Very few people are aware of the third dimension of knowledge, the dimension that Albert Einstein called the largest domain of all:

that which “we don’t know that we don’t know”.

This third dimension can be the biggest limiter in business and personal lives. It is also a dimension that people are absolutely helpless to see by themselves; it can only be seen and revealed by another.

Classic leadership conversations typically operate only in the first two realms of knowledge. A leader points out to a follower the things that the person admits he doesn’t know or isn’t correctly doing, and then gives them benchmarks of input and expected performance. The measure in this conversation is visible, predictable improvement of something both parties can readily see needs to be done.

Classic coaching conversations, by contrast, open up the third dimension of knowledge, revealing to the client what they don’t know what they don’t know.

KEY INSIGHT

Performance improvements may occur when the first two dimensions are explored, but performance breakthroughs occur when parts of the third dimension are revealed. It can enable a step change in thinking.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

WAYS OF BEING AWARE OF OUR IMPACT AS A COACH

It can be helpful to see coaching as interplay between two ways of being- Thought and Action interacting with two dimensions of intervention – Support and Challenge.

As a coach we need to be very aware of our biases and where we are operating at any point in a coaching session.

The two dimensional model helps to provide some insights and reflection on the way we interact. As individuals we have been shaped by our life experiences and the resultant beliefs , life rules and values that we hold.

This naturally influences how we engage with clients and the value of resultant outcomes.

For example, if we spend most of our time operating in the Support for Thought quadrant then it allows the client to stay within their world or perceived reality and doesn’t help them to consider other people perspectives of their actions and beliefs.

It could end up with a client enjoying the conversation but not converting insight into action . If this is the case we may need to reflect on the right time to Challenge for Action

If we focus too much on Challenge for Thought instead of Support for Thought we might bulldoze clients towards an outcome before a real understanding or commitment has developed.

At the same time Challenge for Thought can enable a client to evaluate something whilst keeping a distance from underlying emotions

KEY INSIGHT

The model helps to illustrate the ways we can interact and the importance of being fully aware of how we are engaging and operating during a coaching session. A degree of sophistication and subtelty is needed to dance between the different approaches in the flow and context of any specific client session

BEING A COACH

February 2008
STATEMENT OF SHARED PROFESSIONAL VALUES

Purpose

This statement has been agreed by the coaching professional bodies in the UK who cooperate to enhance the reputation of the coaching industry.

In the emerging profession of coaching, we believe that:

• Every coach, whether charging fees for coaching provided to individuals or organisations or both, is best served by being a member of a professional body suiting his/her needs.
• Every coach needs to abide by a code of governing ethics and apply acknowledged standards to the performance of their coaching work.
• Every coach needs to invest in their ongoing continuing professional development to ensure the quality of their service and their level of skill is enhanced.
• Every coach has a duty of care to ensure the good reputation of our emerging profession.

The following are fundamental principles by which we expect our members to operate:

Meta Principle: To continually enhance the competence and reputation of the coaching profession

Principle One - Reputation
Every coach will act positively and in a manner that increases the public’s understanding and acceptance of coaching...

Principle Two - Continuous Competence Enhancement
Every coach accepts the need to enhance their experience, knowledge, capability and competence on a continuous basis.

Principle Three - Client Centred
Every client is creative, resourceful and whole and the coach’s role is to keep the development of that client central to his/her work, ensuring all services provided are appropriate to the client’s needs.

Principle Four - Confidentiality and Standards
Every coach has a professional responsibility (beyond the terms of the contract with the client) to apply high standards in their service provision and behaviour. He/she needs to be open and frank about methods and techniques used in the coaching process, maintain only appropriate records and to respect the confidentiality a) of the work with their clients and b) or their representative body’s members information.

Principle Five - Law and Diversity
Every coach will act within the Laws of the jurisdictions within which they practice and will also acknowledge and promote diversity at all times.

Principle Six - Boundary Management
Every coach will recognise their own limitations of competence and the need to exercise boundary management. The client’s right to terminate the coaching process will be respected at all times, as will the need to acknowledge different approaches to coaching which may be more effective for the client than their own. Every endeavour will be taken to ensure the avoidance of conflicts of interest.

Principle Seven - Personal Pledge
Every coach will undertake to abide by the above principles that will complement the principles, codes of ethics and conduct set out by their own representative body to which they adhere and by the breach of which they would be required to undergo due process.

About the UK Coaching Bodies Roundtable:
The purpose of the Roundtable is to co-labour as representative bodies to maintain the principles on which the various bodies agree and through which the bodies will operate:

• To co-operate to enhance the reputation of the coaching industry
• To issue joint statements on issues of shared concern
• To discuss of the areas where collaboration might be of benefit

Members of the Roundtable include (in alphabetical order):