The Fertile Void - Academy of Executive · PDF filePraise for The Fertile Void ... For any coach seeking to add Gestalt Coaching to his or her portfolio of coaching ... The temptation

The Fertile VoidGestalt coaching at work

John Leary-Joyce

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AOEC Press

An Imprint of: Academy of Executive Coaching Ltd

64 Warwick Road

St Albans

Herts

AL1 4DL

www.aoec.com

[email protected]

First published in Great Britain in 2014

© John Leary-Joyce 2014

The right of John Leary-Joyce to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by

him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Chapters 9 & 11 copyright Marion Gillie, used by permission.

ISBN: 978-0-9930772-1-0

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or

otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher.

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Praise for The Fertile VoidHighly accessible and expertly written, this book is beautiful in the authentic and personal way theauthor brings us as close to the Gestalt experience as the written word can do.

For any coach seeking to add Gestalt Coaching to his or her portfolio of coaching models, or wishing to deepen and expand the value they glean from Gestalt approaches, this book represents a vital, living, and vibrant point of access to the Gestalt world.

As an experienced executive coach, I found this book gave me a relevant, highly informative anddeeply interesting entry point to using the Gestalt approach in daily practice. Liberally sprinkledwith examples from the author's own coaching experience, I was able to learn first-hand and fully'get' the concept of 'being' a coach as opposed to merely 'doing' coaching.

Dr Karl BirthistleAuthor and experienced executive coach

This is a great and very readable book for any coach who wants to increase their ability to workmore creatively within their coaching relationships. It will help every coach to expand their ability to be more aware, creatively experiment and work dialogically with emergent change.

Professor Peter Hawkins Author and thought leader in Team Coaching and Supervision

Those of us who have known John for a number of years can testify to how well he lives his practice as a Gestalt-based coach. It is wonderful to ‘see the workings out’ in this book of his particular form of magic and finally understand how Gestalt really works.

This book has been needed for a while and is an important addition to the growing professional body of knowledge in coaching practice. It will particularly resonate with internal coaches as it directly addresses the complexity of their systemic relationships.

Gestalt is a practice that helps us find a new perspective on change, so that as internal coacheswe can become better at holding awareness of the being and doing of coaching within our organisational context and our varied coaching, management and leadership roles.

John has produced a highly practical and accessible book, providing transparent step by step guidance and numerous useful experiments all of which make it a great learning experience forpeople new to coaching or experienced coaches new to Gestalt.

In this book, as in life, John manages to quietly facilitate a robust internal dialogue in the experienced coach on their own authenticity, position and practice.

Louise Buckle Senior Executive Coach global professional services firm

Gestalt brings spontaneity and creativity to coaching and John Leary-Joyce has captured this in awonderful synthesis of Gestalt's contribution to the practice of coaching. He gives us a really solidgrounding on what is, and just as importantly, what is not Gestalt coaching. All coaches can benefit from becoming more aware and intentional in their practice and here you can read how todevelop this through active experimenting, exercises and use of your body in your coaching relationships. This is a must have.

Fran JohnstonCo-Founder/CEO of Telos Leadership Institute and Gestalt OD practitioner

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Table of ContentsAbout the Author

Preface: The Fertile Void

Acknowledgements

How to Use this Book

Part I The Gestalt Approach to Coaching

Chapter 1 - Overview of Gestalt Coaching

Chapter 2 - Awareness

Chapter 3 - The Flow of Continuous Experience

Chapter 4 - Creative Adaptation and Interruptions to Contact

Chapter 5 - The Nature of Change

Part II Gestalt Coaching in Action

Chapter 6 - Active Experimentation

Chapter 7 - Gestalt Bodywork, Somatic Resonance and

Hellinger Constellations in Coaching

Chapter 8 - Strategic and Intimate Modes of Interaction

Chapter 9 - Team Coaching (by Marion Gillie)

Part III The Gestalt Coach

Chapter 10 - Signature Presence

Chapter 11 - A Gestalt Approach to Coach Supervision (by Marion Gillie)

Index

Appendix i Flow of Experience detailed diagram

Appendix ii AoEC Gestalt Coaching programmes

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About the AuthorJohn was one of the pioneers establishing Gestalt in the UK in the late 1970s. He was a

therapist and founding trainer at the Gestalt Centre London, becoming Managing Director in

1986. He completed the IoD Company Directors Diploma and over the next 10 years grew the

business exponentially while collaborating with the faculty to develop new and dynamic

Gestalt therapy training programmes for small and large groups.

By integrating his clinical and business experience he went on to create a very innovative and

experiential Gestalt training service for consultants, trainers and team leaders who wanted

to bring this approach into their organisation. His consulting and training evolved into a

Gestalt-based coaching practice accredited with APECS and later he was one of the first to

complete an MA in Executive Coaching.

In 2000 he founded the Academy of Executive Coaching and designed a one year Advanced

Coaching programme for 16 participants. This pioneering programme combined his

expertise in psychology, leadership and coaching. Fourteen years later he has created a very

vibrant company with a highly reputable brand that delivers multiple accredited training

programmes in individual and team coaching. In the UK annually there are around 700

participants on courses at all levels and 203 qualified coaches in 2014. He has also been

developing the AoEC round the world and to date has partners in Germany, Italy, Ireland,

Scotland, Estonia, Croatia, Romania, Turkey, Russia, USA, China, Brazil, Kenya.

John created the AoEC with a broad psychological base, but the fundamental principles

of Gestalt are at the heart of his leadership style, the training courses and the

company values.

While writing is more of a challenge, John loves presenting and regularly has keynote and

workshop sessions at international conferences. One workshop he enjoys delivering

combines the three areas he is passionate about: Tango, Coaching & Gestalt. This one hour

to one day workshop focuses on the dynamics of leadership, followership and teamwork and

everyone learns to dance Tango!

John is married with two daughters and currently two young grandchildren who help him

reconnect in a very simple and profound way with the basic Gestalt principle of staying in the

here and now.

He turned 60 this year (2014) so the publication of the book marks this milestone in a very

significant way.

