What is Coaching - Why Retain a Coach · Fred Kofman and Peter Senge (1993) pointed out how...
9
Page 1 of 9 What is Coaching? Why Retain a Leadership Coach? By Anthony V. Zampella Coaching emerged in response to our inability to cope with increasing change and complexity in the social, cultural, technological, and professional domains. 1 These changing demands impacted life, performance, and leadership. The field of coaching is unique, as it moves beyond the rational, embodies dynamic learning, engages generative language, and adopts a future orientation. Please note some terms on the last page of this document. The field and profession of coaching has evolved over the last two decades—as both a methodology and a product—to fill the increasing information-action gap that has resulted from the emerging information age. This gap has widened as the information paradigm, its processes, and its systems have become more pervasive in establishing our patterns of thought, and interpretations, perceptions, and action. Shift to Being In the face of our information age, the coaching profession emerged to bridge the communications- performance gap between conventional transactional communications and generative communications. The difference between these two mindsets requires a shift from knowing or transacting reality to an awareness of being—or ground of being—from which we access and experience new views of reality. Business philosopher Peter Koestenbaum observes the importance of this shift (Labarre, 2000): “… when you’re stuck, you’re not likely to make progress by using competence as your tool. Instead, progress requires commitment to two things. First, you need to dedicate yourself to understanding yourself better—in the philosophical sense of understanding what it means to exist as a human being in the world. Second, you need to change your habits of thought: how you think, what you value, how you work, how you connect with people, how you learn, what you expect from life, and how you manage frustration. Changing those habits means changing your way of being intelligent.” Changing “your way of being intelligent” requires expanding capacity to increase awareness as distinct from improving skills to achieve more, or acquiring knowledge to know more: o Transactional communications view language as descriptive; that is, intended to gather and transmit information to describe (map) reality from past frames of reference. The goal is to determine an accurate perception, based on analyzing evidence to better manage action and predict events. o Generative A communications view language as action; that is, listening and speaking create perceptions through revealing or shaping the very context in which we listen and speak. The goal is 1 Brock, 2014, pp. 14–20
Transcript of What is Coaching - Why Retain a Coach · Fred Kofman and Peter Senge (1993) pointed out how...
Page1of9
WhatisCoaching?WhyRetainaLeadershipCoach?ByAnthonyV.Zampella
Coachingemergedinresponsetoourinabilitytocopewithincreasingchangeandcomplexityinthesocial,cultural,technological,andprofessionaldomains.1Thesechangingdemandsimpactedlife,performance,andleadership.Thefieldofcoachingisunique,asitmovesbeyondtherational,embodiesdynamiclearning,engagesgenerativelanguage,andadoptsafutureorientation.Pleasenotesometermsonthelastpageofthisdocument.
Thefieldandprofessionofcoachinghasevolvedoverthelasttwodecades—asbothamethodologyandaproduct—tofilltheincreasinginformation-actiongapthathasresultedfromtheemerginginformationage.Thisgaphaswidenedastheinformationparadigm,itsprocesses,anditssystemshavebecomemorepervasiveinestablishingourpatternsofthought,andinterpretations,perceptions,andaction.
ShifttoBeing
Inthefaceofourinformationage,thecoachingprofessionemergedtobridgethecommunications-performancegapbetweenconventionaltransactionalcommunicationsandgenerativecommunications.Thedifferencebetweenthesetwomindsetsrequiresashiftfromknowingortransactingrealitytoanawarenessofbeing—orgroundofbeing—fromwhichweaccessandexperiencenewviewsofreality.BusinessphilosopherPeterKoestenbaumobservestheimportanceofthisshift(Labarre,2000):
“…whenyou’restuck,you’renotlikelytomakeprogressbyusingcompetenceasyourtool.Instead,progressrequirescommitmenttotwothings.First,youneedtodedicateyourselftounderstandingyourselfbetter—inthephilosophicalsenseofunderstandingwhatitmeanstoexistasahumanbeingintheworld.Second,youneedtochangeyourhabitsofthought:howyouthink,whatyouvalue,howyouwork,howyouconnectwithpeople,howyoulearn,whatyouexpectfromlife,andhowyoumanagefrustration.Changingthosehabitsmeanschangingyourwayofbeingintelligent.”
