Gestalt Psychotherapy Training Institute Malta (GPTIM)
In cooperation with
Scarborough Psychotherapy Institute (SCPTI)
Term Paper
For
Diploma in “Gestalt in Organizations”:
COACHING
- theory and an example from practice -
Mentor:
Paul Barber
Student:
Ivana Radovanovic Novakovic
April, 2009
INTRO
To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk rejection.
To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love.
Chained by his certitude, he is a slave.
Only a person who takes risks is free.
( Unknown author)
Take risks. Not an easy task. Do something you are not good at. Dare to step out of the
predictability and step into something which is not known to you, which is not defined
and still unorganized, unknown or somewhat known but not known enough to seem safe
and non-threatening. As I said, not an easy task at all. I encountered such a task when I
returned from the third module of training “Gestalt in Organizations” and when the
moment to apply in practice what I learned in training came. Exciting and challenging,
but also making me nervous at the moment when I realized that I do not have suitable
knowledge and experience for such a leap (a step is a mild word). I went to the training as
a student, expecting clearly structured knowledge and skills, and returned with a feeling
which could be as closely described as the spontaneous concept by Vygotsky what is
Gestalt in organizations, my concept of suitable knowledge as a prerequisite to do a
certain activity had to be redefined, or loosened up. Even previous work in organizations
did not present support. Namely, my work experience in organizations, in a large system
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on a position with huge responsibility, lasted for several years, but it was in a period
before and during my studies of psychology, so I was not present there in the role of a
psychologist, so that did not seem supportive enough for the today’s role of a Gestalt
informed Consultant. My engagement in the field of psychology was two years of work
with quantitative research based on a statistical model, with a clearly determined
procedure and strict application of methodology. Therefore, using this professional
support was without results in this case. So, at first sight, it seemed that entering this
organization and presenting myself as a consultant who knows what she is doing and has
something to offer seemed like being unprofessional and flippant. The process of
agreeing that my knowledge in the professional sense, which is consisted of solid theory
and experience, in this case requires change, lasted for a certain period of time and was
significantly shaped and helped by something which I neglected, and that is my work
with clients in private practice. Sticking to Person of student, in the beginning I did not
take in consideration a two-year experience in work Gestalt therapy with individual
clients in private practice. As if the fact that I work under supervision lead to degradation
of things that are an important and irreplaceable experience to me (another confirmation
of rigid defining by outside criteria). The field called out to turn to that side, so my clients
began to appear with subjects which were connected to business and which required my
consultant skills. Such several situations led me to start believing that what I know about
theory, although it is not on the level of the “scientific concept”, is just enough if I have
confidence in the field and what is happening inside it, if I am bold enough to let in and
ask myself whether techniques, methodologies, experiments and conceptions are
necessary for research (academic psychology taught us they are important). Or can we do
research less rigidly, in a less structured, in a less serious manner, but still in a focused
and dedicated manner, like a child who learns about the world by playing and not
knowing anything about laws, paradigms, postulates, methods, but only with the
openness and readiness to let itself into the world. As Winnicott says in his book “Playing
and Reality”: “Psychotherapy is happening on the boundary of two fields of playing, the
patient’s and the therapist’s field. Therapy is about two people who are playing. The
conclusion is: when there is no play the work of a therapist is directed to take the patient
from the state of incapability into the state of ability to do it.” In this case the task is
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mutual, so entering in the professional role for which I did not have enough support and it
presented a challenge of entering the game and existence for me as a therapist and letting
go the structural doing. Until now that was the clearest experience of what I am. I took it
for granted, while learning Gestalt, that I cannot become something by thoroughly
preparing for that and so “ideally ready” I will take the new part, but I become what I am
through existing it or using the words of the German writer Erih Kestner said:” Nothing
good exists, if doing does not precede it.” Instead of knowledge, the risk presented itself
as a good prerequisite for going into something new. And since we evolve from the
position which is in the zone of proximal development, the first client who asked for
consulting, in fact wanted coaching, and with that my toughest prejudice about consulting
jobs was challenged - that coaching can be done only by experts, those with clear
authority and knowledge in the given field, which automatically takes me out of
competition. But I ventured to take the risk and I survived! Further more, what my client
and I did had good results in practice. With that I come into a new field and lived through
change and something new with my client. What happened is that we both started from
similar places and we grew up a little through the coaching sessions, each of us in their
own way. It turned out that coaching does not have to be a vertically hierarchical relation