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Preface _ The Fertile VoidFrom the age of 19 when I first encountered Gestalt I was captivated by this notion of the

Fertile Void: the paradox that someone or something could be simultaneously empty and full.

I had an intuitive grasp that this was feasible, fleeting experiences where I felt totally at

peace doing nothing yet everything was alive with possibility. Lying under the stars, looking

with awe at the vast emptiness of space and knowing it was also full of energy.

Then seeing and experiencing over and over again in Gestalt groups, that ‘trusting the

process’ and staying with the void of the ‘not-knowing’ allowed the space and time for some-

thing new and amazing to emerge. It linked to the Buddhist notion of emptiness or nothing-

ness from which springs a new awakening and creative energy.

On becoming a Quaker I discovered the Fertile Void in the richness of shared silence.

The meeting for worship is a space where nothing was overtly happening yet there was a

strong feeling of connection and communion in ‘silent ministry’.

Fertile Void also captures the aspect of Gestalt which is about embracing polarities. To speak

and be heard we need quietness, to be energetic we need rest, to feel full we need to

experience being empty. These are not either/or, they are both/and.

Over the last four decades I have gradually found how to integrate this concept in my life and

work, making it all much less stressful. I can be more trusting that the flat and empty

periods are the precursor to something new and unknown. In fact those times can be a

necessary preparation for the challenges ahead. As it was with writing this book, many times

sinking into apathy and flatness and rising again with different ideas and perspectives.

The temptation is to keep adjusting and refining, but the time has come for the gestalt of this

book. I hope you will find within the covers the confidence to trust the fertile voids in

your life.

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AcknowledgementsI find writing difficult so I’m hugely grateful to Melanie Allan who started out as co-writer

with me. Unfortunately she had to withdraw due to family pressures but without her

this book would not have been born. It slipped into the void until I met Stephen Partridge, a

wonderful project manager and editor, who helped me complete this gestalt.

What I’ve written is the sum total of the multiple rich experiences, profound teachings from

wonderful people I’ve had the privilege to encounter and learn from.

First and foremost is my wife Judith who I met in a Gestalt training group 35 years ago.

We worked together to establish the Gestalt Centre and built a marriage and family based on

our Gestalt principles, testing these out in a very practical and real way.

My Gestalt trainers Isha Bloomberg, Roger Dalton, Ursula Fausset, Gary Yontef, Hunter

Beaumont, Joel Latner and Sonia Nevis taught me the fundamentals in a deep, challenging

and experiential way. Also my co-learners in SAGE, Scottish Association for Gestalt

Education, the first Gestalt training programme in Scotland. Of course, my most important

teachers are the thousands of students and clients with whom I worked and honed my craft.

Some appear in the examples throughout the book but all of them have helped me develop

and ground all that I’ve said in this book.

I deeply value my Gestalt Centre London colleagues Peggy Sherno, Toni Gilligan, Jane Puddy,

Michael Ellis, Jen White, Carol van Artsdalen, Jilly Hall, Gaie Houston and Carl Hodges with

whom I worked closely and learned so much over 15 years. We designed and delivered

creative Gestalt training programmes and endeavoured to run the Centre as a business with

Gestalt values.

I’m indebted to Graham Stickland an experienced process consultant, who worked with me

on converting all my Gestalt clinical expertise to an organisational and consulting setting.

Over a number of years we developed an innovative suite of Gestalt programmes for

consultants and teams. Peter Burditt, Tony Fraser & Sean Gaffney were significant colleagues

that shared with me their application of Gestalt in organisations. All of this formed the basis

of the Academy of Executive Coaching which I established in 2000 with the help of Marjorie

Shackleton, also a gifted Gestalt practitioner.

Marion Gillie

Finally, I am extremely grateful to Marion for writing the chapters on Supervision and Team

Coaching when I’d run out of steam. A long-time friend and colleague in the AoEC, she is

hugely experienced as a Gestalt practitioner, OD consultant and master coach. Marion

deigned and was core faculty with me on the AoEC Advanced Coaching and Systemic Team

Coaching Diploma programmes. I have fond memories of many insightful evenings spent

processing the dynamics of the group we’d just worked with.

Cover design Simon Moss www.theanswermachine.co.uk

Typesetting and figures _ [email protected]

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How to Use This BookIf we threw a party and invited all those who had a key influence on the evolution of Gestalt

we’d have an interesting mixture of people. The guests of honour would be a radical couple

called Fritz and Laura Perls. There would be Freudian analysts, Zen Buddhists, Gestalt

psychologists, existential philosophers, psychiatrists, humanistic psychotherapists,

anarchists and social constructivists. It would be hard to imagine the guests agreeing with

each other!

What I love about Gestalt is this amazing eclectic mix of profound ideas and methodologies

pulled together into a loose but coherent framework with broad philosophical principles.

There is no one Gestalt dogma, each Gestaltist is expected to find their own meaning from

this wonderful brew. So, as you're reading, just remember that this is the John Leary-Joyce

synthesis and not the absolute one!

There are a few features of this book I'd like to draw your attention to.

Three Part Design

The three parts reflect my view on theory, practice and the practitioner.

● Part 1 is the theoretical underpinning of Gestalt and how it can be applied to

coaching rather than therapy

● Part 2 focuses on ways you can use the Gestalt approach in your coaching practice

● Part 3 covers two key elements needed to develop your capability as a Gestalt

coach _ Signature Presence and ongoing Supervision

I’ve written it so that by reading Part 1 you are introduced to the key principles _ then you

can pick and choose from the rest depending on your interest. I’ve provided cross references

throughout the book so you can go back and check your understanding.

Wide margin layout

The layout of the book is designed with a wide margin to give space for you to make notes.

Integrating this material into your current practice is what I’m hoping for so recording your

questions and learning so you can talk to an experienced practitioner will give you the most

value.

Structure

I wanted to make the book as practical as possible for understanding theory, learning skills

and developing personally. So I’ve provided boxes that highlight Exercises and Implications

for the Coach and put EXAMPLE in the margin so you can spot these easily for quick

reference.

viii

Who is it written for?

