coaching sessions are mirrors of patterns outside sessions

Mindful interventions – noticing a word, a pattern, a position

Two chair work / meta mirror/ field experiments

Exploit and explore the physical senses

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

There are three core ideas we hold about the world that underpin our thinking patterns (Albert Ellis).

Our beliefs about the world lead to situation specific responses that guide our choices (based on Aaron Beck)

We think like this because…

Ellis’s three core beliefs: I must be perfect If I don’t do well then it is

awful leading to stress, anxiety, depression, shame and guilt

Others must like me If you do not then you / I deserve to be punished leading to anger, passive-aggressiveness and violence

Life should be easy If not, I can’t stand it leading to self / other pity, procrastination, addictive behaviour, depression

Thinking errors

All or nothing thinkingMagnificationMinimisationPersonalisationEmotional reasoningMind readingLabelling

Discounting the positiveDemanding-nessFocusing on the negative Fortune tellingOvergeneralisationI-can’t-stand-it-it isBlame

Specific thinking patterns that lead to situation specific Automatic Negative Thoughts including:

What does this mean?People are not disturbed by events, but by the

view they take of them (Epictetus)

Everything is but what your opinion makes it; and that opinion lies within yourself (Marcus

Aurelius)

Hamlet: Why then ‘tis non to you; for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it

so (Shakespeare)

The good news….

People can learn to notice and change their own thoughts with

powerful emotional and behavioural benefits.

The Psychological Management Model

A – Activating eventB – BeliefsC - ConsequencesD – Dispute E – Effective

Techniques

Thinking skills – to create realistic (replacing the unreaslitic positive/negative thinking)

Imagery techniques Self acceptance exercises Hard work and practice

“Company politics make me furious”

“Making an error makes me useless”

“The Director makes me so angry”

“The lift gives me panic attacks”

“Giving presentationsmakes me feel dreadful”

“My workload makesme feel so depressed”

Common Statements

Investment Fund Manager

PITs‘this is a complete waste of time’

‘I’m not doing particularly well’

‘this is terrible’

‘I will be seen as the junior guy who’s just come along for experience’

PETs‘I can do this, I’m good at this’

‘The implications of making a mistake are not so bad’

‘Just because I’ve made one mistake, it doesn’t mean I’m entirely bad’

Joe, Climberfrom touching the void

SITs‘I am going to die’

‘This wasn’t in the game plan, this shouldn’t happen to me’

‘I can sit here hoping for things to get better’

SETs‘I am a fit 25 year old, who wants to climb the world’

‘Look back and realise how scary the night had been’

‘Could be sitting here for days’

‘Have to keep making decisions – if you don’t there’s no hope.’

‘Didn’t tie a knot in the end of the rope – then it would be quick’

Joe, Climber (Contd)from touching the void

SITs‘you haven’t even started mate, it’s miles and miles and on really bad ground’

SETs‘it occurred to me that I should set definite targets.’

‘I can get to that crevasse in 20 mins’

Exercise

Focus on one aspect of your performance that you’d like to improve

Examine the thoughts that might be inhibiting your performance

Write these down in the left hand column Challenge these thoughts: Are they realistic,

Logical, Helpful? Write down any performance enhancing

thoughts in the right hand column

Solutions Focused Part 1: In pairs, decide who is A and B. B – think of a time (sparkling moment) when you were at

your best and spend 3 mins describing it. A – Get as much detail as possible, observable, positive,

concrete details. Listen carefully to and note what your partner says

What was it about the moment that made it sparkle for you? What do you remember most about yourself as that

moment? What might others have noticed? What did other say / do? What else?

Sparkling moments

Part 2 Giving Affirms/ Identifying Resources

Based on what your partner has just said…. Reflect on what you now know about their

excellent qualities, skills and resources as a person – thin for a moment.

Then tell them and wait for them to say ‘Thank you’

Sparkling moments

Part 3 – find small actions Based on the discussion you’ve had so far A asks B – Choose a small action that will

increase the likelihood of more Sparkling moments happening at work in the following days and weeks

Make sure the action is small and specific.

Solutions Philosophy

“Problem talk creates problems…. Solution talk creates solutions.”

(Steve de Shazer)

Bringing coaching and psychology together

Psychologically based tools and techniques are used everyday by coaches, line managers and individuals to enhance their performance and effectiveness.

The tools and techniques discussed here today can be easily applied.

Psychological understanding is particularly helpful for coaches.

Ethical practice

Working to improve individual performance at work can take unexpected directions

Whatever tools and techniques used, there are boundaries to competence, where reference to a psychologically trained / more experienced coach, a counsellor, or therapist is the best next step

References Lee, G Leadership Coaching: From Personal Insight to

Organisational Performance: CIPD Neenan, M. & Dryden. W. (2002). Life Coaching: A

Cognitive-Behavioural Approach. Hove: Brunner-Routledge.

Palmer, S., Cooper, C., & Thomas, K. (2003). Creating a Balance: Managing Stress. British Library, London

Peltier, B. (2001).The Psychology of Executive Coaching: Theory & Application. Brunner-Routledge

Szarbo, P and Berg, I.K (2005) Brief Coaching Pemberton, C (2006) Solutions for Managers.

Contact Details

Dr Alison Whybrow

alison.whybrow@btinternet.comTel: 020 8390 7717Mob: 0777 3340761