Changing“yourwayofbeingintelligent”requiresexpandingcapacitytoincreaseawarenessasdistinctfromimprovingskillstoachievemore,oracquiringknowledgetoknowmore:
o Transactionalcommunicationsviewlanguageasdescriptive;thatis,intendedtogatherandtransmitinformationtodescribe(map)realityfrompastframesofreference.Thegoalistodetermineanaccurateperception,basedonanalyzingevidencetobettermanageactionandpredictevents.
o GenerativeAcommunicationsviewlanguageasaction;thatis,listeningandspeakingcreateperceptionsthroughrevealingorshapingtheverycontextinwhichwelistenandspeak.Thegoalis
1 Brock, 2014, pp. 14–20
Page2of9
tocreatefuturesthroughtappingourcreativityinourlisteningandspeaking,basedontheauthorityofthespeakertogenerateactionandaltercontext.
Inthelatterinstance,onerealizesthereisnosingleorobjectiveinterpretation,soonebecomesresponsiblefordevelopingthecapacitytolearn,unlearn,experiment,andreframethemoment—toachieveanewlevelofunderstanding.
Thefollowingfour“relationships”highlightindicatorstoacoachingmindsetandapproach:
1)RationalMindsetorrelationshiptothought,potential,andawareness;
2)LearningFocusorrelationshiptogrowthandlearning;
3)GenerativeLanguage,orrelationshiptolanguageandaction;and
4)FutureOrientationorrelationshiptopastandfuture.
1. BeyondaRationalMindsetBythemid-90s,thepaceofchangehadevolvedfromincrementalandsequentialtononlinearwithincreasingcomplexity.TheacronymVUCA(Volatile,Uncertain,Complex,andAmbiguous)highlightstheshiftfromevidence-basedknowinginstabletimestoaction-basedlearninginunstabletimes,whichhascreatedgapsinperformance.InthebookTrickyCoaching:DifficultCasesinLeadershipCoaching,theauthorshighlightalessonfromhumanhistory(Korotov,Florent-Treacy,KetsdeVries,&Bernhardt,2012):
Althoughformillenniahumanshavesoughtadviceabouttheirlivesfromindividualsindefinedsocietalroles(shamans,counselors,religiousfigures,sages),andmorerecentlyfrommedicalandparamedicalprofessionalssuchaspsychiatrists,psychoanalysts,andpsychotherapists,theworldisnowmovingatsucharapidpace—whenwecangetallwewant(orthinkwewant)atthetouchofamouse—thatpeoplenolongerrecognizethesimpleneedtostopandthink,letalonetakethetimetoseekadvice.Theincreaseddemandfor[leadership]coaching,howeverundoubtedlyreflectsabasichumandesireforcommunicationandreflection...(p.13)
Unlikeotherhumaninterventions,suchaspsychology,psychiatry,psychotherapy,orevenconsulting,thefieldofcoachingexpandshumanpotentialbeyondthelimitsofrationalthought.Coachesappreciatetherationalprocess—thatwhichisempirical,measurable,orobservable—whenprovidingassessments,clarifyingresults,andestablishingfacts.Gettinggroundedinfactsisnecessaryasabeginning,butinsufficientasanaim.
Coachingappreciatesthefullnessofthehumancondition:thepotential,therational,andthecreative.
Groundedinproblem-solving,thescientificmodelofferspowerful,evidence-basedsolutions,yetcanforecloseotherpossibilitiesthatrequireimagination,insight,ortimelesswisdomaboutthewholeofbeinghuman.Intheirclassicessay,“CommunitiesofCommitment:HeartofaLearningOrganization,”FredKofmanandPeterSenge(1993)pointedouthow“problemsolvingisfundamentallydifferentfromcreating.Theproblemsolvertriestomakesomethinggoaway.Acreatortriestobringsomethingnewintobeing”(p.10).
