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Volume 3, Number 4
05-21-00

COACH TIM'S CORNER : I COACH — YOU WIN!

I have received many inquiries of late regarding the nature of my coaching services. Readers want to know how I can coach such a diversity of clients with an equally broad range of goals, and do so successfully. They ask, "What is it exactly that you do, that helps so many different kinds of people in so many different situations accomplish so many different things in their lives?" I honestly don't know if I have ever answered that question the same way twice. I do know that at times my response to that question has been somewhat wanton. Depending on my frame of reference I imagine that I have come across as either "slick and polished" or "complex and philosophical." Unfortunately, the former tends to be uninformative and the latter overwhelming.

There are at least three very good reasons for dedicating an edition of Salubrations to answering this question. The first has to do with the role of coach as model. I believe it is particularly important, if only for the purpose of establishing credibility, that professionals be able to clearly articulate what they do and how they do it. (Innovators, early adopters, and creative types take note!) With coaching being the newest (and hottest) form of skilled assistance in the personal growth and professional development arenas, coaches are challenged to demonstrate their credibility and earn their place among the established ranks of consultants, counselors, advisors, and therapists. The second and more compelling reason (as well as the one directly aligned with the purpose of Salubrations) is that in answering this question I will provide a roadmap to guide readers on their unassisted journeys to success. Finally, the most immediate reason is simply that my readers have asked me to do so. It's my hope that the following explanation will satisfy all three of these objectives.

There are two main elements I consider in approaching a client's stated goal: the nature of the goal and the person who is trying to achieve it. The former is informed primarily by education and experience, and fortunately I have a reserve of both. There is also a benefit to having had great diversity in my education, work experience, and avocational pursuits that may not be as readily apparent: I've made mistakes, and plenty of 'em - and I have gained great wisdom from them. I've taken large risks in travelling the roads less traveled, taking on my champions as well as my demons along the way. And what life is not teaching me through direct experience, I am having the great blessing of learning from the people who have invited me, in one role or another, to walk along their journeys with them. The culmination of these experiences has provided me with a vocabulary, a framework, a menu of strategies, and access to resources for addressing most any personal or professional goal, and the ability to help clients tune the strategies they choose to the specifics of their situation or circumstances. For any client whose ambitions or circumstances are outside of my sphere, I can usually identify someone who will be better suited to meet their needs. Understanding the goal is usually the easy part.

The rationale behind my approach to the latter element -- that is, addressing the person who is trying to achieve the goal -- is a little more difficult to describe in a brief paragraph. I will employ the analogy of a using a computer to help: There are all kinds of software programs or applications, each designed to do a specific set of tasks -- some for word processing, some for financial accounting, some for graphics, etc. These are the programs you open up on your computer. You see them on the screen and you work within them to accomplish a given task. Each of these programs or applications is akin to a specific goal a client is working on. If you are using the best available application (read: "strategy") to accomplish the task (read: "goal") and you have selected the appropriate options within the application to optimize it to the specifics of your task (read: "tuned the strategy to your unique situation and circumstances"), then you can predict a successful outcome. Because we don't automatically see it on our screen, however, we often forget that the efficiency and effectiveness of every application on our computer is limited by the quality and integrity of what is called the "primary operating system." MS-Dos and Macintosh are examples of primary operating systems. Again, you don't see them when you are working within an application, but the ability of each and every application to function properly is dependent on the functions of the primary operating system. Glitches in the primary operating system can effect every application in negative ways.

Following this analogy, we humans have a primary operating system as well. Like the computer, it impacts each and every action we take. Symptoms of glitches in one's primary operating system include repeated set-backs, delays, detours, loss of drive or focus, over-commitment, fleeting sense of happiness, etc. As a success coach I help my clients to tune and upgrade their personal primary operating systems so as to optimize efficiency and effectiveness. Not only with respect to pursuing their stated goals, but in the activities of everyday life as well. Because the impact of one's primary operating system is so pervasive, clients who are willing to re-evaluate and upgrade their primary operating system experience unanticipated rewards. Not only do they reach their goals in less time and with much less effort, they also experience greater levels of satisfaction and fulfillment from every aspect of their lives. In short, they become happier people. A great example comes from a former client of mine, a successful industrial architectural designer in Washington, D.C. When we began working together his primary goal involved career transition. We got off to a great start. A few months into our coaching relationship he reported that he had gone home to visit his mother. During Sunday dinner she spontaneously remarked, "You know son, since you began working with that coach of yours you've become a better person." (No need to guess why I'm in this business!) When being interviewed for Frontiers, a West Coast-based magazine, I nailed this concept clearly and succinctly (which you may have surmised is not always my strongest suit!): "I help my clients bring the best of who they are to everything they choose to do." [Reprints of this article are available. Use the contact information at the bottom left-hand copy of this page to request your copy.]

