Where is Your Focus?

A friend sent me this silly picture by e-mail. When I had finished laughing, I realised that there was an important message embedded within it.

We value focus – managers, sports-persons and, of course, coaches - think of the competence around goal focus. But, when focus is too narrowly applied, it can be dangerous and damaging. People get trampled ….. or eaten.

I’m a big advocate of ‘consequence questions’ in coaching sessions, often using the ‘three chair’ strategy to challenge the coachee to think about what a course of action would seem like to Mr. X or manager Y.  Or, I might use hypothetical questioning to explore “what would happen if …” Perhaps it is exactly this ability of the coach, to impose a 360 degree perspective on the decision-maker’s thinking, which is at the heart of executive coaching. 

Julie Starr says that the coach is often the guardian of the coachee’s goal focus. Maybe we should also be the guardian of their awareness?

Of course, there are times when coaching is not appropriate at all – when telling is the right approach; in this case ……

“Lion! RUNNNNN!” 

Ray Garner is BSC's Programme Director of the ILM Level 7 Certificate in Executive Coaching and Mentoring and for the ILM Level 3 Award in Coaching.

Ray is an ex-Head Teacher with forty years experience in education and using coaching as a mechanism to transform organisational culture.