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Advanced Coaching

Advanced Coaching builds on the foundations of appreciative inquiry and the introduction to coaching program. It is also part of our Certificate in Appreciative Coaching program.

Attendance is limited to 14 participants to allow maximum contact with the instructor during the experiential exercises.

Program Content and Focus: Imagineering

Since coaching is about creating a preferred future and everything we think about the future is an act of pure imagination, coaching often involves helping a client to use their imagination to rehearse and create their desired outcomes. In this advanced coaching class we focus primarily on learning the techniques and strategies of imagineering or how to help clients change both the content and the structure of their experiences to develop their internal resources as they work to create their desired future.

The term "Imagineering" was first used by Walt Disney in describing the work of the imagination in the creative process. It has subsequently been used by coaches to describe the techniques of using and restructuring the imagination in role rehearsal and practice exercises.

The Structure of Experience

There are two major aspects to the way people process, store and retrieve their experiences: the content of their experience and how they structure or represent the content. For example: when a preacher says "I can't imagine being able to preach like that," there are two things for the coach to pay attention to: "what" the person is trying to imagine (preaching in a certain way) and "how" they are actually trying to imagine preaching in a certain way. Some preachers might be relying on visual images of themselves preaching whereas others may be relying on auditory images and actually be imagining hearing them self preach. A more accurate statement of "I can't imagine being able to preach like that," would be: "I can't see myself being able to preach like that," or "I can't hear myself being able to preach like that."

Similarly we have often heard people say something like"
"I know it in my head but I need to know it in my heart!"
In this example the client knows something (the content) and it is in their head (the structure) as intellectual knowledge. What they want is to restructure it as an experience in their heart. Most coaching is oriented toward modifying the content of a person's experience, yet in this example changing the content or what a person knows in their head will typically not result in a change in their desired heart felt sense of self. Just getting someone to think confident thoughts will not help a person to feel confident.

Coaching for a Healthy Self-Image

Have you ever thought about your self image? Having a healthy self-image is considered important for effective functioning. If you have a poor self-image how would you change it? A person's self-image includes both the “what” the person images and the “how” they image themselves. Three confident people with a robust self-image may structure that sense of self differently: one may primarily “see” themselves as confident while another may primarily “hear” themselves speaking confidently, while a third may primarily have a felt sense of being confident.

Yet since no one is completely confident they will also have aspects of unsureness that contrasts their confidence. They will have a sense of being both competent and incompetent and may structure these two different aspects of their self-image differently. They may "see" their competent self while they "hear" their incompetent self.

This can cause a degree of internal confusion as the person can flip-flop between two very different states of awareness that leaves them confused as to whether they are competent or incompetent. Such confusion can demotivate people and sabotage their efforts to achieve their goals.

Change can occur by changing the content and or the structure of the experience. We can change someone's self image by changing what the person images about them self or how they image them self. Changing the "how" or the structure of their self-image is essential if the change is to be sustainable over time. In this advanced class participants will learn how to restructure and integrate seemingly disparate aspects of a client's self-image to help them develop an authentic and effective self-image.

Recommended Text

This program makes extensive use of the work of Steve Andreas. Our recommended Text is Transforming Yourself: Becoming who you want to be, by Steve Andreas. Published by Real People Press in 2002. It is available from the publisher. They often have restocked books at reduced prices.

Benefits of Attending Advanced Coaching

The core benefit of this training event is to sensitize and alert coaches to the cognitive structures of experience, and memory. Without such training only the most intuitive perceive beyond the content of experience, cognition, and memory. That makes sensitivity to the structure of experience essential in assisting clients to gain power over their circumstances.

Specifically in this training you will learn:

• How clients structure and process their experiences.
• How to access and use a client's internal resources.
• How to modify a client's self-image.
• How to resolve resentment and grief.
• How to generalize restructuring process to resolve problems.
• How to respond to resistance and internal conflicts.
• How to ensure that outcomes are sustainable.

Please Note: This training program is highly experiential in nature. Participants will learn the advanced coaching strategies by applying them first to themselves and then by coaching others through them. Participants must be willing to personally engage in these exercises during the training.

Who Should Attend Advanced Coach Training

Advanced coach training is appropriate for:

• Clergy interested in coaching and mentoring.
• Psychologists and Counselors interested in coaching clergy.
• Professionals interested in church consulting.
• Spiritual Directors interested in learning change strategies.

Participation in either the Introduction or Foundations of Appreciative Coaching is required to participate in this advanced program. Advanced Coaching is the final class of the year-long Certificate in Appreciative Coaching

Continuing Education Credit

This program qualifies for 30 contact hours of continuing education credit.

Workshop Design and Schedule:

Limited to only 14 participants to allow maximum contact with the instructor, this program teaches a variety of advanced skills to help access a client's internal resources to achieve their coaching goals. The material is presented in a series of graduated lectures, demonstrations, and coaching practice. Each day is begun and ended with the daily offices adapted from the Episcopal morning and evening prayer services.

The schedule is typically form 9 am to 5 pm, with two evening sessions over the course of four and one half days.

Attention is paid to managing personal energy during the training program while maximizing participants opportunities to learn. Because this training is intense we recommend people make appropriate travel plans and can begin the first days training rested so as to get the best possible return for your tuition expenses.

Workshop Cost for 2009

Early registration tuition cost is $750.
Commuter and Residential cost is extra and depends on the location.
Please see Refunds and Cancellations for our refund policy.

Accommodation

Accommodation is dependent on the training locations and will be specified on the registration forms.
When provided accommodation for participants is generally on a first come first served basis with a commuter rate also being available.
Accommodation prices vary depending on location and are available on the schedule and registration page.

Presenter

Rob Voyle is an ordained Episcopal priest, psychologist, and executive coach. He is the Director of the Clergy Leadership Institute. Rob was an original faculty member, and taught for five years at the College of Executive Coaching where he taught and coached hundreds of personal and executive coaches how to use appreciative inquiry as a basis for their coaching work. Rob is the co-author of Core Elements of the Appreciative Wayand Yes!³Yes!

Registration for Workshop

To register for the workshop please go to the training schedule and select register for the appropriate workshop. For additional information please contact Rob Voyle