in which the coach is the authority and teaches the coachee, but together with him creates
the relation which is fertile ground for mutual change and “I-Thou” relationship.
Therefore, in this paper I will talk about coaching. I will first write a short text
about theory regarding this subject and then present a case study and in the end I will turn
to what was done and give possible suggestions for further work.
COACHING
According to Abraham Maslow, the task of every man is to become the best
“being”. “He must become what he must become. He can do it, and only that is possible
and that should be.” Maslow calls this movement self-realization, and puts it on the top
of the pyramid which presents the hierarchy of needs, and he shapes it as a basic concept
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of his personality theory. After being a part of a big business system in California in
1962, Maslow was very interested for applying concepts of his psychology theory in the
field of business relations. What he writes then about the man as an element of the
business world and his abilities for self-actualization also in the business environment,
seems closer to the spirit of the modern age, the 21st century, then the spirit of positivism
of that time. According to him, highly developed individuals assimilate business into
identity, into their being, i.e. work becomes the part of their ego, of their definition of
their own personality: “A musician must create music, a painter must paint, a poet must
write, if they finally want to achieve peace of mind. What man can be, he must be. This
need can be called self-realization. It is related to the man’s need for self-fulfillment, his
tendency to achieve his potential: to become everything he is capable for…” This
understanding implicitly lies in the basis of coaching and makes its humanistic base.
What 21st century, the time of capital and profit-oriented period, added to the
humanitarian, almost idealistic concept, is the goal which exists in effectiveness and
productiveness. Therefore, coaching aims to educate a person or a team for enhanced
interpersonal skills and personal effectiveness with a goal of increasing everyday work
performance.
In fact, coaching is a new profession. As such it starts to develop at the ending of
20th century, although its core (learning, conversation, asking the right questions), dates
from an earlier period, practically from establishing symbolic functions in the human
race. Features of coaching, such as clarifying, supporting, encouraging and planning new
ways of action, are embedded in our everyday interactions and conversations with each
other. On a more formal level, coaching derives many of its principles from psychology,
especially sports and educational psychology. The principles of coaching are therefore
not new. Perhaps what is new is how coaching today has become a synthesis or an
amalgam of these disciplines, drawing also on philosophy and spirituality.
So, coaching is essentially a conversation, a dialogue between a coach and a
coachee, within a productive, results-oriented context. A coach assists, supports and
encourages individuals to find answers and access what they know. Coaching is a way of
learning, yet a coach does not necessarily know how to do things better then the coachee.
Actually, coaching is essentially a highly personalized form of learning. A coach can
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observe patterns, set the stage for new actions and then work with the individual to put
these new, more successful actions into place. Important coaching techniques are
listening, reflecting, asking questions and providing information, through which coachees
become self-correcting (they learn how to correct their behaviour themselves) and selfgenerating (they generate their own questions and answers). A coach engages in a
collaborative alliance with a coachee to establish and clarify purpose and goals and to
develop a plan of action to achieve these goals. So, coaching is more about asking the
right questions than providing answers.
Generally speaking, coaching is change and transformation. According to Oxford
Dictionary, verb “coach” means “tutor, train, give hints to, prime with facts”. Grant
(2000) defines coaching as “a collaborative, solution-focused, results-oriented and
systematic process in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of work performance,
life experience, self-directed learning and personal growth of the coachee”. It is about the
human ability to grow, to alter maladaptive behaviours and to generate new, adaptive,
and successful action. Couch facilitates and supports a coachee in the sometimes difficult
process of change. Coaching is based on belief that the self is not a fixed entity, but is
fluid and always in a state of becoming. Very important field where coaching operates is
the emotional plane. Although the word “emotion” is associated with weakness, every
emotion includes a tendency to action. A coach works with emotions, for it is by
recognizing and understanding coachee’s feelings that different behavioural possibilities
can be realized.
Coaching can be divided into three main areas: business coaching, executive
coaching and life skills coaching.
Business coaching is transformational and aims to develop more competent, effective and
productive individuals. It can be applied in these areas:
 Interpersonal and communication skills – how to get the best out of staff
 Time management
 Balancing work and personal life issues
 Staff development and dealing with conflict
 Identifying gaps and obstacles to efficiency
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 Strategic thinking and business planning
 Increasing productivity
 Increasing market share
 Customer service development
Business coaching can be applied to all types of business, from individual to small,