Now it's time to take this abstract notion of a primary operating system and give it a practical application. The developmental approach I am about to describe stems from a concept widely known within the professional coaching community as the "Principle of Attraction." Working from this principle I constructed a model of progressive, interactive focal points for personal development, and divided them into three stages: Foundation, Direction, and Perfection. In previous editions of Salubrations I presented a rationale for building a strong personal foundation and explored several points of focus that might be involved. These points include taking extremely good care of oneself, ceasing to tolerate unnecessary irritations and inconveniences, getting complete with one's past and keeping complete in the present, extending and maintaining strong personal and professional boundaries, and raising one's standards for interacting with others. Collectively, these focal points are the main elements of the first stage in my approach to personal development, Foundation.

Direction is the second stage of development in my success coaching model. Working from a strong personal foundation, the emphasis now shifts to clarifying (and redirecting as needed) the course or path one is following to achieve their goals in life. Potential focal points at this stage of development include articulating a personal mission, a vision for how one's personal mission will impact the world, and the values that capture the true essence of one's being. During this stage individuals also spend considerable time re-examining and clarifying the distinction between what they want in their lives and what they truly need in their lives, then coming up with a plan for prioritizing and addressing both. This is an individualized plan that must be in integrity with who the person is - really is! I emphasize here because personal integrity is at the core of my success coaching model; much like the heart is considered, physiologically as well as poetically, to be the core of human existence. Only when one leads an authentic and genuine life does one understand, on an experiential level, the distinction between happiness and fulfillment.

The third and final stage in this model is the stage of Perfection. Perfection includes such foci as building reserves, buffing one's life, and owning and expressing one's "irresistible attractiveness." This model is really just the superstructure - a simplified version of my approach, but it's useful as a guideline and launch point. Over the next several editions
of Salubrations I will discuss each step of the second and third levels of my model in more detail. (Each step of Foundation has already been presented in previous editions and can be accessed in the Salubrations Archives)

COACH TIM'S TID BITS:
It's was a beautiful, sunny, pre-summer day here in LA as I sat on the outdoor patio of the new Coffee Bean on trendy Sunset Boulevard with my laptop writing this edition. Uncannily something happened that puts an exclamation point, a true case-in-point, on the recent editions of Salubrations on problem solving. As I took a moment to take in the ambient sights and sounds I noticed that something had caught the attention of several people in the crowd. One of LA's finest, an older county police officer in full dress (who had obviously just completed his coffee-and-donut run to the Bean) was struggling unsuccessfully to open the door of his cruiser. He had spent several minutes jiggling and twisting his key, but to no avail - and was obviously unnerved by the growing attention from the crowd on the patio. A tow truck (which very likely would have had a "jimmy" on board to open locked car doors) was hooking up a car parked right behind the officer, but he never asked for assistance (read: "pride, ego, fear of public embarrassment"). Perhaps. In any case, I felt for the officer and thought I might discretely lend my unsolicited assistance (read: "risk"). Fortunately, he had parked his car kitty corner to mine in the lot, allowing me to feign the need to retrieve something from my car and speak to him discreetly. As I approached he looked up, becoming more unsettled by the minute. I simply said, "The last time that happened to me it cost a bundle for a locksmith call and new locks." He replied, "Yep, that's what happens when you use them so much." To which I innocently inquired, "Do you think that key might work in the passenger door?" He froze for a split second in the full awareness of the moment, then walked with an expressionless face to
the other side of his cruiser and, of course, opened the passenger door with ease. After tossing the bag of donuts in, he paused for a split moment before reaching across the seat to unlock the driver's door. Without a word, he imperceptibly nodded the wide brim of his gray hat as he looked me in the eye, and simultaneously flashed me a quick wink. Nothing more needed to be said. That simple acknowledgement confirmed the value of my "intrusion."

This is a vivid example of how easy it is to get locked into a mindset when confronted with a challenging situation, even for experienced problem-solvers. Stepping back from a problem for a moment of creative brainstorming can save untold expense and wasted energy. As a coach I provide this perspective to my clients on a regular basis -- and often when, like the police officer, they are in a situation where they could really use it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Tim Cline is a graduate of Coach University, and has earned the designation of Professional Certified Coach. He supports people in attaining what they really want out of life. From planning through
completion, Tim coaches his clients to take the actions needed to reach their goals, achieve success, and to enjoy a true sense of fulfillment in
their personal and professional lives. Tim coaches individuals and groups around the country via telephone. If you would like to know more about
Coach Tim and his services visit his Web site: www.coachtim.com, or use the contact information below to schedule a free consultation.

Copyright 2000 by T. R. Cline. All rights reserved.