Joyce MoonsMA Coaching and Mentoring Practice

14 January 2016

Shift in the Room – Myth or Magic?

How do coaches create a transformational shift in the room?

Topics of today

Why a transformational shift in the room?

Choosing the right research approach

Findings and implications

Questions and discussion

Why a transformational shift in the room?

Transformational learning is accorded great relevance within coaching

BUT, little is known about how to achieve such learning in practice

Also, coaches currently experience an increased pressure when it comes to their return on investment and delivering speedy results

Explore how transformational learning can be achieved within a short time frame

Choosing the right research approach

Acknowledging the existence of multiple realities

Exploring the phenomenon of a shift in the room

Orientation towards action and process

Intention to increase understanding but also to develop a model

Flexibility to collect further data based on hunches and analytical ideas about them

Constructed Grounded Theory

Research approach

Data collection

•Sample• Coaches experienced in

transformational learning• Clients who experienced a

transformation during coaching

•Face to face/ Skype interviews, taking between 60-90 minutes

•Open inquiry followed by direct questions about emerging categories

Data analysis

•Initial coding of transcripts

•Specific eye for action

•Focused coding

•Creation of mind-maps

•Preliminary model developed

•Memo’s

•Exploring relevant literature

Research findings

Four key categories emerged:

1. Understanding a Shift in the Room

2. Setting the Scene

3. Working in the Reflective Space

4. The Happening of the Actual Shift in the Room

‘Understanding a Shift in the Room’

Changing perspective seeing a situation anew appears in two directions: inward and/or

outward focused and cannot be unlearned

Evolves in two stages insight followed by changed behavior

Varying views on frequency, impact and timeframe shifts happen (in)frequent, affecting someone’s thinking, being or both shifts develop over different time frames

A shift in the room can evolve in more ways than initially thought, providing more potential for practical impact

‘Setting the Scene’

Create an optimal learning vesselestablishing trust by affective attunement increases brain plasticity

Increase clients readiness working on a clients real need increases engagement and perseverance keeping clients responsible and bringing them in positive mood provides opportunity for neuronal restructuring

Be fully present as a coach

‘Working in the Reflective Space’

Creating resonance ‘attuning’ to the client (sensing, intuition, empathy) providing questions/ interventions that are more relevant for the client recognizing the moment for profound learning

Triggering the insight invite clients to observe (outward or inward) acting upon own sense & intuition directs reflection, potentially leading to the insight

The creation of an insight

Reflection is searching for connections. When new neuronal connections are made between the existing knowledge and the presented knowledge a new way of thinking or seeing (insight) is created (Zull 2002).

‘The Happening of the Actual Shift in the Room’

The Arrow Striking Clients go quiet – hold the silence!Silence my last as few seconds but also hours or years…Illumination – the creation of new neuronal super-map (insight)Energy release – positive emotions and empowerment

Achieve sustained Behavioral Change Creating and ingraining new behavioral pathways in the brain:

Exploring the insight & connect to what was contracted Setting SMART action points

Actual practice of new behavior

The Evolving Transformational Shift model (ETS)

Implications

• To enable learning in the first place, the client’s brain plasticity needs to be increased. Being able to create a trusting and caring environment is vital.

• Skillful use of sensing, intuition and empathy increases the likelihood of creating transformational shifts:• However, tacitly learned and practiced• Where can coaches learn to master these skills? Should coaching

courses accommodate more of this type of learning?

• Directiveness of the coach seems to be an effective intervention to trigger a transformational insight:• Has the time come to re-evaluate the traditional coaching conditions?

Implications

• To allow for breakthrough moments silence is required. Coaches to become aware of and skilled in using silence as a deliberate intervention.

• Dedicate sufficient time during coaching sessions for actual practice and rehearsal to strengthen the new neuronal map to support sustained behavioral change.

• An evolving transformational shift is no myth nor magic. Using the ETS-model helps coaches to achieve profound insights in a short period of time

Limitations and areas for further research

• Further development of the model by for example action research

• Research on what might influence the variables of the ETS-model, like for example does more directiveness have clients come to insights faster?

• Would using different language than ‘a shift in the room’ lead to other data?

Joyce Moonsjoycemoons@hotmail.com

07880-610109