This book has been written in response to many requests over the years from participants

on AoEC training programmes, workshops and masterclasses as well as delegates from

conference seminars and lectures. So to get the most from it you need a basic understanding

of coaching and will be:

● Seeking to add a new and deeper dimension to your coaching practice

● Keen to increase your awareness and enrich your interactions with your coachees

● Interested in developing yourself, increasing your creativity and opening your mind

to more a profound experience

I would like this book to be a supportive guide on your journey to integrating Gestalt into

your own personal coaching approach.

All the best,

John Leary-Joyce

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Part 1

The GestaltApproach to

CoachingChapter 1 - Overview of Gestalt Coaching

Chapter 2 - Awareness

Chapter 3 - The Flow of Continuous Experience

Chapter 4 - Creative Adaptation & Interruptions to Contact

Chapter 5 - The Nature of Change

1

2

3

Overview ofGestalt

Coaching

CHAPTER 1

Overview of GestaltCoachingIntroduction

Writing about Gestalt is itself a contradiction in that experience in the

moment is fundamental to the approach. Interpreting, structuring,

organising information and reflecting are what you do when you write.

So, in attempting to distil the approach and make it easily

understandable, we run the risk of sabotaging the very spirit of Gestalt.

The medium cannot be the message as it can in a workshop where you

plunge in and experience it for yourself – cognitively, behaviourally and

emotionally – in real time. The printed word can only outline, indicate and

suggest. Of course, your experience as you read the book will be both

cognitive (your thinking) and emotional (how you feel about what you

read) but it's what you then do with it that matters – and that bit is up

to you.

Openness, curiosity and experiment, in 'pure' form, means that every

moment is experienced for the first time. People exist only in the present

and make new choices each moment. My experience as I sit at my

computer and write this sentence is a different experience from your

experience as you read the words. As I start to write this line, a new

experience begins for me. As you read it, or suddenly understand

something new, a new experience begins for you. Rigid rules are

counterproductive because every writer and every reader is an individual

with his or her own experience within a unique frame of reference, as is

every coachee and coach.

This book is itself a gestalt. As you work through it, you will come across

the components and principles expressed in different ways, which will

help you to fill the gaps in your understanding of the whole picture. If you

don’t see the picture clearly to begin with, keep reading – the ideas and

principles will make sense, take shape and emerge as you find out more.

I hope that there will be times as you read when you will have a mini

gestalt experience and say ‘A-ha, now I know what Gestalt is !’ You have

made some meaning for yourself and, at that point, you may put the book

down satisfied that you have enough. However, if you feel that the A-ha!

moment has merely sparked your curiosity and interest, the gestalt is

incomplete. You will be driven to find out more.

4 Overview of Gestalt Coaching

The Gestalt approach – a brief historyFritz and Laura Perls are the founders of Gestalt Therapy. Fritz was a

psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, extrovert and aspiring actor. His wife, on the

other hand, was much more down-to-earth; a thoughtful intellectual who

was a PhD in Gestalt Psychology and studied with Martin Buber.

A marriage of opposites that brought great richness to Gestalt theory

and practice.

They fled the anti-Semitism of the Nazi regime in 1933 for South Africa

and Fritz established the Psychoanalytic Training Institute. However,

Freud’s rebuffing of Fritz pushed him to develop his own style, theories

and practices.

They left for New York and in 1950 collaborated with Paul Goodman, a

radical socialist, poet, author and intellectual, to publish the ‘bible’ –

Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality.

So an anarchistic, creative, socialist element entered Gestalt.

Fritz and Laura integrated many other approaches into Gestalt _ from

Moreno’s psychodrama to Kurt Lewin’s group dynamics and Wilhelm

Reich’s body therapy. They separated and Laura stayed with the New York

Gestalt Institute to embed the theoretical principles of Gestalt. Fritz

moved to the Esalen Growth Centre, California in 1960 offering highly

innovative and experimental workshops incorporating aspects of Zen.

Gestalt practice continues to evolve, with each Gestaltist establishing

their own signature style as enshrined in the philosophy. This application

to coaching is yet another addition.

What is a gestalt?The German word ‘gestalt’ has no exact English translation, but means

something like ‘whole’, ‘complete’ or ‘pattern’.

In this handbook, Gestalt, with a capital G, is used as a title for the

approach or method of coaching.

When used with a lower-case g, it is a descriptive noun – ‘a gestalt’

meaning whole or complete.

The early Gestalt psychologists, Wertheimer, Kohler and Koffka, were

concerned with perception. They concluded that we are hard-wired to

recognise a whole meaningful pattern (gestalt) rather than see individual

constituent parts from the vast array of data and stimuli available.

So we see a picture rather than a group of separate objects on a canvas.

We hear a tune rather than the individual notes. We recognise a face and

Overview of Gestalt Coaching 5

don’t pay attention to the detail. We don’t first see the eyes, nose and

mouth individually, then put them together and deduce that it is a face.

In fact, it is hard to identify a familiar face if you can only see the eyes, a

nose or a mouth on its own, unless you know each detail intimately. The

face, tune or picture is the gestalt – the complete, identifiable whole.

In order to create these identifiable units or gestalts, we have to fill in

gaps. So we would describe the image below as a circle even though it is

technically incomplete.

Fig.1.1

The image is experienced as integrated, whole or closed. We compensate

for the gaps to make sense of a picture, whenever and wherever possible

and to make the picture regular and simple. This concept also applies to

cognitive and emotional experiences. We are compelled to ‘complete the

picture’ of an experience, and to complete it in as regular, balanced and

simple a way as possible. We need closure in any interaction in order for

it to be satisfying and complete.

If I pose the age old joke ‘Why did the chicken cross the road?’, you try to

complete it given the versions you know. Notice your reaction when I say

‘The answer is at the end of this book’. An interest has been stimulated

but is unfinished, resulting in mild frustration – the impact of an

incomplete gestalt.

