If you’re a coach of any kind you need to know about the biggest thing that keeps coaches from developing the confidence and level of growth and skill they seek.
Many coaches, especially new coaches, struggle with what they describe as “lacking confidence”. Despite whatever techniques and tools, they’ve collected in their coaching toolbox, many coaches feel overwhelmed, uncertain, and confused about what technique to use when, and what to do when a technique doesn’t seem to work.
And what do most coaches in this situation do? They seek a way out of their discomfort in the form of fast, simple solutions. They reach out for another technique to save them. This is like wanting to learn to swim while clinging to the edge of the pool. The edge of the pool doesn’t give you the confidence to swim. It keeps you where you already are.
What this situation is really demanding is higher order behaviours and thinking.
What new coaches need in order to develop confidence and skill, is to transcend scripted techniques to a deeper understanding of the principles and structures of change, systems, and complexity.
Change work is complex. You can’t meet complexity with simplicity, which is what scripted techniques are attempting to do.
The problem with quick fixes is…
“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is clear, simple and wrong” H. L. Mencken | Journalist
We’re geared to seek ease and simplicity and avoid discomfort. And that’s exactly what keeps us stuck. Habitually reaching for solutions that give us the illusion of safety. Who is actually safer? The person who hasn’t learned to swim who needs to cling to the edge of the pool? or the strong, confident swimmer?
If you’ve ever wondered about the differences between my NLP courses and most of the shorter courses around, this is a huge part of it. It takes a little longer upfront to learn at a higher level and to develop the kind of depth of understanding that results in accelerated, exponential growth and creativity long term. Where you don’t need to be weighed down by a clunky manual, where you don’t need scripted techniques that keep you stuck as an eternal novice. You can let go with confidence because you can think for yourself from a place of higher-level thinking. And with a deep understanding of the principles that means you can design your own processes and solutions effortlessly, in real-time, on the fly to meet the complexity of your clients and the situations you find yourself in.
In short, you can swim.
