EBI Wilderness Quest Fall 2023 
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Long Term Jan 2021 Discussion
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Summary Post:
I am very intriegued by the Four Shields model and just ordered the book! I look forward to diving in and using this framework in the future. I like that it has insight for both organizations and individuals. I’m leading a 1/2 day nature experience for an organization later in March and will incorporate this framework into our day. There is a lot of curiousity there for me.
While I have not created a long-term coaching plan yet, the Four Shields model has helped me understand where my clients are and how to support them as they move forward. For example, one of my clients seems to be in the South, in a very “child oriented” space–not accepting responsibility, disorganized, lack of self-discipline, etc. To support her moving forward into the West, we are practicing self-reflection and creating opportunities for experimentation, learning, leaning into physical sensations/embodiment, curiosity, exploration, etc.
As I reflect on these long-term coaching models and what brings me joy, I realize that I want to incorporate PLAY into my guiding. I really sense the Spirit continually inviting us to PLAY in Creatio and experience joy in that Divine connection. I’ve made changes to my website to reflect that deep internal longing within me.
Lastly, I love this quote as a “north star” to guide my work any long-term coaching plan that I create:
The Master once referred to the Hindu notion that all creation is “leela”— God’s play—and the universe is his playground. The aim of spirituality, he claimed, is to make all life play.This seemed too frivolous for a puritanical visitor. “Is there no room then for work?”“Of course there is. But work becomes spiritual only when it is transformed into play.”–Anthony de Mello
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Summary Post
Main takeaways:Be flexible. Every person is different and learns differently, so the way I approach guiding and coaching needs to be informed by that person’s individual needs. I’ve found that doing a pre-coaching questionnaire that asks questions like, “How do you best learn?” and “What kind of support do you find helpful?” has been very helpful for me in meeting each client’s needs. One of my clients appreciates humor and having that information early on has made it easy to create a space where he feels comfortable. Another client told me that she needs a lot of time to think about things, so I make sure to give her the space to speak with lots of pauses. I’ve appreciated the opportunity to practice meeting each person’s needs. I find this also applies to the idea of long-term coaching, and this coming week I’m looking forward to being able to explore the long term with one of my clients now that we’ve bee working together for a few weeks.
Focus on strengths. In Positive Psychology, strengths are the collection of a person’s unique abilities, interests, and virtues that contribute to their positive flourishing. I think it’s important as the coach to both formally (with assessments) and informally (through conversation and getting to know the client) take stock of a client’s strengths in order to help design a program that best fits them. For example, I probably wouldn’t use the Four Shields model with someone who isn’t interested in connecting with nature.
Diversify your toolbox. This may not apply to everyone, but for me at least I need to continuously diversify and expand my coaching toolbox. Some people may decide that they only want to do Nature Connected coaching and with that being their niche, the only clients they take are those who would resonate with nature connected coaching tools. For myself, I realize I like being able to work with a diverse group of people and methodologies, so I want to become experienced with a variety of different tools.
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I appreciate how much work someone can accomplish when they commit to long term coaching. I can really get to know them and see their patterns over time, as well as see them progress.
I still hesitate to create a long term “plan” for someone, as I can see how their needs change over time and the original plan may become irrelevant. however, I’m able to acknowledge that this is a reflection of my personal style, as I prefer to move more intuitively and plan less.David, I appreciate how you used the four shields model for your client, and I feel I can relate to that methodology better, as in, “I’m offering to go with you on your journey around the “wheel”, I cant tell you how long it will take you, or what we’ll encounter, but I’ll be with you every step of the way and I will show up with all of my skills and tools to support you along the way.”
Actually, now that I’ve written that, I feel much better about presenting that as an option for long term coaching.One of my challenges is simplifying one’s journey into the four-shields/hero’s journey model. a person’s life is usually so much more complicated than can fit neatly into such a simple model, that I often don’t feel confident or competent enough to offer to be someone’s guide. It is also true that sometimes the model fits perfectly for a clients situation. What seems to be true is that it’s all the “unknown”. The “maps” we have are imperfect and full of areas where dragons and sea monsters live (as in the uncharted areas on the maps of medieval times). Along with being as familiar as possible with with maps we do have, we must become comfortable in the unknown and show up in our full capacity to support our clients. As Michael mentioned in one of our intensives, (and I paraphrase) “Most, if not all human fears and discomforts ultimately boil down to being afraid of the unknown, and the truth is, it’s all unknown.”
