Hello, I am Roach the Coach and I am your guide through the Coaching Chronicles. There are 4,500 species of us cockroaches so we are well placed, across the globe, and across time, to tell you about coaching…

An 11th century Benedictine monk described the Normans as “a race skilful in flattery, given to the study of eloquence, so that the very boys were orators, a race altogether unbridled unless held firmly down by the yoke of justice”. Which pretty much characterises modern-day coaches.

The French king, Charles the Simple, gave land in the north of France to the 10th century leader Rollo – namesake of the toffee-based chocolate sweet.

Rollo was delighted to have a bit of land and decided to devote his time to developing a race of people who could migrate around the world helping people.

He picked some people he thought would be willing and able to help fulfil his mission. In particular, he relied on a modest woman called Jean, who was wise and beautiful.

Jean had learned the art of coaching from reading many books and speaking with learned coaches and had coached Rollo for many years.

Rollo could see that to have a similar impact, he would have to enlist the help of people who could effect change through conversation as most could not read or write like Jean. He called this group: the Normans.

The name came from Rollo’s vision of change by helping people get back on track and find their way: point true north–man!

If we look at modern-day Normans we can see that the philosophy of nurturing, helping and coaching has been retained in the name:

  • Norman Foster – makes buildings that point north and supported the reunification of Germany through his design of the Reichstag
  • Norman Wisdom – made people’s heads tip north with laughter and also role-modelled kindness and caring
  • Norman Bates – helped people meet God

Rollo and Jean set about developing tools to help the Normans. They created the cumpas – an early coaching approach:

Coaching
Utilises
My
Potential to
Achieve
Success

The Normans used visual aids as many of the people they worked with were poor and uneducated. There were no flipcharts, PowerPoint presentations or iPad apps to help them, so the Normans used the next best thing – tapestry.

The word tapestry comes from the first visual aid the Normans commissioned when they wanted to teach clients a way to remember the power of coaching:

Talking
About
Problems
Eventually
Secures
Total
Resolution for
You

Women created a vast number of these visual aids to support the Normans in their coaching sessions. The tapestries were beautiful works of art and lasted a long time due to the thickness of the cloth they were sewn on.

The Normans built up a vast stock of these tapestries, and soon needed to find a secure place to store these valuable items.

Unfortunately, the person tasked with this job was Kevin the Idiot, a direct descendant of Charles the Simple. At the time, the Normans were based in Normandy and so wanted to keep the tapestries close to them and within easy access.

Sadly, all the tapestries were destroyed as Kevin the Idiot, who was a little hard of hearing, misheard the instructions. His famous last words were, “I thought they said set them on fire not set off to Honfleur!”

The only tapestry to survive was the Bayeux Tapestry, which is a visual aid for succession planning.

The Normans spread their teachings across the world, but of course had a huge impact on the UK. Following a misunderstanding at Hastings, the Normans settled in England and continued to evolve coaching.

The Tower of London was originally called the Tao of London – Tao meaning way, path or route – and was the meeting place of the coaching brethren. It was here that the Normans taught people the way to coach and helped them find direction in life.

The impact the Normans had on coaching was huge – in no small part due to Rollo’s partner Jean. Much of the coaching community are pleased that her part has now been immortalised in Elton John’s re-released song – Goodbye Norman Jean.

Sam Humphrey is an independent coach

Coaching at Work, Volume 7, Issue 1