Similarly, if you have felt aggrieved, you harbour a grudge. When you sort

it out, the incident is finished and the gestalt is complete.

The Gestalt approach is concerned with the whole person, encouraging a

balance between body, feeling, intellect and imagination. It also embodies

the idea that we are inextricably linked with our ‘whole’ environments,

both affecting and being affected by the context in which we live.

If we take the stance that our coachees are driven to solve their problems,

to make sense of their dilemmas and form complete, regular and simple

gestalts, then our focus as coaches is on facilitating that completion. This

fits well with the fundamental coaching principle, that it is the coachee

who is responsible for the outcome _ not the coach.

In this book, we aim to help you understand Gestalt philosophy as it

applies to coaching and to inspire you to experiment with the ideas.


It’s not a manual of ‘Gestalt style’ tools with clearly defined action steps

from 1 to 12 that you must learn by rote, practise and apply. We want to

help you tap into your creativity intuition and experience, based on an

understanding of the philosophy and theory. Each intervention you make

as a coach can then be fresh and alive. Each session is an experiment.

Tools and techniquesTools and techniques have a place in coaching, but for a Gestalt coach,

the most important tool is you. The quality of your coaching lies in being

rather than doing . It relies on your awareness of what is going on here,

now, between you and your coachee. It requires you to be fully present in

the moment, fully experiencing what is happening, rather than thinking

about what you should have done or could be doing next time.

The focus in many coaching approaches is trying to change behaviour

with an emphasis on putting effort into doing something differently. With

Gestalt, the focus is on becoming more of who you are – exploring,

uncovering and understanding what is really going on, from the inside

out. By directing our energy into fully experiencing and accepting what is

going on in the present, change happens without trying and our

behaviour adjusts naturally, without effort.

If you are new to Gestalt, this perspective takes some getting used to.

It runs counter to standard training, education and behavioural coaching

approaches, which depend on putting effort into learning, so it takes a

leap of faith and then concrete experience to see how it works.

What I can offer here is my explanations, experiences, examples and

suggestions as an introduction to a Gestalt way of thinking. Then the

experiments in each of the chapters will help you to experience it for

yourself and with your coachees. However, this book alone cannot turn

you into a Gestalt coach. Real understanding and integration can only be

gained through experience and practice. So, in true Gestalt manner, it’s

up to you to adapt and experiment with the suggestions for yourself and

your coachees in your own way.

Five guiding principles of a Gestalt approach to coachingGestalt is more an attitude, a perspective or a sensibility, with a strong

theoretical underpinning. It is complex, paradoxical and sometimes

ambiguous. The following is an outline of five basic principles. You will

discover more about these principles as you read through the book and

mini ‘gestalts’ will happen as you gradually make sense of different

aspects of the approach.



1. It is about awareness

2. It is concerned with the way in which we do, say, approach, experience

and think about things

3. It is concerned with what is, in the here and now _ not what may be,

should be, might be or has been

4. It is relationship-centred, contextual and inclusive

5. It is based on the principle that change is constant and only happens in

the present

1. It is about awareness

Awareness is central to the Gestalt coaching approach. By which I mean

awareness of what is going on, both cognitively and emotionally,

for everyone concerned (including you as coach) in any situation or

interaction.

Implications for the coach

First, you need to be aware of you, physically, emotionally and

cognitively. Then you need to be aware of the environment you are

in and of your coachee.

2. It is concerned with the way in which we do, say, approach, experience and think about things

Content is what the person is saying about his situation. A Gestalt

approach is interested in how he or she is saying it. It’s about what is

really going on alongside the words or actions: physically, cognitively and

emotionally. The focus is the whole person, not just the presenting issue.


The key for the coach is to not only understand the content

(ie you have to get the facts right) but more importantly to notice

how your coachee presents the issue, and to describe what you

notice. While the words the coachee uses to present the facts are

important, the thinking and feeling behind the words, which can be

manifested in how they are said, is often more significant.

3. It is concerned with what is, in the here and now – not what maybe, should be, might be or has been

Gestalt uses a phenomenological1 approach – what can be experienced

through the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell – to engage

with what is happening. All the information you need is available to you

in the present. It’s about noticing what is happening here and now and

responding to what you see, hear, sense and feel – the phenomena. It’s

not about interpreting or evaluating these phenomena, although you may

discuss meaning and significance with your coachee.


Everything you notice and feel about the coachee needs to be

acknowledged without judgement, then highlighted and explored.

This approach – where you assume that everything about the coachee

is there to be seen and experienced, and everything has rightful

importance – contrasts strongly with an interpretive approach which

tends to begin with a narrative or a theory, then fits the observations

to it. An interpretive approach may also tempt a coach to nudge the

coachee's thinking to where the coach thinks it ought to be. Describing

what you notice about the coachee without ascribing particular

significance to any one phenomenon can help them uncover surprising

and significant areas of new experience.

4. It is relationship-centred, contextual and inclusive

Individuals exist through their relationship with others and with their

environment. Everything affects, and is affected by, everything else in the

coachee’s world. Body, mind, emotions and the environment – all have an

impact on the individual.

1. Phenomenology. A scientific and philosophical discipline originated by EdmundHusserl. The Annual for Philosophical and Phenomenological Research (1913-30), edited byHusserl, made an international movement of his personal philosophy.



As a coach, the implications of this are firstly that your experience of

your coachee includes and takes into account of:

l the context and environment within which they exist, which may be

their co-workers, the organisation or the family

l what is going on around them in the moment.

The second implication is that your relationship with the coachee, and

what happens between you, is central to your work. In your sessions

you are an important part of the environment. It’s not just about what

you say or do, but about making authentic, creative contact with

your coachee. You are important as an active participant in the

dialogue, not just as a blank page or a sounding board for your

coachee. Meaning emerges from the dynamics of the joint situation.

5. It is based on the principle that change is constant and only happens in the present

The paradoxical nature of change is central to Gestalt thinking. The basic

premise is that change happens, all the time. If you stop changing you

cease to exist! Change can only happen in the present: we can only

change our thoughts and feelings about yesterday or tomorrow in the

present. The paradox is that by focusing on the present – who or what you

are now – and staying with your experience rather than trying to be

someone or something else, change will flow.