medium or big-sized business and organizations, public institutions and government
departments.
Executive coaching includes: leadership development, interpersonal and communication
skills, career coaching to enhance personal satisfaction and career opportunities, specific
skills coaching, executive strategic planning as well as problem solving. Kilburg (1996)
defines executive coaching as “a helping relationship between a client who has
managerial authority and responsibility in an organization and a consultant who uses a
wide variety of behavioural techniques and methods to help the client achieve a mutually
identified set of goals to improve his or her performance and, consequently, to improve
the effectiveness of the client’s organization within a formally defined coaching
agreement”. Executive coaching is concerned with designing and facilitating change and
continuous improvement. It involves understanding and capitalizing on an individual’s
strengths, as well as recognizing and overcoming his or her weaknesses. There are
several forms of executive coaching:
 Coaching for skills (focuses on an executive’s current task, such as presentation
and negotiation skills)
 Coaching for performance is focused more broadly on an executive’s
effectiveness in a present job (for example, to enhance staff satisfaction and
productivity)
 Coaching for development is focused on an executive’s new or future career
 Coaching for the executive’s agenda focuses on the executive’s larger work
or/and personal agenda.
Life skills coaching has an impact on business and executive coaching and it is
sometimes difficult to separate these areas. Historically, the concept of life skills
coaching preceded that of business and executive coaching. It developed in the 1960s,
and since than has been continual changed. From about the late 1980s, it became a part of
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everyday vocabulary. It has evolved into an individual relationship between a coach and a
coachee to bring about life transforming experiences. Life skills coaching is about
clarifying values and visions, and setting goals and new actions so that an individual may
lead a more satisfying, successful and fulfilling life. A coach can work with individual to
develop and improve virtually any aspect of that individual’s life. Some specific benefits
of life skills coaching include:
 Clarifying what you want from life – your purpose and vision
 Setting more effective goals
 Having someone “on your side” to support and encourage you on your journey of
change
 Having someone to keep you focused, challenge you, keep you accountable and
confront you when you are falling behind on your commitments
 Having a sounding board for your ideas, plans and strategies
Regardless of the type of coaching involved, the coach and the coachee develop a special
collaborative synergy that moves the individual forward to more easily and quickly
accomplish his or her dreams and ambitions. Usually, most life skills coaching contracts
run over a period of three to six months.
Regardless of the type of coaching, it has five phases:
1. Contract: This phase is about the orientation of the participants and establishing
groundwork for communication. Coaching sessions start with establishing the client’s
desired outcomes, understanding which needs are to be covered and how the coach and
the coaching process can be most valuable. Also, basic ground rules or roles need to be
agreed by both participants.
2. Listen: This is problem-centred phase which includes surfacing and focusing coach’s
and coachee’s awareness and represents phase of identification in which by using active
listening and catalytic interventions, the coach helps the client to develop their
understanding of the situation in which they want to effect a difference. Also, the coach
can help the coachee to hear themselves more fully, through mirroring, reframing and
making new connections in what has been shared.
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3. Explore: This phase appreciates the feelings the current situation has left the person
with. Trough questioning, reflection and generation of new insight and awareness, the
coach and the client together create different options for handling the issue.
4. Action: It’s the strategy-centred phase where the coach and the coachee work together
to implement the strategies they chose earlier, modify these in the light of feedback and
decide the next and future steps the research might take. In this point it is important to do
“a fast-forward rehearsal”, to enact the future first step live in the room.
5. Review: It is the phase of resolution (debriefing), a quality-centred phase where the
coach and the coachee evaluate outcomes, review the actions that have been agreed. The
coach also encourages feedback from the client on what was helpful about the coaching
process, what was difficult and what they would like to be different in future coaching
sessions.
Having in mind that coaching is the kind of relationship where we have a directed
contact of participants, the occurring dynamics also represents the creation of relationship
in the deeper sense than found in behaviour. So, throughout each phase of the above
mentioned, from orientation througt the review phase, three levels of relating run
concurrently:
The contractual (professional) dimension of relationship is constructed from physical and
social information and houses a relationship’s formally stated purpose, its working
alliance, the coach’s skills for which the client seeks the coach out. This level of
relationship includes the social and intellectual agreement the coach works towards, too.
Here the relationship is primarily an “I-It” one, centred on rules and tasks.
The idealized (fantasized) dimension of relationship represents the shadow side of the
