Introduction
The course textbook and other learning resources started with a simple description of coaching: it was described as a growth-promoting relationship, which elicits motivation, advances the capacity to change, and promotes a change process through the creation of goals, setting of goals and accountability (Moore, Tschannen-Moran & Jackson, 2010). The description further explains that at its best, this growth-promoting relationship leads to sustainable change for the good. The last seven weeks have been crucial in understanding executive coaching from the description highlighted above. I have learned some valuable knowledge and skills related to executive coaching and its application to the workplace setting or the general society. As described in the definition above, there are areas which can be advanced for people to develop and grow in the field of executive coaching. We have been learning about areas like motivation, self-esteem, self-efficacy, communication and goals which are essential in growing and developing to become experts as executive coaches. The past weeks have also helped me understand coaching practices like motivational interviewing (MI), appreciative inquiry (AI) and 5-D cycle. In this application paper, I will be examining the lessons I have learned in the course and the specific areas I will be applying to help my coworkers work through the different conflict they are facing.
Lessons from the Course and Applications
I will be applying the areas of motivation, self-efficacy, self-esteem, communication and goal setting as learned during the executive coaching course to help several works work through their personal and workplace conflicts. I will be addressing disputes which arise from team activities, change and other work processes which involve the need to adapt and embrace new changes. As described by Moore, Tschannen-Moran and Jackson (2010), motivation (either internal or from external source) can implore a client to make a meaningful behavior change or change their unhealthy ways of thinking. As a coach, I can assume the role of an external motivator and have the best outcomes in mind for clients while actively encouraging and pushing for behavior change in clients. As learned in the course, I will be using motivation as the energy that will drive my coworkers and clients to begin a new habit or learn new skills that will help them overcome conflicts, take bold steps towards achieving their goals and focus on learning a new skill or habit that will make it easier to achieve a goal. Motivation also provides vital energy for sustaining desirable skills, and practices or appreciating and savoring goal achievement (Grant, 2013). Apart from external motivation, I learned the significance and how coaches can tap into the autonomous motivation of the clients. When clients have autonomy, they are capable of controlling the choices and act in ways they find essential, better and interesting (Grant, 2013). As a coach, I will be striving to encourage and tap into my client’s autonomous motivation because its benefits exceed those of external motivation. As gathered during the course, clients who experience great autonomous motivation have more advantages like developing new and positive behaviors which last for longer, and they are more creative and flexible, performance is improved, they enjoy making changes and their physical health and personal relationships are of high quality.
Self-efficacy is another area which will be utilized in becoming a better executive coach and achieving my Master’s degree on this subject. Campone (2015) defines self-efficacy as the belief that a client (or any other individual) has the capability of initiating and sustaining the desired behavior. I consider self-efficacy as one of the most vita outcomes of coaching when combined with improved self-image and lasting behavior change. As a coach, my goal will be to help the clients achieve and sustain the goals that brought them to the coaching relationship. However, the target does not stop here; I will be working with clients on how they can learn how to learn and change so that they can transition on from our coaching relationship in self-directed, motivated and confident methods. To achieve self-efficacy, masterful coaching must align with personal, environmental and behavioral factors exhibited by the client.
Self-esteem is an essential area in coaching because clients who lack the confidence to achieve a behavior change can be tough to manage (Rank & Gray, 2017). Self-esteem, as learned in the course, runs intertwined not only with how clients think about themselves by also how they feel about their relationships, the society and the meaning of their lives. Self-esteem is a subject to comparative forces beyond the client’s control, and therefore should be approached from a competent and understanding perspective. To help my clients overcome self-esteem issues, I will be evident on letting them embrace the acceptance that is limited to what they can actively control, centre their esteem around abilities that can be retained in different circumstances and listening to the right people.
Setting goals and communicating effectively are two vital ingredients of a coaching relationship that cannot be missed by any coach, or a student aspiring to be one (Moore, Tschannen-Moran & Jackson, 2010). Coaching is about helping clients reach their potential. To achieve this, they have to change their behaviors, adopt new skills or sustain a system of thinking. I learned that any coaching relationship starts by setting goals- gaining clarity on what is to be achieved during the process. For instance, in helping my coworkers overcome different conflicts in the workplace, one of my goals can be how they can become better team players. Since the coaching relationship starts by gaining clarity and focus on what the client wants, I will be learning more on how to help clients set achievable goals in my Master’s studies. There are three aspects of communication I learned during the course- active listening, powerful questioning and direct communication. These components of communication will help me become a better coach.