Page3of9
Coachesalsodelightinmovingbeyondtherationalorempiricalmind.Theyengagetheimaginativerealmtodesignnewcontexts,andcanengagethephilosophicalrealmtoofferrigorousinquiriesandintentionalpractices.
Acoachiswillingtoplayandexperimentwithnewexperiencesinordertoobservewhat’spossible.Thismayoccurintheformofarequest,anidea,theaskingofboldquestions,orthetestingofintuitiontoviewgreaterpossibilities.
o Criticalpoint:Acoachembracestheunknown,anddoesn’tdismisssomethingsimplybecauseitisnotseenorunderstood.Indeed,muchofourgreatestinformationabouthumanphenomenacomesrightfromourclientsandtheirexperiences,regardlessofthelanguage(terminologyornomenclature)usedtodescribeit.Acoachwilllearnfromtheclienthowbesttocoachthem.
Acoachwillworkwithyoutodevelopyourcapacitytotapintoyourimagination.Thepracticaleffectofthisistoinspirethelearnertoreachbeyondwhatisknown,toacceptadynamicviewofnature/realityandtoleverageuncertaintyasagreatsourceofnewandinnovativeapproachestolearning,relating,andacting.
o Criticalpoint:Thehumanconditionisdynamicandplayful—weareabletoactoutofwonderandcuriositytoengagetheimagination.Coachesarewillingtoengagethisprocessandactuallylearnfromaction,ratherthanlearningtoact.Thistranscendslinear,rationalprocesses,whichplaceapremiumonunderstandingthepartsbeforetakingaction.
2. LearningFocusCoachingoperateswithinaparadigmoflearningandco-creating,ratherthandiagnosingandproblemsolving.Coachesdistinguishbetweenaninquirythatengagesbetterquestions,andproblemsthatdiagnosebetteranswers.Theyencourageself-discoverytodistinguishandexperiencewhat’smissing,ratherthanwhat’swrong,inanysituation.Thisrelationshiptolearningtranscendsandincludesthestandardaccumulationofknowledgeandfacts.
o Criticalpoint:Acoachneednotpossesscomplextheories,research,orstudiesoneveryaspectofyourcurrentproblemorchallenge;theyobservethehumanconditionbylisteningandquestioning,andsupportandchallengerealitytodistinguishactionpreviouslyunseen.
Asafield,coachingventuresbeyondanormativeBorproblem-solvingfocusandisgroundedinphilosophicalinsightandexperience.Coachingappreciatesthefullnessofthehumancondition:thepotential,therational,andthecreative.Distinctfromotherhumaninterventions,suchasconsulting,counseling,therapy,ormentoring,coachingleveragesthedifferentdomainsofscience,art,andphilosophyasfollows:2
• Third-personorempiricallearningfocusesattentiononwhatwelearn,onacquiringinformationfroman“objective”orempiricallybasedperspectivetoexpandknowledge.Weaccessitthroughthescientificmethod.Thisthird-personfocuscultivatesthescienceofcoaching.
2Havingoutlinedtheseemergingchallenges,VickiBrock,PhD,authoroftheSourcebookofCoachingHistory,hasproposedtwobranchestocoaching,philosophyandsocialscience(Brock,2014,p.8).MuchofwhatBrockplacesinthesocialsciencesIfurtherdistinguishbetweenscienceandart.Artisdistinct,asitisperformativeandexperiential,whilescienceisempiricalinnature.I’veoutlinedthisin“CoachingLearningGrid”onpage3ofthisdocument.
Page4of9
• Second-personlearningorexperientiallearningfocusesattentiononhowwelearntoexperienceconnectionandapplyknowledge.Weaccessthisthroughmasteryoftechniqueandpractice.Thisthird-personfocuscultivatestheartofcoaching.
• First-personlearningorexistentiallearningfocusesourintentiononwhywelearn,andchallengeswhoweareaslearnerstoexpandawareness.Weaccessthisthroughphilosophicinsightandwisdom.Thisfirst-personfocuscultivatesthephilosophyofcoaching.