contractual relationship where unaware prior learning and idealization are carried into the
present. It’s constructed from emotional and projective material and contains the
influence of transference, counter-transference and resistance, the interplay of mental
defense mechanisms and other subconscious influences. Here the relationship is an “I-I”
one preoccupied with the self.
The authentic (genuine) dimension of relationship in coaching does not occur very often,
having in mind that the roles are often hierarchical in the sense that the coach is someone
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who teaches the coachee what he does not know, but by attending to the authentic
relationship a coach adds a further dimension, one informed by honesty and truth, at least
to the degree that the coachee feels permitted and encouraged to communicate their own
subjective truth. That is accomplished by coach’s facilitative authority and ability to
create a culture of open and honest inquiry and to exert influence come to the fore. This
level of relationship is constructed from a transpersonal sense of experimental values and
shows the coach and coachee who they are at core, the real they stripped of all social
denial, defense and artifice. Here the relationship is an “I-Thou” one respectful of human
condition.
Having in mind that my work with a client in my case study is my first experience
in coaching, and taking into account the feeling of inadequate competence which I
mentioned in the introduction, I entered coaching with the client by being facilitative,
leaning through my experience in Gestalt therapy with individual clients, so in the
beginning I used cathartic, expressive and catalytic, structuring style, so that during my
work I became more authoritative by confrontation and challenging, and than
interpretive and little bit directive. However, I am most comfortable and feel most
supported as a facilitative coach.
CASE STUDY
Dragan N., thirty-two years old, systems engineer, came for a consultation where
I do my private practice. I was recommended by my client, his colleague.
Pre-Contact: In a telephone conversation, when we arranged the term, he says that
there is a problem in doing business and that it is important that till the next week, when
he has an important business event, he achieves results regarding his problem. He
describes the problem as a blocking anxiety and bad performance while giving
presentations, and in a week he has a very important presentation which can be a turning
point in his career. In the conversation I get the impression that he is a direct person who
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clearly sees his limitations and is aware of his problem which he is here for. The speed of
his speech and occasional repetition of things already mentioned is noticeable, and he
does that to explain what is not necessary to me. After the conversation, I am aware of
my excitement over the fact that I will have my first client who comes for consultations
regarding organizations, but I am confident about my readiness for such an encounter.
Orientation: The client arrives at the arranged time. He seems as a relaxed and a
pleasant person, with a wide smile and agile, but fast and nervous movements. This is his
first experience of asking for professional psychological help and he declares that he is
excited and that he is not certain how it will go, nor what it looks like. I tell him that we
will not use psychotherapy, that we will not talk about his private life and problems, but
we will stick to the subject regarding business and that we will elaborate it. This brings
him relief and as a joke he declares that he feels better now when he does not have to
speak about his childhood and his mother, which can be seen in films as a stereotype of
psychotherapy. When I remind him about our conversation over the telephone, the client
repeats in short the reason for his consultations, which is the unsatisfactory way of giving
presentations, pointing out the urgency to take action and do something about it, having
in mind the presentation he has and which is very important to him. Taking into account
the deadline, we arrange to meet two more times, the first meeting in two days, and the
second meeting before his important presentation. So, the whole process of coaching is
put into three meetings in an interval of a week and here I will present the whole cycle,
not separating the individual sessions.
Identification: The presentations of IT solutions are a part of the client’s business
tasks. Although he does the engineer part of the work very well, the presentations are
graded as unsatisfactory by his bosses, and he is aware of that. When I ask him to
describe “unsatisfactory”, the client says that he feels nervous during the whole
presentation and he has blockades and stops because he does not know what to say next,
he cannot focus, he constantly gives long presentations with a lot of slides and cannot say
everything and he steps over the time limit, the presentation seems confusing, and to
other people often unclear, although he prepares every presentation thoroughly. The
additional problem is the pronunciation of “r” because of his speech disorder, and it
complicates the understanding when he speaks fast. The client has experience of
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addressing a wide audience, having in mind that for four years he worked as a college
assistant and gave lectures to students, but that is not of help because the nature of
presenting is different and the presentation goal is selling products, and not theoretical
explanations of the solutions which are known to him and which are a pleasure for him.
Exploration: On the previous session we agreed that the client prepares a sixminute presentation of an IT solution. That is how we begin the second session.
Things that were noticed on the physical/sensory level:

