Coaching Tip 15 - What resources do you have available...?
01/06/09 16:07 Filed in: Coaching
Tips
What resources do you have available to you
that you're not currently using?
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes." Marcel Proust
In the very first training I had in coaching, I was introduced to the GROW model by David Hemery, the Olympic athlete and, for those of you old enough to remember, part of the cast of the original Superstars in the '70s.
To introduce the model, he simply got us to pick an issue we had that we wanted to work on - an area of our professional or personal lives where we wanted to improve. He then simply asked the questions in the GROW model in sequence, giving us time to write the answers down for ourselves......
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes." Marcel Proust
In the very first training I had in coaching, I was introduced to the GROW model by David Hemery, the Olympic athlete and, for those of you old enough to remember, part of the cast of the original Superstars in the '70s.
To introduce the model, he simply got us to pick an issue we had that we wanted to work on - an area of our professional or personal lives where we wanted to improve. He then simply asked the questions in the GROW model in sequence, giving us time to write the answers down for ourselves......
That experience had a profound impact in me. One of
the things that struck me was the simplicity of the
questions. They weren't astoundingly clever
questions. It was just that here were some questions
that, without someone prompting me, I wouldn't have
asked myself. There were two particular question in
the model that (from experience) hardly anyone ever
asks themselves...
"What do you have that you're not using?"
"What other resources are available to you?"
Or as I've adapted them to "What resources do you have available to you that you are not currently using?"
'Resources' is a very general word and a good one to use as a catch-all. Most of the time, but not always, the resources in question are people, and the real question is "Is there anyone you could ask for help?"
Most people are not good at asking for help. There are a host of reasons for this. There is strong social programming to 'Be Strong' and most people have this at some level.
Think about it - how often do you ask for help? How comfortable are you asking for help?
Now, think about an area of your professional or personal life you want to improve?
Just for a moment, turn off any need you may have to be strong and ask yourself:
"Are there people that could help me here?"
"What difference could it make to me if they did help me?"
You may feel some resistance to the actual act of asking so I have two further questions to ask of you:
"What will it cost you to ask for help?"
"What's the worst thing that could happen?"
"What resources do you have available to you that you are not currently using?" has got to be one of my favourite coaching questions. Why? Not only does it often help people move on; more importantly, it seems to open people up to the possibilities of asking for help. They can turn off their unconscious need to appear strong and independent. They can engage others to help them and that is a wonderful source of happiness - people helping each other.
Take care and as always, please forward to anyone you think would find this tip useful - Gregor
P.S. If you are interested in learning more about coaching with GROW I recommend Coaching For Performance by John Whitmore
"What do you have that you're not using?"
"What other resources are available to you?"
Or as I've adapted them to "What resources do you have available to you that you are not currently using?"
'Resources' is a very general word and a good one to use as a catch-all. Most of the time, but not always, the resources in question are people, and the real question is "Is there anyone you could ask for help?"
Most people are not good at asking for help. There are a host of reasons for this. There is strong social programming to 'Be Strong' and most people have this at some level.
Think about it - how often do you ask for help? How comfortable are you asking for help?
Now, think about an area of your professional or personal life you want to improve?
Just for a moment, turn off any need you may have to be strong and ask yourself:
"Are there people that could help me here?"
"What difference could it make to me if they did help me?"
You may feel some resistance to the actual act of asking so I have two further questions to ask of you:
"What will it cost you to ask for help?"
"What's the worst thing that could happen?"
"What resources do you have available to you that you are not currently using?" has got to be one of my favourite coaching questions. Why? Not only does it often help people move on; more importantly, it seems to open people up to the possibilities of asking for help. They can turn off their unconscious need to appear strong and independent. They can engage others to help them and that is a wonderful source of happiness - people helping each other.
Take care and as always, please forward to anyone you think would find this tip useful - Gregor
P.S. If you are interested in learning more about coaching with GROW I recommend Coaching For Performance by John Whitmore