Many coaching approaches are future-focused, which is effective

when specific outcomes are required. However, this is often about

forcing change to happen, driving goal setting and directing action

toward achieving targets. The Gestalt view is about working with an

emergent process of change and how your coachee blocks this flow

by rushing to objective-based outcomes. Outcomes and goals are

useful, so long as you hold them lightly.


What is different about Gestalt coaching?Life is about adapting to a constantly changing world from moment to

moment. Gestalt focuses on how we do this to get the most out of life.

We have two choices. We can either.

A. Abdicate responsibility then trust or blame Fate, the Universe,

Government or anyone else, for what happens to us

B.Take responsibility, make aware choices and decisions then accept

the consequences

The primary role of the Gestalt coach is to create awareness of the

possible choices and help the coachee take responsibility and ownership

for the decisions they then make. In this way find authorship in their role,

relationships, tasks, activities, in fact of their whole life.

May I have the serenity to accept what I cannot change,

Courage to change what I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.2

Becoming different vs. Being who you areIf we do take responsibility for our own learning and development, then

there are two choices:

l Try to be different

l Be more yourself

This is the key differentiator. Behaviourally-based coaching focuses on

action: trying to behave and think differently and assume that the

inside/attitude catches up. A simple example in everyday life would be to

smile so you will become more positive. The NLP (neuro-linguistic

programming) ‘modelling’ technique is similar – the coachee models their

behaviour on someone whom they aspire to be like. As a result they

actively become different to who they are.

This is the opposite to the Gestalt approach which works cognitively,

behaviourally and emotionally on becoming more aware and accepting of

who you are as a person, so the outcome is to be more yourself.3

2. Serenity Prayer by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr adapted for use inAlcoholics Anonymous 12 Step Programme.

3. This technique and all approaches in the book are only suitable for coacheeswho are self-supporting and do not have a psychological dysfunction. If you believe yourcoachee is mentally disturbed in some way then you should refer them to a psychotherapist.



If your coachee is confused about their next action, as a Gestalt

coach your response would not be to help the coachee to create a

vision and goal to work towards. Instead, the work involves staying

with her in the confusion and helping her be aware of what is

happening now in the session with you. Your exploration would

include the coachee’s experience of herself in the work situation –

what she is thinking and feeling (physically and emotionally) including

the environment around her as she talks to you in the present.

This isn’t a comfortable option, as quite often all the coachee wants

to do is to get out of the situation. The cognitive/behavioural

solution would be to help her focus on a potential future resolution

(goal) and to create a behavioural action plan. This will work, but you

risk getting a quick-fix solution that may hide other more profound

insights.

The Gestalt view would be that the block to the coachee’s progress

needs to be experienced fully and resolved. If it isn’t, it will interrupt

her flow of experience and she will get stuck again when confronted

with a similar but different confusion. When she is aware of what is

creating the confusion, her response will change appropriately and a

solution will appear naturally.

Sandra gave up her freelance consultancy work to be CEO of a £multi-

million family business and help the Chairman/Founder get it ready for

sale. She has a great salary and the promise of a substantial pay-out when

it is sold. Her Chairman is likeable, but patriarchal, self-centred, and

mercurial. Although he pays lip service to Sandra’s ideas in meetings, he

doesn’t really take them on board, leaving Sandra frustrated and

demotivated. Her presenting issue was: ‘How do I hang on till the

business is sold and I get the pay-out?’ In our sessions, we keep our focus

on what’s going on now in her frustration and make incremental

discoveries about how she needs to be and what she needs to do to

improve her working situation. However, more importantly she begins to

become aware of who she is and what she wants in her career and life.

Gradually the issue changes, from ‘How do I hang on...?’ to ‘What do I

want from my career?’.

EXAMPLE


Sandra recognised that she wasn’t going to see much change in her boss

and hanging on wasn’t worth it so she extricated herself smoothly,

having negotiated a good financial package – with goodwill on both sides.

Now our sessions turn on keeping her nerve, taking stock of the situation

logically and emotionally as each new work opportunity arises and not

rushing into the next job out of anxiety for the future.

Implications for the coachTwo further implications arise:

1. Progress in the session may seem unstructured and unfocused.

There is no busy-work activity to burrow into, no clear behavioural

objective other than awareness, nor an action plan to ease the

potential uncertainty. If not managed skilfully the coachee may feel

impatience with the seeming lack of structure. As a Gestalt coach

you will need to ensure there is a clear link between staying with

the frustration and the presenting issue.

2. As a beginner with this method, you may feel frustrated that you

aren’t delivering tangible results. However, as Myles Downey

advises _ ‘don’t get stuck, get interested’4. Stay with the

awareness of your frustration and explore how it connects with

your client’s.

Awareness vs. making something happen

Awareness is the quality you need most as a Gestalt coach, directed

towards promoting awareness in your coachees. This links in with the

paradox of change principle (Chapter 5). If a coachee becomes more

aware of who they are and of what is actually going on, then something

will shift and change as a result – neither you nor your coachee need do

anything else. It sounds like magic, but it works.

Implications for the coachTrust your responses and aim to be effortless. You'll feel the coachee’s

shift of mood when ‘something happens’ as he explores an event or

an interaction. By helping him in this way, he can bring his own aware-

ness to the surface and unlock the puzzle.

4. Downey, Myles, Effective Coaching, Texere Publishing Limited, (1999).


Coach: What’s been happening with you?

Coachee: Well, in our last session we worked on how confused and

incompetent I felt working with Ben and realised that maybe he didn’t

know what he was doing, either.

Coach: Yes, so what impact has that had on your relationship?

Coachee: ...things are much better. I had a meeting with him and asked if

we could review progress to date because I was getting lost. Then I

waited for him to start...and it all kicked off!

Coach: What happened?

Coachee: He scrabbled about with his papers, then slammed his hand on

the table and went into a rant about what a waste of time the whole

project was and he couldn’t see the point. Quite a shock.

