Paula King
Ireland is beginning the long and arduous task of turning its economy around – and coaching will have a major role to play
One of the worst kept secrets is out: Ireland is in financial crisis. Only a combination of European financial assistance and refocused political strategy energised by a 2011 general election will turn this country around.
It will take time. It will take sustained initiative, courage, skill and consensus across the political, economic and educational landscapes. Most of all, it will take people equipped with the necessary attributes.
The government must ensure there is training and development to equip those central to the massive national effort that will turn the economy around. We are going to have to dig deep to cope with future challenges.
Coaching is going to be a key player for Ireland in this new and seriously challenging environment.
Seven key principles are fundamental to our hopes of a successful recovery:
- Focus on values
When charting our course through this sea of uncertainty we can lose sight of what is really important to us as humans.
As coaches we understand how fundamentally important it is to ensure that key decisions are in line with our core values.
- Revisit belief systems
So many of my clients come to me with a need to create an understanding of this new world. The belief that they have no control over their future, needs to be challenged in the safe space of coaching.
Ensuring that clients are re-energised with an understanding of how they can create positive changes in their lives is one of the gifts the professional coach brings.
- Work with clients
Coaches can assist clients to move with confidence and certainty towards their circle of influence. They can help them sidestep circles of concern which suck their energy and leave them exhausted.
- Focus on strengths
Recovering forgotten talents and capabilities create a springboard to accelerate an action-focused approach to the future.
- Reframe
Coaches can help clients understand the importance of language, deleting the ‘shoulds’ ‘musts ‘and ‘mights’, and using words like ‘will’ ‘can’ and ‘am’. These are words that the subconscious will embrace without question, allowing true change to take place.
- Become more self-aware
We can listen to our clients to genuinely ‘hear’ what they are sharing with us. It helps us understand their view of the world and how, in some instances, they need to gain a better understanding of flawed patterns and paradigms. Thus, they begin the process of crafting a more effective strategy to create their vision for the future and achieve true potential.
- Live in the moment
Bringing to our clients’ attention the fact that the past is our greatest teacher, the future is waiting for us but the present is our greatest gift. I will let Philip Larkin, in his beautiful poem Day, speak for me:
What are days for?
Days are where we live.
They come, they wake us
Time and time over.
They are to be happy in:
Where can we live but days?
Paula King is president of EMCC Ireland and managing director of Executive Coaching Solutions www.ecsl.eu
Coaching at Work, Volume 6, Issue 1