Coacheslistenandobserve,usingeachoftheseapproachestocultivatetherational(empirical),imaginative(artistic),andinsightful(philosophical)mind.Throughobservationandconversation,coachesco-createacrucibleforchange,Crelevantlearningtotryoutwhenyouarestuckorunabletoact.Coachesdonotviewbeingstuckasaproblemtofix,oran“issue”todiagnose;rather,theyseeitasa“hiddenalterative”todiscover,oftenfromanewperspective.Acoachdoesn’thelpyouunderstandordescribeyourbarrier;theywillpointtoaction,helpyoureframeasituation,generateanewcontext,orco-createnewperceptions.
o Criticalpoint:Tomakeameaningfuldifferenceinyourlifedoesn’trequireunderstandingyour“problems”better;itrequiresthecapacity,throughobservingandlistening,tocreateacontextinwhichyourcurrentproblemcannolongergrip(ortrap)youinthesameway.Itrequiresanimaginativeandinsightfulapproachtohumanpotentialgroundedintheempiricalevidenceofanysituation.
Optimally,coaching,asamethodologyandprofession,isatitsbestwhenitmovesbeyondrationalorempiricalideasthatemphasizemeasuringevidence,knowingfacts,oracquiringskills,toexpandmindsetsandcultivatethepotentialtothinkandactdifferently,allowingforcoachandclienttoco-createtogether.
Page5of9
3. LanguageasGenerativeWhatmaymostdistinguishthefieldofcoachingfromotherhumaninterventionisitsrelationshiptolanguageasgenerative.Generativelanguagehonorsitsgenerativepropertiestocultivatethecapacityforactionthroughincreasedperformance,enhancedrelationships,andexpandedtrust.Inthismindset,languageisaction,andcoachesaretrainedtodistinguishthepropertiesofactioninherentinlanguagetoshiftattitudes,ratherthananalyzeevidenceordevelopnewskills.
Theprofoundnatureofwhat’spossiblewhenwesituateourselvesascreatorsinlanguagealtershowweactandlearnandenhancesourabilitytoserveothers.Allspeakingandlisteninginthisdomainisgroundedinyour“word”—tomeananddowhatyousay,orwalkthetalk—asthesourceofaction,andisintentional.Itcannotbespokenbythosewithaweakrelationshiptotheirword.Here,eventheresponsiblechoicetonotactisaconsciouschoicethatforwardsaction.Indeed,inthismindset,theabilitytothink,reflect,andobserveatadeeperlevelalignschoices,focusesattentionandintentions,andisthesourceofaction.
Theprofoundnatureofwhat’spossiblewhenwesituateourselvesascreatorsinlanguagealters
howweactandlearnandenhancesourabilitytoserveothers.
Coachesobservehowwerelatetosituationsthroughhowweinterpretaction.Whichsituationsthreatenusandleaveuspowerless?Whichsituationsrenderusfreeorempoweredtoact?AcoachwillrevealandcreatecriticaldistinctionsD(newordifferentlenses)inlanguage,whichrevealitsgenerativeproperties,causingnewactionfromadistinctsetofchoices.
o Criticalpoint:Coachingwillhelpyoudistinguishhowlanguageshapesaction.Acoachwillrecognizeconflatedmeaningsandperceptions,anddistinguishbetweenthemtocreatenewpathwaystoaction.Thesepathwaysresultfromadifferentrelationship:notnewskillsorcontent,butanewcontext.
Tooperatefromagenerativemindsetrequirestraininginthehumancondition,toperceiverealitythroughaconversationaldomain.EFromaconversationaldomain,coacheshonorlanguageandconversation,asbothcontentandcontext,toformandinformourreality.Inessence,coachesco-createthehumanexperienceinlanguage.