Motivational interviewing (MI), appreciative inquiry (AI), and 5-D cycle are principles of coaching, all of which were clearly understood during the lessons. Motivational interviewing is a model that can be used to increase motivation and self-efficacy (Rank & Gray, 2017). As a principle of coaching, MI is useful in eliciting autonomous motivation, which I will be using to encourage the clients to find their reasons for embracing change. I will use four MI strategies to obtain autonomous motivation and self-efficacy- engaging the client, focusing the client’s goals and values, evoking the client’s motivations and planning actions that support the development of self-efficacy. Appreciative inquiry, on the other hand, is a philosophy of coaching which focuses on exploring and amplifying strengths. AI focuses on encouraging clients to acknowledge their strengths and imagine possibilities to outgrow their challenges (Moore, Tschannen-Moran & Jackson, 2010). I will be using the five principles of AI to encourage my coworkers to amplify their strengths. For example, I will use the positive principle to encourage my clients to develop positive emotions and energy like energy, since positive actions and outcomes originate from them. The constructionist principle is vital in imploring clients to embrace positive conversations and interactions, and adopt positive reflections and questions as advanced in the simultaneity principle. Two other principles to be used include anticipatory and poetic principles. Lastly, I have learned how to use the 5-D cycle as a transformational change process using the principles of AI. Clients can easily understand the cycle- define, discover, dream, design and destiny in embracing these principles. In the define stage, I will be helping the client come up with the behavior that they want to adopt or change. The discover stage will involve assisting clients in learning promising examples of their desired behavior change, after which we will create a dream based on the client’s history. In the design stage, I will be working with clients to align their infrastructure with the established vision and finally appreciate the change.
International Coaching Federation
The ICF, International Coaching Federation is the leading international organization focused on advancing the coaching profession by setting high standards, issuing an independent certification and raising a global network of trained coaching professionals. ICF is the largest organization of professionally trained coaches and bestows instant credibility upon the members. The federation is also committed to connecting their member coaches with the vital resources and tools they need to become successful in their careers. ICF has been offering only globally acclaimed, an independent credentialing program for its coach experts and practitioners. Its credentials are awarded to professional coaches who have met the rigorous and stringent experience and education requirements and shown a vibrant and extensive understanding of the coaching knowledge, skills and competencies that set the stand in this critical professional field. Achieving the credentials through the federation signifies the commitment of a coach to mastery of globally-recognized coaching skills, integrity and understanding, and dedication to the client base.
The ICF will contribute immensely to my executive coaching career. Firstly, I will benefit from the global network of trained coaching professionals built by ICF. Interacting and networking with the coaches will provide me with insights into trends and insider information on the global landscape of executive coaching. Just like other professions, the world of executive coaching is continually changing, one of the key trends being the role of technology in interacting with clients. By networking with clients from different regions of the world, I will learn about different cultures and how to apply the coaching skills in a cross-cultural environment.
Secondly, I will benefit from a luxurious pool of resources and tools provided by the ICF to advance my knowledge, skills and competence in executive coaching. The federation is committed to connecting its member coaches with the tools and resources they need to develop and succeed in their careers. Such resources include training on leadership, ethics, core competencies and communities of practice. As an executive coach, advanced training on ethics and leadership is vital in interacting with clients and creating a competency-based environment (International Coaching Federation, (n.d.). The federation’s commitment to providing continuous education through archived learning, communities of practice and world-class events will also help in sharpening my skills and competencies as a coach.
The core competencies of the ICF were developed and advanced to support greater understanding about the approaches and skills used within the coaching profession today (International Coaching Federation, (n.d.). These core competencies are of significant value and benefit to my professional development because they will shape my learning and application of the skills, competencies and skills required to succeed in the career. For instance, setting the foundation, which is an element of the core competencies, requires the coaches to meet the ethical guidelines and professional standards (International Coaching Federation, (n.d.). Such understanding is vital because they will help me apply them appropriately in all coaching circumstances and situations. The core competencies further explain how coaches can communicate effectively, co-create the relationship, and facilitate learning with their clients, all of which are important in developing a great career in the coaching world.
Lastly, I will benefit substantially from the strategic plan of the ICF. The goal of the 2020 strategic plan of the federation is that ICF is leading the way in transforming lives, the community thrives, and clients associate the body’s coach practitioners with excellence. By becoming a member of the federation, I will benefit from the strategic objectives like leveraging the ecosystem to boost the professional growth of the members for confidence and impact, a sense of belonging created through an integrated community, positioning its coaches as the gold standard and building competent leaders among the members.
Christian Worldview
While the word executive coaching has not been used explicitly in the Bible, different scriptures commands and encourages Christians to do certain things that can be linked to coaching, the Bible does command Christians to make disciplines, listen to the Holy Spirit and support one another. In Thessalonians 5:11, the Bible says, “therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are doing.” This verse forms the foundation of my executive coaching career; it will be based on not just encouraging my clients, coworkers or other teams, but also building them to become better versions of themselves. From a Christian view, coaching is the process of coming alongside an individual- could be a coworker, a person with a mental disorder or even a friend to help them discover the plan of God for their lives and their ministry.
The Bible does not want coaches to stop there; He demands that we cooperate with the Holy Spirit to see this agenda come to fruition (Allen & Fry, 2019). I will be using the foundation of encouragement and building others to provide a way of hearing from God in the context of community and relationship. God did not design the world for us to go it alone; we need others to bounce our ideas, goals and visions off (Allen & Fry, 2019). Other people play a significant role in how we interact with God and how we achieve life goals. Therefore, my idea of helping, encouraging and building others through coaching will be based on Hebrews 10: 24-25 which says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Thirdly, I believe that coaching provides accountability for people to proceed or move forward into what they have marked as their dreams or visions in life. As an executive coach, my role will be to encourage my clients and people I interact with to be in relationship with one another, honor one another and hold one another accountable. Accountability is vital in coaching because it helps people focus on achieving their goals. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” I will be using coaching to establish a focused relationship that helps people continue moving forward to achieve their dreams and wishes in life.