very fast speech without pauses, which made the comprehension difficult
regarding the speech disorder

breathing blocked, shallow, as he runs out of breath

monotonous voice, without emphasizing the things of importance

static position of the body, without movement and gesticulation, nervous hand
movements, using fingers to number facts

avoiding of eye contact, staring at a spot or a wall

the client states out many things, without making the difference between what is
important and what is not, using technical terms, so I lose concentration and it
becomes boring

the client crosses the time limit and at my suggestion he becomes confused and
stops abruptly, without any conclusion or closing

the general impression is lack of energy and passion in presenting
Social/cultural reality: I suggest to my client to say something about the organization he
works for, and about his position. He is employed at the position of an engineer in an
American firm, which works on development, production and sale of IT equipment and
hardware, and is one of the leading firms in the field of networking. He has worked there
for almost two years, and he came there called by his manager who he worked with in the
previous firm. While he speaks about his surprise about the job offer, pointing out that it
is prestigious to work for that firm all over the world, and especially in Serbia, I think of
a child who got his wonderful toy and is happy about it, and could not believe he could
have it, so he cannot approach it, and I share this fantasy with him. When he hears that,
the client stops, and he declares that he still cannot believe that they chose him, especially
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because Network Security is his field of interest, but because of the circumstances in
Serbia he did not have the opportunity to specialize in that direction. My comment that I
see that it is hard for him to believe that he is on the position he deserves, the client
replies that he is aware that he does not fit in such a system, tells about the competition in
the organization which exists to sell products, which he is not good at. That work takes
him out of the isolation of engineer work which he knows well and turns him to
something where he does not fell comfortable and competent.
Emotional/transferential reality: The experience of incompetence and insecurity is what
becomes visible when people look at him and judge him during presentations. I wonder
about the fears he has while giving presentations. He speaks about many fears: that he
will not say everything that is important, that he will make a cardinal mistake, having in
mind that he is learning about Network Security, and his task is to be an expert in that,
that there are older and more experienced engineers at the presentation who will think
that they are losing time by listening to him, that someone in the audience will ask him an
awkward question he does not know the answer to, that he will seem foolish and that he
will embarrass himself. We observed the fears in the context of inadequacy and being not
competent, which follows him from the beginning and makes him insecure about the
position in the firm. I shared with him the feeing of boredom which took a grip on me
while the presentation progressed, we worked on that. Because of information and the
tempo, he is thinking about how to make the presentation interesting and he enters a
viciosus circle. He repeats things because he gets feedback while they are looking at him
blankly.
Projective/imagined reality: The meaning which the client connects to the organization is
the elitism of the organization in the IT world which he has to justify as its member,
which creates pressure that he needs to know everything and to be the best. Therefore, the
fact that he does not know everything and that he is learning is interpreted as
incompetence and projects it to the audience who thinks that he is stupid or judges him
because of the mistakes… Because this is something that requires therapy, we do not
dwell on that, we separate the aspect which is connected to the presentation, and we
redefine the framework in which the client regards himself in the terms of presentation.
That means that he is someone who is a beginner in his expert field and that he is aware
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of the time needed to study and achieve the expert level. Therefore, presenting one field
of IT does not mean that he has to know everything about it and other fields, but to
prepare something he wants to say about the subject, and to give answers if he knows
them but if he does not, there is a possibility to direct the audience to Websites where
they can find additional information. These redefined terms were new for the client and
brought him great relief.
Transpersonal/intuitive reality: We explore the position of the client’s disappearing of
energy which is noticeable through the presentation and at first sight it is connected to the
fears and he has retroflection as a result, and in reality the client becomes disappointed
because he knows that the firm he works for and produces the most advanced network
technology in the world, leaves little space for enthusiasm with dealing with technology,
because it is turned only to profit. It seems that the disappointment came with the fact
that the vision of the client and the vision of the firm are not the same, that they are in
opposition. By talking we come to the enthusiasm of the client because he is the part of
the profession which provides many important aspects without which this world would
not be as we know it today. In a way this insight made relative the organization’s aim for
profit and changed the client’s experience - he feels that he is closer to the firm which
created great IT solutions, that the vision of the firm is close to his own, although profit is
the most noticeable at first sight.
Resolution: We finish the session by summarizing the things we conclude and give
clear instructions and suggestions which he uses in his presentation. In short, these are the
suggestions:

Use only important slides in Power Point presentation and speak slowly in order
to explain all the slides

Set a time limit of the presentation

Breathe

Make pauses in speech

Speak more slowly and emphasize important points

Smile

Move about the room

Look at people in the audience
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
Interact with the audience

Have in mind that people should be inquired with the product and attracted to buy
it, and not bombard them with technical details, he should present the product as
of high quality and not fascinate them with details

