The Quiet Coach 9
What’s your Critical Turtle saying when you’re coaching?
We often start Navgati workshops by inviting participants to become aware of their Critical Turtle — this little invisible creature that sits on your left shoulder (or right) and keeps up a constant commentary all day long.
A commentary filled with judgements about yourself; the other people around you; the process you are a part of. The main characteristic of the CT’s chatter (mine is called Benjy and he wears large, round glasses) are that
For all of us who have been drawn to this profession because of the desire to help others, these critical voices are particularly strong when we feel we’re not being of service to our clients.
When a coach doesn’t stop to question the validity of these comments, depending on what the voices are saying, it could result in them
So how do we work with these beliefs that are limiting us as coaches?
Step 1:
The first step, as always, is awareness. As part of our PCC program, I often invite coaches to make a list of everything they’re saying to themselves when they’re coaching. Here are some that have come up:
The next time you’re in a coaching conversation, take five minutes after the conversation and answer these questions
Do some stream of consciousness writing and pay attention to any musts/should/have tos that come up.
Step 2:
Do some self-coaching (or work with a supportive peer) and ask yourself some disputation questions (that you’re probably good at asking your clients)
Hopefully, in this process, you’re starting to realise that not all of these voices are true.
Step 3:
Articulate some permissions you’d like to give yourself (and put them up somewhere you can see them when you’re coaching). Here are some that my last PCC batch came up with:
I’d love to hear from you — what’s your Critical Turtle been saying to you and what permissions can you give yourself to counter that?
For more information about our ICF accredited coach training programs, please click here — https://www.navgati.in/icf-accredited-coach-training/.
Check out https://www.navgati.in/executive-coaching/ for more information about the leadership coaching we offer.
Originally published at https://www.navgati.in on March 15, 2023.
