Quality in Coaching

Cord Oliver MolthanUnkategorisiert

Went to a coaching event the other day. Lots of coaches in the room. Event was declared as a learning and broaden-your-horizon event. Two lucky ladies were given the opportunity to present their knowledge and a method they like. And they inspired me to think.

Thoughts:

Coaching is predominantly a language-based process. Should one not clean up one’s own language and free it of superfluous words, shallow commonplaces and culturally programmed expressions before working as a coach? During the time I listened I was drawn into the depths of an American soap opera with a We-all-are-so-great brain washing.

A coach’s favorite pastime in not necessarily judging. This is good, this is important, this is great, this is right, this is very good……the lucky ladies’ staccato of judgements of comments from the audience was exhilarating.

A nice tool in coaching is expressing concepts in pictures. Now the lucky ladies have selected the picture of a house with a strong foundation and solid brick walls to describe the ever-changing concept of personal development, character building, self-discovery and finetuning of individual qualities. At least for me, the picture could not have been more damaging to the willingness to engage in the intended learning process.  

Listening and asking or asking and listening is a thing coaches do a lot. The lucky ladies did not have the strength to endure silence for more than 10 seconds. Questions were mostly rhetorical and apparently never meant to be answered. A pity since the workshop ended up being mono directional.

The event was run by certified coaches -the lucky ladies-, who have obtained a certification by an international organization acknowledging their primary certification. These double certified coaches now run learning events, that certified coaches must attend to be re-certified by this international organization. I was flabbergasted.

And yes, one constructive thought emerged:

It is very helpful if one’s own intelligence has sufficiently evolved to question one’s own intelligence.