Coach: Wow, quite a strong reaction from him. How did you feel about

that?

Coachee: Actually it was a relief – I knew then it wasn’t just me that was

feeling incompetent. He apologised for the outburst and we talked it

through. We’re both going to meet the guy who’s masterminded the

project. I feel much better about it. I thought I was alone with my

confusion, and it was affecting the rest of my work.

How a Gestalt approach can add value to your coaching practiceYou probably use a mix of different coaching and psychological models

with your coachees, depending on their individual needs. With a clear

emphasis on outcomes and results, traditional approaches such as NLP

or CBC (cognitive behavioural coaching), GROW and solution-focused

coaching, focus on creating specific goals, a desired future or ideal model

that you can change yourself to fit into.

Our educational system and training methods favour this perspective.

From the schoolroom through to vocational training, we are encouraged

to put a lot of effort into drilling ourselves to be different. These approaches

also make coachees feel safe and comfortable in the knowledge that they

are doing something to help themselves. Gestalt, on the other hand,

offers analternative route, more in line with Timothy Gallwey’s Inner

Game5 approach as well as Myers Briggs personality profiling6 and Carl

Rogers ‘Unconditional Regard’7.

5. Gallwey, Timothy, The Inner Game of Tennis, Jonathan Cape, (1975).

6. MBTI personality profiling emphasises that individuals have a natural preference in how theyengage with the world and this needs to be recognised and honoured.

7. Carl Rogers developed Person Centred Counselling approach outlined in his book On Becoming a Person. This is the basis of the Active Listening approaches used in coaching.

EXAMPLE


The emphasis is on accepting who you are and growing your capability

from that position.

Gestalt not only encourages coachees to be more themselves to build

capability, it also helps them to deal with complexity and

ambiguity and to accept what can’t be changed. It will add a deeper,

broader and more sustainable dimension to your coaching. It’s not a

panacea for all ills: it isn’t the approach for all coaching situations, and it

may not suit everyone, but it is exciting, creative and powerful.

When can Gestalt coaching be most effective?

It’s very effective if you and your coachee are dealing with:

l Relationships and identity

l Ambiguity, confusion, uncertainty about direction

l Dilemmas

l Visioning and strategy

l Creativity and innovation

Relationships and Identity

Gestalt comes into its own in this context, where you can help your

coachees to explore what is actually going on in their interactions with

other people, and uncover parts of themselves, beliefs and values that

may be out of their awareness.

AmbiguityGestalt lends itself to issues that are open-ended, ambiguous and

undefined. The belief that change is constant and can happen

effortlessly means that the coachee is relieved of the need to try to do

something to make change happen. Not having specific objectives means

that your work is not forced in any one direction nor is it hampered by a

narrow focus on the horizon. Exploring what’s going on in the present and

letting outcomes emerge naturally and incrementally from that work

means that the solutions can be more creative and sometimes surprising.

Because the Gestalt approach provides a compass rather than a road

map, it lends itself to creative solutions and finding direction based on

who the coachee is (rather than who he would rather be) and exploration

of what is happening now.

Solutions and direction will emerge in this process, which remains open

and fluid, so it is also valuable for creativity, abstract situations and ideas.


In situations where it is unclear which option would be the best to

pursue because the pro’s and con’s appear equally balanced, Gestalt

allows for an emergent solution rather than rational problem solving.

What is extraordinary is that by sticking with the principle of awareness

and experience and not trying to solve the problem, a new and

unimagined ‘third’ way emerges.

Visioning & Strategy

Because of the constantly changing commercial environment, rigid,

by-the-book strategy is less workable than it was when the economic and

organisational environment was more stable. Organisations are

increasingly turning to more emergent and flexible strategy

development. Combining the background knowledge of what has

happened as well as working with the awareness of experience in the

present, you can help your coachee create a vision and strategy that is

pragmatic and flexible.

Creativity & Innovation

We are most creative when we are free to explore ideas and allow them

to emerge spontaneously. Gestalt has at its core the notion of Creative

Adaption explored in full in Chapter 4. We are also dedicated to the

practice of experimentation, constantly encouraging risk taking with new

ways of doing and being so that solutions and innovative approaches

emerge.

When is it not so effective?

A Gestalt approach may not be so effective if you and your coachee are

concerned with issues where specific outcomes are required, such as:

l Targets and results, as in performance coaching towards a specific

goal

l Working on tactical objectives

l Concrete, step-by-step action planning

l Logical conceptualising

l Learning a new skill or acquiring new knowledge

This is where other, more future focused coaching methodologies such as

GROW and NLP can be more useful. In this book, we’re not advocating

that Gestalt is the only effective route to change and growth.

By understanding what Gestalt has to offer you can then integrate it with

other methods.

Dilemmas


The Spectrum of Coaching Practice – identifying the typesof coaching most appropriate for Gestalt

Mike Milan and Lucy West8 identified a continuum of coaching practice

between "Performance Coaching" and "Development Coaching".

Performance Coaching is focused on improving task functioning. It has a

strong results, goal and solution orientation and addresses what the

coachee is doing and how to do it better.

Development Coaching is much more focused on the person, who the

coachee is, the beliefs and attitudes that support or hinder their progress.

Robert Witherspoon and Randall White9, working on the same lines,

added two further types at either end: Skills Coaching and Executive’s

Agenda.

Skills Coaching addresses a specific skill requirement, like sales or time

management. It is similar to sports coaching, instruction or training.

Executive’s Agenda took a wider perspective to address the issues of

leadership and the identity of the executive in their role.

In my experience I could see that there was a level of coaching beyond

Developmental that was much wider and deeper than Witherspoon’s

Executive's Agenda, addressing issues of personal identity and purpose.

In my Masters research thesis I initially called this level Transformational

coaching. Later I replaced the title with Existential coaching because it

more accurately reflected the focus on the fundamental nature of the

individual’s existence, their core beliefs and in some cases, their spiritual

aspirations.

So the Spectrum of Coaching Practice flows through the four coaching

levels of Skills, Performance, Developmental and Existential.

