At your service
It was great to see Coaching at Work opening up conversations about coaching’s role in the global shift towards responsible leadership and a sustainable future (vol 5, issue 4).
I think Myles Downey is right (‘We’re not here to save the banks’, p9), we often forget we are a servant. The question is, to what? To whatever we are being asked or paid to do? Or to our highest principles, our sense of purpose, our responsibility towards our neighbours, communities, the world that sustains us, our grandchildren and the generations that follow – so our work helps to create a more sustainable, happier world?
Myles is right when he says if we don’t like something we can always work somewhere else. Coaching is so often about choices. It’s also about co-creation – sharing what’s important to both sides, and offering choice to clients, including what the conversation can be about. I look forward to seeing how coaches are finding practical (and perhaps courageous) ways of responding.
Neil Scotton, past president, UK ICF
Inner journey
I was glad to read that John Whitmore and Tim Gallwey have joined again to bring the Inner Game to the world (Inside out, vol 5, issue 3).
It was a real treat for me to bring the two of them together for the interview in the article, reminiscing on their journeys.
Their stories about their early influences reminded me of the under-appreciated contribution of humanistic psychology and Rogerian principles to coaching. While coaching has become more diverse in both its foundations and applications, we owe these pioneers of the human spirit our gratitude.
While John and Tim’s work began in another era, I find their insights timeless. Thanks for sharing their story with your audience. I wonder where coaching will be in the next 30 years?
David B Drake, PhD
Center for Narrative Coaching
Sydney, Autralia
Coaching at Work, Volume 5, Issue 5