As a facilitator and later with coach training, it has been quite a personal journey of experimenting with thinking. I am penning this as a 3rd quartile placement conclusion of the same.
Over the years, as a facilitator and designer of enabling efforts, I have come across and used a large number of "instruments", "frameworks" and so on. Off late, I have come to recognise these as manifestations and not the real thing. Strengths finder is definitely an awesome way maker for success. However, being futuristic, and other strengths are actually manifestations when the individual is cruising in her/her real self. I call this cruise state. MBTI describes the preferences an individual makes under cruise state and these decisions to some level help sustain the cruise state. Traits are manifestations that are enduring.
The flow philosophy addresses the experience. It also in depth, speaks about repeatedly getting into the experience in terms of challenge and competency. Flow is a great goal to have. The fundamental approach is that the flow state is the primary state of a human and that beliefs tend to interfere with the same. The premise of coaching is that the individual is given a safe setting and courage to look at, become aware and recognize the offending line of thinking. At this point, choice kicks in and the empowered smile of an insight is observed.
The Quantum Zeno effect from brain studies says that the "mental act of focusing attention holds in place brain circuits associated with what is being focused on. If you pay enough attention to a certain set of brain connections, it keeps this relevant circuitry stable, open and dynamically alive, enabling it to eventually becoming a part of the brain’s hard wiring."
Getting an individual to cruise state is often the winning effort of withdrawing an individual from extrinsic distractors and focus on the real self descriptor. My next effort is all about compiling a set of such descriptors that describe the very being of the self. Being different for different individuals, the cruise state along with the Quantum Zeno effect, when used during coaching helps the coachee to no end.
Behavioural change after this point is most enduring and permanent.
On a slightly different note, the QZE seems to explain "leave it to the process" when the learning outcomes are defined stand by those who are from the process lab line of thinking.
Now, moving into the area of levels of directed thinking, here are a few:
1. at a peripheral level is behavioural observation - like in a ADC - focus on behaviours exhibited
2. labeling comes next as does slightly deeper level of process observation - invitation, celebration, etc
3. Deeper level of feeling - combined with level 2 above is a great tool for facilitation
4. Deepest level of intuition - explained best by David Rock and my understanding as those continuous consolidated feelings with very low amplitude that can be focussed on when brain chatter is reduced
All this sits on authenticity and fuelling that is spontaniety gated by choice.
So, how does one decide what to use and when? The wonderful gift of "being in the moment" or coaching presence is that platform for the same.
One simple model of enabling is all about "here and now" and using sensing alongwith validation over a conversation with a coachee. This is especially useful for what I call Autonomy coaching to identify and discard limiting beliefs. This sits above using intuition for coaching, allows a conversationalist facilitation of individual enablement and gives the coach the flexibility of tapping intuition as and when required. Wow. (In this model, since validation is used, the effect of preferences of the coach, while definitely have an effect, tend to be minimized according to me - as against using intuitive breakthrough model of enabling.)
Cheers! NS
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, May 07, 2010
Celebrating the life of a Human Being - my fond memories of Dr.Udai Pareek
The world recently lost Dr. Udai Pareek, the Father of the HRD movement in India. I consider myself fortunate to have had opportunities to spend a few moments with the great master practitioner, every moment of which I learnt something - for life.
My very first interactions with Dr. Udai Pareek were at a psychometrics workshop in Bangalore. I sat in awe and listened as he very simply explained the meaning of the term 'role' and quoted examples from the 'here and now' of Indian life. I had an opportunity to listen to him on the same topic twice more on different occassions.
The next time I met him was when I slinked out of a nephew's thread ceremony to attend a one day workshop on Organization Behaviour. On that occassion, after lunch, I was one of the early participants to return to class when the projector was being set up. If I remember correct, the next session was on roles where the organizers were looking for slides for a projective exercise. With great hesitation, I approached Dr. Pareek, laptop in hand. With much hesitation I shared with him the fact that after the previous workshop I had used many of the psychometric instruments in office after automation and that I had the projective exercise scanned and ready with me. I still remember the pure celebration that Dr. Pareek shared with joy. He called the others and shared information about the automation of instruments that I had done and by that evening, he asked me whether I could guide a student! I still remember the day at Hotel Atria - was difficult leaving the workshop - was so excited!
Later, when work took me to Noida, I had an opportunity to meet him over lunch, during which I got to spend close to 5 hours with him discussing topics as varied as organization development in Kashmir to the concept of the leadership crucible.
Dr. Pareek, then shared that a CD could be made with me as co-author with the automated instruments and that he expected me to accept money from the proceeds of the CD. While the co-authorship itself was something more than I could handle at my age and experience, he also insisted that I needed to accept a portion of the proceeds of the sales if I expected him to work with me.