Toco-createtheseconversations,muchofcoachingoperatesinafirst-personphenomenologicalForas-livedexamination.AspartofanontologicalGinquiry,itshapesthewayweobserve,interpret,andlistentothatofaculturalanthropologist.Whoweareshapestheobserverweare,whichshapeshowconversationsunfold.Coachesdifferentiateourgroundofbeingthroughdistinctionsinlanguageforperspective-building,toexpandpossibilityandpathwaystoaction.Ifafterworkingwithacoachyouarenotinaction,youdidnotexperienceacoachingsession.
o CriticalPoint:Acoachlistensandasksimportantquestionstodistinguishthoughtsandmeaning,toopenustonewdistinctionsthatopennewperceptions,empowergreaterchoices,andempoweractionsthatfindusoperatingfromanewlevelofawareness.Noneofthatispossiblewithoutgenerativelanguage.
Page6of9
4. FutureOrientationThisfourthrelationship,tofutureorientation,istheultimatecontextforcoachingandourfirstconsideration.Recallthatcoachingdevelopedtofillthegrowinggapresultingfromthefuturecomingatusatgreaterspeeds.Thefutureiswherecoachingandleadersintersect.Eachdealswithcultivatingnewfuturesorparadigms,oralteringcurrentperceptionsorcontextsthatcanimpactthefuture.
Thepossibilityofchangeresultsfromadifferentviewofthefuturethatallowsforalteringcontextinthepresent.Copingwithchange—nonlinear,volatile,anddisruptive—anditsfalloutistheprovinceofleadershipandthepreconditionforcoaching.Coachingasaprofessionlacksanypurchaseduringstableandpredictabletimes.
Thus,ourrelationshipwiththefutureiskeytocoaching,especiallythecoachinganddevelopingofleaders.Creatingfuturesoralteringcontexts,unconstrainedbythepast,requiresanopennesstoconfrontingitemsfromourpastthatcanholdusback.Indeed,ourpastonlyemergesinthefaceofanewcontextorcompellingfuture.Compellingfuturesanddifferingviewpointsorcontextsprovokeourpastframesofreference,looseningtheirgriponus.
Toco-createthefuture,coachesrelyonthepreviousthreerelationships:toventurebeyondrationalviews,toembodylearning,andtoemploygenerativelanguage.Unlikeotherhumaninterventions,whichfocusonthepast,coaching’sfutureorientationrevealspiecesofourpastthatconstrainus.
o Criticalpoint:Throughobservationandlistening,acoachcandistinguishthefuturesufficientlytoofferdistinctionsinlanguagethatrevealnewpossibilitiesandaction,alongwithlearningandpracticesthatsustainanewdirection.
Thepossibilityofanunconstrainedfuturedevelopsfrompractice;specifically,theopennesstoseepossibilityinanysituation.Thisshiftinone’sgroundofbeingexpandsopennessthroughdeliveringcontemplativepractices.Byexpandingopenness,coachescultivateperceptionsthatleadtoslowingdown,pausing,becomingmindful,andchoosingintentionally.
Acoachemployssuchpracticestointerruptourlimitingpatternsandframesofreferencediscoveredinthepresenceofacompellingfuture.Withinalearningmindset,coachesacknowledgethepastasasourceoflearning,notastheframeofreferencefromwhichtoextrapolatethefuture.What’spossibleforeachclientrequiresanewcontextbeyondrationalpredictionsfromourpast.
Acoachoperatesfromaclient’sfutureandonlydistinguishesthepasttoloosenanyconstraintstoactiontoengagethecurrentsituation.Whenthisisaccomplished,webecomepresenttoanopenness—afuturenotextrapolatedfromourpastbutfreelychosenfromafuturepossibility.
o Criticalpoint:Thepastisneitheraconstrainton—norpredictorof—yourfuture,butcanprovideanopeningtonewlearning.What’spossibleinanunconstrainedfuture,resultsfromouropenness,theclarityofourintentions,andthestrengthofourwordtocompleteourpast.
Gettingbeyondthepastrequirespracticestogetinactionandtoholdthemoment.Thisisparticularlyimportantforleadershipcoaching,wherebeingpresentisfundamentaltocopingwithandcreatingchange.
