I love having coffee chats with coaches from around the world. Most of these are about getting to know each other and learning about each other’s journey to coaching. Inevitably, at some point I will ask them out of sincere interest why they coach and, equally inevitably, it’s because they want to make a difference. And there’s nothing wrong with that answer! We all do this wonderful thing called coaching to make a difference, in some way or other, in the lives of our clients and, dare I say it, in our own lives too.
It has got me thinking, however. What’s different about the difference I make? What’s the difference about the difference we all make? Inexperienced coaches might answer that they help their clients set goals and achieve them, or some version of that. More experienced coaches might respond that they help their clients become better at what they do. Experienced coaches are likely to say something like: “I help my clients become a better version of themselves.”
Once again, there are no wrong answers here; however, allow me to be my normal provocative self – aren’t these pretty transactional outcomes? I would prefer to be a transformational coach. All coaching is about change, not so, but I would like my clients to experience big, deep, change. For me, that would be making a real difference.
Leon VanderPol, in his wonderful book, A Shift in Being: The Art and Practices of Deep Transformational Coaching (recommended below), places these two coaching approaches on opposite ends of a coaching continuum and usefully summarises the distinction between transactional and transformational coaching in the following ways:
Transactional Coaching Transformational Coaching
Focus Focus
- Think and do differently Being-focused
- Issue-focused Dives below the surface
- Result-driven Gets to essence
- Action-oriented Space of shadows and light
- Surface-level Illuminates one’s inner operating system
Intent Intent
To explore new ways to perceive, think and act To explore new ways of being and what it takes to embody
in relation to an issue them
Premise Premise
One’s existing way of being is sufficient to generate An expanded or shifted way of being generates the desired
the desired results and outcomes results and outcomes
(Whilst the summary certainly outlines the difference nicely and succinctly, the distinctions are also open to more complex reflection – definitely worth a read if you are interested in this kind of stuff.)
So, who’s the coach that you want to be? It’s worth remembering at Leon’s point and that of many others) that before we can be a transformational coach we need to have been on a transformational journey ourselves, a courageous journey not for the faint-hearted!
I would love to hear your thoughts.
If you enjoyed this content, you might enjoy reading:
Leon VanderPol – A Shift in Being: The Art and Practices of Deep Transformational Coaching
Alan Seale – Create a World that Works: Tools for Personal and Global Transformation
Janet Hagberg – Real Power: Stages of Personal Power in Organisations