8. Milan, M and West, L (2001) The Reflecting Glass: Professional Coaching for LeadershipDevelopment, Palgrave Macmillan.

9. Robert Witherspoon, Randall P White (1997) Four Essential Ways That Coaching Can HelpExecutives, Center For Creative Leadership.


Where a coaching intervention sits in that spectrum will determine the

nature and character of that encounter. Let's examine the spectrum and

look at the:

l Origins of each level of coaching

l Orientation and focus of activity

l Learning processes

l Output, measurement, motivation and goals

l Coaching Practice

The origins of each type of coaching

Skills and Performance coaching draw on the tradition of adult education,

sports coaching and competency-based assessment centres, building on

the experiences of instruction, training and assessment to achieve

behavioural targets. As coaching became more established, Cognitive

Behavioural coaching, Solution Focused approaches, NLP, Hypnotherapy

and Inner Game methods were incorporated.

Developmental and Existential coaching draw much more on the

Humanistic Psychology tradition of personal growth. The psychological

influences were Person Centred Counselling, Gestalt, Transactional

Analysis, and Psychosynthesis as well as Psychodynamic, Jungian,

Existential and Ontological approaches. It can be seen as a regeneration

of the values and practices of the 1980’s Human Potential Movement

pioneered by figures like Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, promoting

personal and spiritual growth and the idea of self-actualisation.

Orientation and focus of activity of the types of coaching

In Skills and Performance coaching the thrust for change is to ‘be

different’. There are clear identifiable future-focused goals to be attained

and the exploration is first a gap analysis and then activities to bridge that

gap. Through effort, determination and repetition, cognitive and

behavioural change is embedded and functional skills are maximised.

Developmental and Existential coaching, on the other hand, are

concerned with changing values, attitudes and core beliefs by working

primarily at the emotional, somatic (body) and spiritual level, as well as a

more profound cognitive level. There is a greater emphasis on ‘becoming

aware and accepting who you are’ and allowing change to happen

without effort – very much the domain of Gestalt.


The learning processes

Learning through Skills coaching is heavily subject-oriented, developing a

skill through theoretical understanding, practice and feedback. Gestalt

has little to offer here, unless the skill to be developed is awareness and

the ability to have a constructive conversation with yourself.

Performance coaching is about learning how to do something better to

get results. It is about understanding the self in relation to the tasks to be

accomplished and how to access support from others as you perform

those tasks. The emphasis is on resilience and determination in

overcoming obstacles to new ways of thinking and behaving. The bulk of

the learning takes place outside the coaching session, back in the work

context. The Gestalt approach can make a contribution to developing the

coachee's awareness of how they are performing the tasks and

rehearsing new behaviours in the coaching session, but it will have less

impact than other methods.

Learning through Developmental coaching focuses on who the coachee is

in their experience of life and understanding the psychological drivers

and blocks to sustained fulfilment. There is a greater emphasis on

improving the quality of connection, so the relationship with the coach is

a key area of interest. It is much more about experiential learning and

change within the coaching session. Understanding the nature of

acceptance and learning to be who you are, become the hallmarks of this

methodology. Performance objectives are viewed as the context in which

the development occurs rather than the focus of it. As you will see as you

read this handbook, Gestalt has a great deal to offer here.

In Existential coaching the learning shifts to a more profound level,

exploring questions like ‘why am I here?’ and ‘what’s the purpose?’. It is

about learning to let go, to stop striving and to develop the capability of

non-attachment through reflection, contemplation and mindfulness

practice. By becoming a more rounded and integrated person, the tasks

and objectives of work or life are handled effectively and unconsciously.

Many aspects of the Gestalt approach are appropriate here, such as

learning to be present, to let go and to be aware without effort.

Output, measurement, motivation and goals

Because Skills and Performance coaching address cognitive and

behavioural change it is possible and even desirable to have measures

against targets – often referred to as ‘Evidence Based Practice’. You can

verify the change by looking at the evidence. The goal is clarity and

certainty in thought and action – an afterthought in the Gestalt approach.


Developmental coaching on the other hand does not easily lend itself to

measurement. The change is in attitude and values, which are much more

subjective, intangible and not easily observable. A coachee may not work

harder or faster but will feel happier, create a better working environment

and be likely to be more effective. The motivation is personal growth,

resulting in the ability to be assertive and confident or manage anxiety,

ambiguity and uncertainty. Gestalt sits clearly in this camp as its purpose

is personal growth.

Measurement is seen as inconsequential and outcomes are expected to

be intrinsic in Existential coaching. Zen principles like ‘action through

inaction’ or ‘trust the process’ predominate. Complexity and uncertainty

are a given, so outputs are indefinable. Being calm, focused and

inspirational with the capability for immediacy, adaptability, fluidity and

flexibility are the resulting outcomes. Gestalt has a lot to contribute here,

with the emphasis on being in the present and creative adaptation.

Coaching Practice

Skills and Performance coaching, because of the attention to goals and

action planning, is more applicable for management and operational

issues. The GROW model and its variants are ideal in these situations. The

coach needs to be efficient and well structured, holding the coachee to

the identified tasks and ensuring there is an effective Wrap Up and

actions going forward. It can be helpful if the coach is an expert in the

subject area so as to be able to draw on their experience to ask pertinent

questions. The use of competency frameworks, psychometrics or 360

feedback are useful frames for the coaching.

Developmental and Existential coaching requires greater capability on the

part of the coach to handle an emergent process based on a guiding

purpose rather than on clear objectives. This level is more suited to

senior leadership issues, where intangible objectives such as values,

vision, and inspiration are required. With an emphasis on emotional,

somatic and spiritual development, the coach needs to have more

psychological expertise, and Gestalt is one of the prime approaches.