Page7of9
Leadersarecalledtogenerateacredibleandaccurateinterpretationofthepresent,andtointentionallychooseapossibilityfromadifferentfuture.Noneofthatispossiblewithoutopennesstoafutureorientation.
WhatisLeadershipCoaching?Recallthatcoachingasafieldemergedinresponsetoour(in)abilitytocopewithincreasingchange(VUCA3)andcomplexityinthesocial,cultural,technological,andprofessionaldomains(Brock,2014,pp.14–20);thesechangingdemandsimpactourperformanceandleadership.Interventionsaremadeatthelevelofperformance,andmoreoftenforleadershipdevelopment.
Giventhemanyapplicationsofthecoachingmethodology,leadershipcoachingisdesignedspecificallytodevelopindividualstorelateandactwithgreaterinsightandeffectiveness,withaspecificfocusoncopingwithchangeinanunpredictablefuture.
o Criticalpoint:LeadershipdevelopmentfocusesonexpandingmindsetsHratherthantrainingforskillsorcompetencies.4Itisuniqueamongtypesofcoaching.Itrequiresfacilitywiththefourrelationshipspreviouslydiscussed,tocreatefuture,altercontext,andcopewithchange,andtopossessakeenself-awarenesstobetterunderstandhowindividualsandgroupsinteract(Korotovetal.,2014).
Fromalearningmindset,resultsareonlypartofourviewforinformingorclarifyingintentionstoaltercontexts.Primarily,leadersareinterestedincreatingandsustainingcontextsforchange:toincreaseawarenessandachievenewlevelsofperformanceandexcellenceinthefaceofincreasingcomplexityandvolatilechange.
Leadersreframeperceptions,generatecommitment,andengageactionfromnewpossibilities.Coachesdevelopleadersas-livedthroughdistinctionsinlanguagefromwhichtheycanobserve,generateaction,andsustainpracticestocreatepossibilitiesthatimpactthefuture.
o Criticalpoint:Youknowcoachingworkswhenyouareabletoact,practice,andproducedifferentresults—eventhoughyoumaynotacquireagreaterunderstandingofyourproblem.Acoachwillhelpyoutoproducedifferentresultsthroughsustainablepractices,notagreaterunderstandingofwhat’swrong.
Forleaders,coachingsupportstheirexpandingleadershipcapacity–toidentifyanddevelopemergingmindsets–byhelpingthembecomeopentochange,copewithandadapttochange,andevolvewithchangeinwaysthatdevelopothersforthenextparadigm.
3TheacronymVUCA(Volatile,Uncertain,Complex,andAmbiguous)highlightstheshiftfromevidence-basedknowinginstabletimestoaction-basedlearninginunstabletimes,whichhascreatedgapsinperformance.4Anexaminationthatinvolvesidentifying,expandingandcultivatingmindsetsdeservesmoreattentionthatispossibleinthisspace.Thedistinction,however,asoutlinedinthe“terms”sectionattheendofthisdocument,iskeyforleadershipcoachinganddevelopment.
Page8of9
BibliographyBono,JoyceE.;Purvanova,RadostinaK.;Towler,AnnetteJ.;&Peterson,DavidB.(2009).ASurveyofExecutive
CoachingPractices.PersonnelPsychology,62(2),361–404.
Brock,VikkiG.(2014).SourcebookofCoachingHistory(2nded.).LosAngeles:CreateSpaceIndependentPublishingPlatform.
Coutu,DianeandKauffman,Carol(2009).Whatcancoachesdoforyou?HarvardBusinessReview,87(1),91–97.
Koestenbaum,PeterandPeterBlock.2003.FreedomandAccountabilityatWork:ApplyingPhilosophicInsighttotheRealWorld.Jossey-BassPfeiffer,pp21-28
Kofman,Fred&Senge,Peter(1993).Communitiesofcommitment:Theheartoflearningorganizations.OrganizationalDynamics,22(2),5–23.
