From Drama to Vision: Transforming Your Thinking with ICF Coaching
I’m low-key obsessed with my ICF coaching course at NYU and this graphic is one reason why.
The picture above shows David Rock's theory: “...85% of our thinking occurs in the bottom 3 levels = details, problems, and ‘drama.’ However, it’s the top 3 levels, thinking, visioning, and planning where fresh thinking and motivation occurs.”
Our job as coach facilitators is to help get clients' thinking up to those top three levels.
I'm obsessed because I've watched it in action: It works!
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ICF Coaching Elevates Productivity and Planning
We all know it’s easy to get mired/stay mired in the details, the thoughts, and feelings of a past situation -- the who did what to whom; the old hurts; the real or imagined injustices from the past; or even the “coulda, woulda, shouldas.”
In ICF coaching parlance, they call that the drama – terrible word and they need to recast that. However, it is true that those ruminations can keep you stuck in a loop of inaction versus creating and enacting new solutions to challenges and problems.
How do ICF coaches help clients get to the sweet spot of envisioning new outcomes, and enacting a plan?
We ask questions that help the client access the thinking/feeling, visioning, and planning part of this triangle.
ICF Coaching can transform your thinking!
Here’s an example of how that worked this week with a client of mine.
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My new client came to me to work through their time management and challenges. When we talked through strategies that the client had considered but hadn’t yet implemented, they stated: “I could do those but I don’t love them.”
We explored what they might love instead and when they couldn't come up with a clear solution, I asked a vision question: “What would your most productive day look like?”
In other words, I asked the client what would your best future-self be doing? How would they create that most productive day?
The client took a moment to think and then very clearly and concisely laid out their perfect day, with time stamps, buckets of tasks, and how they would feel at the end of their day.
Their demeanor changed from one of “Meh, I don’t love that solution,” to “That to that feels good and I can try that!”
What an unlock!
The next step is for the client to experiment and play with their plan and report back next week.
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If you're feeling stuck, try asking yourself: “What would the best version of XX look like?” Then create 1-3 specific actions steps toward making that a reality.
Want some support around taking the above step? I'm taking on new coaching clients right now.
Email me to learn more.