To make it clear, give analogies of technical terms with terms from real life

To stick to the structure and avoid detailed explanations and repetition
The client gets a task that he practices at home the presentation he will have next week,
paying attention to the instructions he gets from the coach.
The third session begins with the six-minute presentation. We then work on critical points
from the first presentation. The improvement is remarkable; the speech understandable
because there is enough time for every sentence, there is less detail, the use of analogies
from everyday life (the client clearly explains the complicated network by comparing it
to regular mail transport), there is a good joke while comparing the old and the new
technology. There is the problem with shallow breathing and not making eye contact and
he does not walk through the room. Till the end of the session we practice those details
and it was touching - like the first steps that a child makes, but in time they are getting
better and better.
Post-contact: The client calls me on the phone after the presentation and is excited
about how good he did, and about the progress we made. He speaks about the things
which he was not pleased with, which was breathing and movement, but he is certain that
that did not spoil the overall impression. He is satisfied with the positive feedback he
received from his colleagues and bosses and comments of his business – partners who are
his target group. I share with him the pleasure of what I heard and how the experience of
working with him means to me and the road we crossed during our three sessions.
SUMMARY
I see the experience I gained while doing coaching as something positive,
significant and unexpectedly pleasant. From my pre-conception, according to which
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coaching is a skill which I can practice only when I get older, when the years of career
and experience give me the right to do it, I gained the experience that that is a skill which
can rely on a base that I have and am building now in working with gestalt therapy and
that the principles of research in these fields are compatible and they support each other.
Turning to what I did in three sessions of coaching, I can say that I am pleased,
especially if I have in mind the client’s feedback related to testing in reality of what we
experimented with in coaching. To me, the important points in sessions which affected
my work were the moments of confusion and dilemma if what I am doing was coaching,
consulting or entered the field of psychotherapy. The little experience does not allow me
to give a clear answer to this dilemma, but the information that I felt peace of mind when
I brought it to the session and thought how to continue is important to me. I am speaking
about two moments. One is related to the fantasy about the child and the toy which I
shared with the client, which is really a psychotherapeutic intervention, but it opened the
important subject of client’s non-believing that he deserves to be a part of the
organization, and the difficulties to fit into the competitive climate and the profit-related
option, which, it turned out, determined his ability not to understand that the goal is sale,
and not only being informed about the technical details, and that because of that his
performance is unsatisfactory. The second moment was observing the client’s fears and
my decision to share my feeling with him that I get bored when he speaks about IT
solutions in detail, which was also similar to therapy work, but which, like in the first
case, led to creating mechanisms which led to the difficulties in presentations. The
working on the client’s disappointment related to the fact what is the most important
thing for him in his profession, is that the progress of mankind is seen through the
advances of technology, which is the source of capital. Speaking about it, the client
managed to relate his vision and the vision of the organization and to see that they are
more similar than he previously imagined. This insight into the shadow of idealization
also had impact on noticing the idea to give presentations in pre-sale service, and not as
an engineer who speaks about technical details. What is clear is the coaching led to
results in reality, and that is the experiment of a six-minute presentation, also the list of
suggestions related to the performance of the client, homework and noticeable
improvement in the second six-minute presentation were the most important for that.
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When I summarize everything, I cannot point out anything that I would change or
do differently if I found myself in the similar situation. In fact, I am aware that it is hard
to put a clear boundary between coaching which I encounter for the first time and
psychotherapy where I feel more confident, so I stay near the fears, the feeling of
inadequacy and projections which the client stated out and are good subjects for
therapeutic work, and on the other hand I know that there would not be space in future
coaching sessions for such approach.
At the end I would like to point out the interesting parallel process which was
occurring in the mind of the caochee and coach. It was related to my initial experience of
inadequacy, the difficulty of going into that, the problems of doing something I do not
know so well, not supported by knowledge and experience, and parallel to that, the
client’s experience of inadequacy and insecurity in the new pre-sales role, and not the
technical engineer. We both took the risk with experimenting with something new, and
encountered satisfaction and significant experience. There is insecurity there, and
probably mistakes, but the risk paid off more than the fear of taking risk.
“The greatest mistake in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.”
Elbert Hubbard
References:
1. Hawkins, P. and Smith, N. (2006): Coaching, mentoring and organizational
consultancy: Supervision and development, Open University Press, Berkshire
2. Barber, P. (2006): Becoming a practitioner researcher: a Gestalt approach to holistic
inquiry, Middlesex University Press, London
3. Zeus, P. and Skiffington, S. (2000): The complete guide to Coaching at Work, The
McGraw-Hill companies INC, Australia
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4. Maslow, A.H. (2004): Maslow on Menagement, Asee books, Belgrade
5. Winnicott, D.W. (1980): Playing and Reality, Penguin Books, London
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