The table overleaf provides a snapshot of several types of coaching and a

summary of these aspects.10

10. With reference to West, L and Milan, M (2001) The Reflecting Glass, Palgrave MacMillan.


The Spectrum of Coaching Practice


Origin

PsychologicalApproaches

Timeframe

Orientation

Focus of activity

Change

Mode

Coaching Sessionpractice

Learning

Self

Work focus

Motivation

Goal

Driven by

Aiming for

Measurement of success

SkillsSports

Sports PsychologyNLPInner Game

Depends on the skill and the standard

Present - Future

Acquisition of specificskills

Behaviour

BehaviouralPracticalFunctional

Focus on the specificcomponent that is to be practised

From others PracticingHow can I do it better Single loop

Self in relation to skillacquistion

Coachee - specific skill

To be the best at the skill

Action

Mastery of a skill

Ability to master as specific activity

Standard of achievement

Competency basedAssessmentSports Psychology

Cognitive behaviouralNLPHypnotherapy

Short term and specific

Present - Future

Goal orientatedSolution focusedBusiness objectivesCorporate priority

Behaviour

Rational/Cognitive/Behavioural

Focus on what the goals and outcomesfor the session are

DoingWhat am I doingHow can I do it better

Self in relation to task

Coachee task

Doing better next timeAmbition Competence

Knowledge

Achievement - Targets

Clarityfocus and certainty

Behavioural - task

completion

Counselling Psychotherapy

GestaltPsychoanalysisRogerian person-centered

Medium term and broad

Past - present

Person centeredPersonality focusedPersonal objectives

Values and attitudes

Emotional/Physical

Focus on how the coachee is doing, feelingin the relationship

Doing and ReflectingWho am I doing itHow can I be a betterpersonDouble loop

Self in relation to others

Coach - Coachee relationship

Managing psychological blocks and drivers

Experience

Personal growth

Clarity out of ambiguity Direction from uncertainty

Job satisfaction and self worth

Religious/SpiritualPersonal Growth

GestaltJungian analysisExistentialismPsychosynthesis

Life time and unknown

Present

Reason for existing/living/ beingNature of existenceSpiritual/Transpersonal

Core beliefs

SpiritualReligious

Totally emergent -whatever is figural at the moment

BeingWhy am I doing it - what’s the pointHow can I live betterTriple loop

Self in relation to ‘god’

Coachee - ‘god’relationship

Letting goFree of acheiving andstriving

Wisdom

Nothing - Non-action

Accepting ambiguity/complexityUncertainty as given

Sense of well being

SKILLS PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENTAL EXISTENTIAL

PROCESS

PEOPLE

OUTPUT

Gestalt Therapy originated from the Gestalt Psychology movement of the

1920’s. The founders of the Gestalt Therapy approach were Fritz and Laura

Perls in USA during the 1950’s and 60’s and its development was

strongly influenced by many radical humanistic psychologists of the time.

Gestalt is a German word meaning ‘whole’, ‘complete’ or ‘pattern’. When

we see a picture, rather than a group of separate objects on a canvas, we

do this by compensating for the ambiguous spaces or gaps to make sense

of it. We have a innate desire to complete and finish every interaction.

Tools and techniques have a place, but for a Gestalt coach, the most

important tool is the coach themselves.

Gestalt is more an attitude – a perspective – but with a strong theoretical

underpinning. It is complex, paradoxical and sometimes ambiguous.

The five basic principles focus on:

1. Awareness

2. How we do things rather than why

3. Being present in the here and now

4. The quality of the relationship

5. Paradoxical nature of change

Gestalt coaching can be most effective in working with:

l Relationships and identity

l Ambiguity, confusion, uncertainty about direction

l Dilemmas

l Visioning and strategy

l Creativity and innovation

It is not so effective when the work is about:

l Targets and results

l Tactical objectives

l Concrete, step-by-step action planning

l Logical conceptualising

l Learning a new skill or acquiring new knowledge

Summary


The Spectrum of Coaching Practice flows through the four coaching levels:

1. Skills: addresses a specific skill requirement

2. Performance: is focused on improving task functioning with a strong

results and solution orientation

3. Developmental: focused on the person, their emotional experience,

beliefs and attitudes

4. Existential: addressing the fundamental nature of the individual’s

identity and existence, their core beliefs and values

A Gestalt approach works more at the Developmental and Existential levels.

In order to intervene at a particular level of the spectrumthe coach needs to understand:

l Theoretical roots to each level of coaching

l Orientation and focus of activity

l Learning processes expected of the coachee

l Output, measurement, motivation and goals required

l Capability of the coach and context they are working in



Applying Gestaltin practice.This book, I hope, will have mobilised you to explore furtherthe application of Gestalt to your coaching practice. Gestaltis about experience and the book only takes you so far.Getting in contact with others to try out and experiment is the only way to develop your practice in this excitingframework and methodology.

Join the AoEC two-day Gestalt coach training programme, or inquire about the different Workshops, Webinars, Lectures, Conference Presentations and BespokeProgrammes that I lead.

I can cover any of the topics in the book and other workshops like Gestalt/Tango/Coaching which explores the dynamics ofLeadership and Followership.

I'm also available for Individual or Team Coaching andSupervision.

www.aoec.com

Contact Sue Simmons on 01727 864806 or [email protected]

Coach TrainingOpportunitiesThere are many psychological theories and methods that inform the practice of coaching. Gestalt is only one and theAoEC includes other psychological approaches on theirprogrammes e.g. Person Centred, Cognitive Behavioural,Psychodynamic and Transactional Analysis.

In this process the trainee is guided to create their ownintegrative model and style of coaching.

AoEC qualifications are currently accredited by the two topprofessional bodies, the International Coaching Federation (ICF),European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), as well asbeing validated by Middlesex University.

Core programmes include:• Practitioner Diploma • Advanced Practitioner Diploma• Systemic Team Coaching Certificate• Systemic Team Coaching Diploma

All coach training at the AoEC is highly experiential and skills-practice focused with a sound theoretical underpinning.

Find out more at www.aoec.com

Contact Sue Simmons on 01727 864806 or [email protected]

Documents

The Fertile Void - Academy of Executive · PDF filePraise for The Fertile Void ... For any coach seeking to add Gestalt Coaching to his or her portfolio of coaching ... The temptation