Solution-focused coaching
Agreement
The coaching was scheduled by the Human Resources Department of a consumer goods distribution company. Helen, a senior executive, was faced with difficult strategic decisions and under special circumstances. She deserved all the support she needed. When she contacted me, we clarified the confidentiality of the discussions and set my fee, without specifying the number of sessions. We agreed that we would complete the coaching when Helen felt she could move forward on her own. (…..)
Start session
Helen first described her position, which was truly uncomfortable. One of the most senior executives had left the company. Without him, she would not have sufficient executive-level support for a strategic project she was leading. The employees in her unit—a few thousand people—had begun to feel increasingly insecure and were spending their energy on gossip instead of using it for the good of the company.
I asked, “What needs to happen today to make this conversation worth your time?” Helen thought for a minute and decided to start with the changes she herself would need to make in her work behavior. “I need to learn to demand more for myself, especially now that things are tough. I think I need to stand up a lot more aggressively now, especially with the CEO and my team.” We explored what would happen if she demanded more for herself. It was obvious that this was a very important issue for Helen and that any improvement in this area would have a very positive impact on both herself and others. “Think of a scale from 1 to 10, where 10 means you demand everything you need for yourself and 1 means the opposite. On this scale, can you show me the range – over the past two weeks – of your ability to demand more for yourself?” After thinking about it carefully, Helen set the range between 2 and 4. “Sometimes I do better, but last week I wasn’t being demanding and clear enough with the CEO, and one of my key arguments just got lost.” Like many clients, Helen first thought of a time when she had failed to behave as she would have liked. She was focusing on her supposed inadequacy rather than where she might find clues to a solution. So I wondered how I could shed light in the opposite direction, on the abilities she didn’t yet see.
“What are you doing now that you’re between 2 and 4 that you weren’t doing when you were 1?” Helen described several changes she had made in the past two weeks. For example, she had started to intentionally set fewer priorities and had managed to stop doing some things. She had canceled her attendance at an executive event and had asked an internal client to choose between two projects, which one would be temporarily postponed. We briefly discussed how she had been able to make such clear decisions and stick to them, despite the difficulties.
Goals
Helen didn’t want to stay at 2 or 4. Her goal was to get to at least 7 or 8 on the scale. I really enjoyed it and was curious to find out how much she already knew about her desired future behavior. “Let’s say you’ve somehow managed to get to 7 or 8. I don’t know right now if that’s possible or how you’re going to get there. But let’s say you’re already at 7 or 8. What would you do differently? Can you give me a few specific examples?” Within 10 minutes, Helen had developed a detailed and multi-layered picture of the changes she wanted to make in her behavior. I asked her how her team members would notice the changes, how her CEO would notice them the next time they spoke, and what would grab the attention of her closest colleagues when she got to 7 or 8 on the scale. We also discussed how each partner would likely react and what benefits this would have for the company.
By this point, we both knew we were talking purely hypothetically. Helen was somewhere between a 2 and a 4 on her scale. Still, the 7 or 8 scenario seemed appealing to her, and I could – somehow – tell that her determination to achieve it was growing stronger. She was now absolutely clear about what she wanted to achieve.
More supplies
As I listened to her description of how she would behave at 7 or 8, I suspected that she must have already had some foreshadowing about her goal, thanks to moments when she had been above 4. “Helen, what recent examples can you think of that are signs that you were closer to 7 or 8, even for a moment?” Helen thought of three examples. One incident she had described with the CEO was around 6. Another example from a department meeting was also around 6. Another example from a department meeting was at 7. And an example with her team was also around 6. “Yes, in the last meeting that we had about the project, I really behaved differently. We had another endless discussion. And I didn’t let it go. I just made a decision. I honestly admit that this situation bothered me. But to my surprise, the decision was immediately accepted and implemented very effectively.” By expanding this successful example with the CEO, who was at 6 on the scale, Helen gained valuable insights into what she could repeat more often to achieve her boss’s clear commitment.
End session
Based on the success factors that Helen identified in the three examples, she prepared an action plan with specific steps that she would implement within 72 hours of the session. “Now it’s crystal clear what I’m going to do more of.” I was so happy for her. It’s much easier to repeat something new or different. Taking one last look at her scale, Helen remarked with surprise: “I’m much closer to my goal than I could have imagined this morning!” We ended the session without scheduling another meeting.
Later, I received two brief emails from Helen. It seemed that her new, more dynamic attitude had paid off. She had also accepted an even more interesting job offer and was moving towards the next phase of her career. The coaching had been done in a simple way. Some gentle but persistent questions, reminding her to look in the direction of her potential, had proved to be enough.