When we offer long term coach to someone, we are offering to support them through through their own unique path through the unknown. Though we show up as guides with our own strengths and styles, and we must also be proficient in the tools we do offer, I remember that since foundations, Michael has been encouraging us to deepen our relationship with our intuition and become comfortable in the Unknown; for ourselves and for our clients. This has been one of my biggest takeaways from the NCC program, and one of the most supportive to my coaching, as well as my own personal growth.
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Maria, I love that you want to incorporate play into your work more. Have you read the book, “Play”, or are you familiar with the 8 play personalities? They seem closely related to the 9 forms of intelligence model and I find both quite intriguing, especially in the context of application to coaching.
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Initial Post:
The Long-term Coaching module felt like the glue for our entire coaching program. In this intensive, I felt like I had many “ah-hah” moments on working with clients. I really appreciate the maps that were provided, and I also appreciate that we are encouraged to create our own maps. I am inspired to personalize a map for each of my clients.
After the intensive, I was inspired to create a 3-month coaching map for one of my clients. She is an 18 year old high school senior, graduating this June. We will only be working together until June, so I wanted to create a clear map of her goals and milestones before the end of our coaching relationship. Although we have been working together since last Summer, we took a month break, and during that time, I created a map. I utilized the four directions model as well as the stages of change and transformation. I came up with my ideas for her milestones and goals, and practices/exercises for moving forward. I also created a loose plan for honoring her transition out of high school. When I presented the map to her, I made sure to let her know that it was a rough draft and that we could use it or throw it out. She liked the map, and added her own goals. Since creating this map together, I feel that we have more of a solid foundation and sense of purpose for our work together until June.
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Summary:
I really appreciate everything that we covered in Long-Term Coaching. I feel much more confident in starting my coaching relationship with clients, and describing the process of a coaching relationship to potential clients. I also really appreciate the Cocentric Circle Transformation Model. I think this is a powerful tool to use in sessions. I am also taking away a knowing that I can create my own models and practices based on the foundation of what has been taught to us at EBI. I am inspired to record and keep an inventory of the practices and models that I come up with over time with various clients.
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LTC INITIAL POST- My practice client has been with me for about 5 months now, so we already have a bit of a long term coaching relationship. One thing I have become aware of is that it has been difficult to keep things moving toward her goals because we tend to go in a different direction week to week. I’ve noticed that when she comes with a clear goal or intent for the session, we get a lot done and she feels like progress is made. When she doesn’t come prepared, it’s more of a meandering session. She reports that she still gets a lot out of it, so I do think I’m holding the container she needs, it’s just not cohesive with the rest of her process.
Recently, she reached out to me because she’s overwhelmed and her work has become a hostile environment. She’s known for a while that she wants to leave her job and start her own business utilizing her art or photography, but she’s not sure what that looks like yet. I had previously come up with a long-term plan to target discovering her innate gifts, what she wants to get out of her work, and what she needs financially to live the life she envisions. This plan was in line with the Transformational Learning Process, or Wheel of Transformation, of discovery, knowing, becoming, then living.
Now that her urgency has shifted, we discussed shifting her goals as well. It’s apparent that she needs an interim solution to buy her time for us to do the deeper work we had previously agreed on. As a guide, I recognize that we can’t get through the Wheel of Transformation if she is stuck in survival mode. Therefore, we are going to address the threat (hostile work environment) to get her to a solution that is “good enough for now”. Once she feels like she has more control over her safety, we will get back to the process of discovering, knowing, becoming, and living.
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LTC SUMMARY- My biggest take-away from this module is finding the balance between my coaching style and a long-term coaching model that feels good for my client. Everyone is different and therefore will be drawn to different ways of going through the work. Additionally, I know that I’m never going to be a one-size-fits-all coach. My unique coaching style is what will bring my ideal clients to me and I’m doing my clients a disservice if I’m not being authentic in my coaching style. That being said, my clients aren’t one-size-fits-all either, and so some flexibility and individualization is important when creating a long-term coaching plan.
Additionally, I feel more and more drawn to 4 Shield’s work. If I choose to adopt this model, I can still use it with clients who may not resonate with the style. I don’t have to tell them I am using it, but I can use it as a method of tracking them to evaluate where they are in the process of change and to indicate what might help them get unstuck.
