PROBLEM SOLVING THROUGH COACHING

PROBLEM SOLVING THROUGH COACHING

PROBLEM SOLVING THROUGH COACHING 
 
 
Recently, 've been working with a coachee who had a problem to resolve and it put me in mind of the processes that we go through to resolve them.  I noticed how resourceful the person I was coaching is.  It was really clear to me how strong and experienced and skillful she was. 
 
Having this experience with this wonderful Coachee reminded me that we all have problems or situations that we need to resolve and we all have resources that we can call upon to aid us through the process.  I really needed a skilled and reliable plumber to fix my leaky tap recently and when my son was going through his exams I was so grateful that he had access to good learning materials to help him learn and ultimately to give him confidence through his exams.  
 
Sometimes, we experience several problems at the same time, something that has recently presented itself to me; a bereavement in the family, broken car, redundancy from my part time work and a few more challenging bits and pieces.  Anyone might recognise that this is a lot to work through all at the same time and for a short while, this multitude of problems felt like 'chaos'.  
 
It is understandable to feel overwhelmed in situations like this and I did indeed feel overwhelmed.  I caught the feelings of overwhelm, before they escalated and worked through the 'problems' before they had any chance of becoming more than just situations that require my time and attention to resolve.  
 
In the past, before learning the process of coaching, I have felt out of control, even defeated and vulnerable.  There have been times when, looking back, I recognise that I have plummeted into negative thought processes.
 
So, how was my mind working at this time, with these Coaching skills?  It was working well.  I chose to notice that I have the capacity to resolve problems.  I remebered that I problem solve every day.  During this reflective time, I discovered an awful lot about my problem solving processes.
 
I love the question, 'how do you eat an elephant', because the answer is simple - ONE BITE AT A TIME!  This answer reminds me to take my problem and work through it/them step by step.  I can call on my own experience because I might have travelled that road before and my steps therefore, might be quick and confident.  Some of the challenges that i faced at that time were new territory for me so I gave myself permission to step more carefully. 
 
It's clear to me that as a coach, I was able to tap into my resources; by using the coaching framework I was able to find clarity and direction which enabled me to focus on solutions and acceptance.  When you lose a family member, there is nothing you can do about it.  There are happy times to remember, people to support and taking the time to allow the loss to remind us of what's important.  So I took some time to do those things.
 
The framework used within coaching offers encouragement, support and empowerment to help us all and these following steps really supported me:
 
  • I realised that I wanted to shift from where I was to a better place.  For me this was where life felt chaotic to where my emotions where appropriate. 
  • I recognise what I needed to do to get there - this was different thoughts, feelings and actions for each of the problems I was experiencing
  • I wanted clarity on what was happening and what choices I had to change things and I also wanted focus by putting the situation into perspective
  • I recognised my own resources (my wisdom, my ability to overcome difficult times, my experience, my skills etc) and additional resources available  (people I could share thoughts and feelings with, people to fix my car)
  • Focus on what has worked well in the past
  • I remembered to explore options available (there are generally many ways to do things)
  • I took ACTION and then reviewed that action - asking myself - did it work?  Does it need adapting?  Is something new required?
 
Coaching through the process of this framework, not only helped me to find solutions, it also equiped me with the resources that I can call upon in the future. 
 
I've overcome this series of events that descended on me rapidly and each day, I'm taking the action I need to take to prevent and overcome problems.
 
I do hope you have found this useful and would like to leave you with a really useful and pragmatic quotes. 
 
“Give a man a fish; you feed him for a day
Teach a man to fish; you feed him for a lifetime”
[Chinese Proverb]
 
Kathy