On my last day at Delhi (before I relocated to Bangalore), Dr. Udai Pareek had included me in the panel of a 5 day psychometrics course that was taking place there. I conducted a one hour session on roles there and was presented a carved keychain and a custom made pen on that occassion. What was more thrilling was the fact that I had to conduct this session with Dr. Pareek in the hall - someone I had learnt the construct from! I boarded the flight immediately after that session to Bangalore. Couldn't have asked for a better kickoff to my next assignment as Head of Learning and Development in Bangalore.
Over the years, I had the good fortune to work with atleast three students whom he referred and build the entire set of psychometric automation with them.
On my last visit to Delhi to attend a wedding, I had an opportunity to look at finishing touches to the CD and at that time, I had the fortune of meeting the maestro again. In fact, I least expected it when he personally came to the guest house where I was staying and both my wife and I had the good fortune of receiving him. Later that day we shared lunch and over lunch I was discussing my scores on the PE scale. I can't forget the few words that he uttered on hearing the scores - 'so confrontation to issues might be an issue'. So True! Earlier that day, I spent a few minutes sharing the steps to automate instruments with students and he was quick to observe that the technique of genuinely teaching something took very little time.
That was the last time I got to spend time with Dr. Pareek. I cherish the mails he wrote to me, each a veritable treasure.
Personally, to me, he was a person I could openly share ideas with and be sure that he would recognise the potential of each and actually help me realize them.
His last wish was that he wanted people to be kind and say good words to each other. A behavioural indicator couldn't be more precise.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest issue of the NHRD Journal on Coaching is dedicated to Dr. Udai Pareek 1925-2010.
Master Teacher,
Mentor and Invisible Coach for Millions
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My very first interactions with Dr. Udai Pareek were at a psychometrics workshop in Bangalore. I sat in awe and listened as he very simply explained the meaning of the term 'role' and quoted examples from the 'here and now' of Indian life. I had an opportunity to listen to him on the same topic twice more on different occassions.
The next time I met him was when I slinked out of a nephew's thread ceremony to attend a one day workshop on Organization Behaviour. On that occassion, after lunch, I was one of the early participants to return to class when the projector was being set up. If I remember correct, the next session was on roles where the organizers were looking for slides for a projective exercise. With great hesitation, I approached Dr. Pareek, laptop in hand. With much hesitation I shared with him the fact that after the previous workshop I had used many of the psychometric instruments in office after automation and that I had the projective exercise scanned and ready with me. I still remember the pure celebration that Dr. Pareek shared with joy. He called the others and shared information about the automation of instruments that I had done and by that evening, he asked me whether I could guide a student! I still remember the day at Hotel Atria - was difficult leaving the workshop - was so excited!
Later, when work took me to Noida, I had an opportunity to meet him over lunch, during which I got to spend close to 5 hours with him discussing topics as varied as organization development in Kashmir to the concept of the leadership crucible.
Dr. Pareek, then shared that a CD could be made with me as co-author with the automated instruments and that he expected me to accept money from the proceeds of the CD. While the co-authorship itself was something more than I could handle at my age and experience, he also insisted that I needed to accept a portion of the proceeds of the sales if I expected him to work with me.
On my last day at Delhi (before I relocated to Bangalore), Dr. Udai Pareek had included me in the panel of a 5 day psychometrics course that was taking place there. I conducted a one hour session on roles there and was presented a carved keychain and a custom made pen on that occassion. What was more thrilling was the fact that I had to conduct this session with Dr. Pareek in the hall - someone I had learnt the construct from! I boarded the flight immediately after that session to Bangalore. Couldn't have asked for a better kickoff to my next assignment as Head of Learning and Development in Bangalore.
Over the years, I had the good fortune to work with atleast three students whom he referred and build the entire set of psychometric automation with them.
On my last visit to Delhi to attend a wedding, I had an opportunity to look at finishing touches to the CD and at that time, I had the fortune of meeting the maestro again. In fact, I least expected it when he personally came to the guest house where I was staying and both my wife and I had the good fortune of receiving him. Later that day we shared lunch and over lunch I was discussing my scores on the PE scale. I can't forget the few words that he uttered on hearing the scores - 'so confrontation to issues might be an issue'. So True! Earlier that day, I spent a few minutes sharing the steps to automate instruments with students and he was quick to observe that the technique of genuinely teaching something took very little time.
That was the last time I got to spend time with Dr. Pareek. I cherish the mails he wrote to me, each a veritable treasure.
Personally, to me, he was a person I could openly share ideas with and be sure that he would recognise the potential of each and actually help me realize them.
His last wish was that he wanted people to be kind and say good words to each other. A behavioural indicator couldn't be more precise.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest issue of the NHRD Journal on Coaching is dedicated to Dr. Udai Pareek 1925-2010.
Master Teacher,
Mentor and Invisible Coach for Millions
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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