Korotov,Konstantin;Florent-Treacy,Elizabeth;KetsdeVries,ManfredF.R.;Bernhardt,Andreas(Eds.)(2012).TrickyCoaching:DifficultCasesinLeadershipCoaching.Basingstoke,UK:INSEADBusinessPress.
Labarre,Polly(2000)DoYouHavetheWilltoLead?FastCompany.https://www.fastcompany.com/38853/do-you-have-will-lead
About the author: Anthony V. Zampella is an educator, activist, leadership coach, writer, and researcher in the field of adult learning and leadership development. His work presents an eclectic fusion of Western business models, generative learning methods, language-action theory, and contemplative practices from Eastern wisdom traditions. As an Integral theorist, Tony integrates Western knowledge and Eastern wisdom and practices to examine the connections between language, listening, and learning in cultivating leadership cultures. He can be reached at www.zampellagroup.com
Page9of9
TERMS AGenerativeasitpertainstocommunicationinvolvesarelationshiptolanguagethatcreatesaction.Itcreatesratherthandescribessituations,conditions,andcontexts.Employingitcultivatescapacityforactionthroughincreasedperformance,enhancedrelationships,andexpandedtrust.BNormativeappliestoastandardornormofevaluation.Forhumanbehavior,itimpliesanidealmodeltowhichallobservationscorrelate.Theaimistoachievethatideal,anddeviationsfromthatnormareobservedindegreesofabnormality.CAcrucibleforchangestemsfromasharedunderstandingbetweenthecoachandclientthatreflectsacommitmenttolearning,andthewillingnesstomanagethenecessarycommunicationstocopewiththechanges,andthefalloutofchange,thatcanresultfromgrowthanddevelopment.DAdistinctionisalinguisticabstractionthatdistinguishesthoughtandmeaning.Itopensupnewperceptionsandpossibilitiesforaction.Morethanaterm,concept,orvocabulary,suchdistinctionscreatenewperceptions,akintoanewlensinlanguagethatalterstheobserverweare.Adefinitionexplainsthemeaningofaword,providingknowledge.Adistinctiondistinguishesawordfromanybackgroundassumptions,toopenadifferentview.E Aconversationaldomainisalensthroughwhichtoviewreality,inthiscaseasconversations.Facts,actions,feelings,experiences,friends,systems,identities,andproductsallinterlinkasaninterwovenwebofconversations.Weconsumeoremployinterpretationstoconnectandsustainconversationstoexperiencereality.Throughaconversationaldomain,everythingsayssomethingaboutourlives:thecarIdrive,booksIread,coffeeIdrink,myfriends,familyandjob,whatIeat,howItipservers...everything.Eachissourcedin,oraresultof,ourspeakingandlistening.FPhenomenologyexaminesthemeaningfulnessofanentity(being)asitappearsthroughrigorousinterpretationfroman“as-lived”experience.Fromthisfirst-personexperience,weengageanas-livedexaminationintohowweperceivetheworld,others,andourselves.Aphenomenologicalexaminationaccompaniesanontologicalinquiry.Theontologyismoreakintothemodelandphenomenologythemethodology.Forexample,epistemologyisamodelforknowing,withthescientificmethodologydisclosingthatwhichweknow(seealsoOntology).GOntologyisthestudyofthatwhichis,asitis(asopposedtothematterofmaterialism,oridealisminplatonicterms).Ontologicalinquiryexploresthenatureandfunctionofwhatis(being)—theaprioriconditionsofbeing,orthemeaningofbeing.Toproperlyexaminethisquestionrequiresrigorousinterpretation,tointerpretanddiscloseittoitself(seealsoPhenomenology).HMindsetisusedheretodefineattitude,notaptitude.Mindsetsrevealthelensorawarenessweemploytoviewtheworld.Itincludesourviews,attitudes,assumptions,beliefs,andourcapacity–inthiscaseourcapacitytolead,adapt,andcopewithchange.Mindsetsaredifferentfromskillsetsandcompetencies,whichfocusonaptitudeorourproficiencytousetoolsortechniquesefficientlyandeffectively.
