This is part 4 of the series The Role of Coaching in the Diet Change Process. In Part 1, we described how important it is to adopt a healthy diet, and that doing so is among the things with the greatest potential in improving our physical and mental well-being, as well as boosting our performance in all our endeavors. We also described why changing one’s diet can be hard.
In part 2, we described coaching itself and how it helps in the process.
In part 3, we described the tools a skillful coach can use, and in this last part, we describe the coaching process itself.
The Flow in Coaching
Even though concepts and theories listed previously, which are at the coach’s disposal during coaching, might seem like complex psychological forms, the coaching process in itself is actually very simple and follows a natural flow during conversation sessions between a coach and a client. The coach and the client meet for an initial session, either face to face or remotely via telephone, video conference or sometimes chat or email, and together they discover important topics for the client and possibly identify areas where improvement is desired. From start to end, the focus is always on the client, his strengths, motivations and areas of interest. That is constantly being reinforced by the coach by asking the client open-ended questions, using reflections to show apprehension and giving the client space and time to “empty his heart”. For that to happen, a trusted connection needs to be established between the coach and the client in a sincere, open, and empathic relationship. That kind of full, undivided attention the client is receiving from the coach can often be the only time that the client experiences it, given how rare it is today to have someone’s full attention and focus, without shifting the topic of conversation, for 30 or 60 minutes in a single session. Powerful things happen when such a rapport has been established. That kind of connection is often described as intuitive dance or relational flow, as described by M. Csikszentmihalyi. Clients feel empowered and confident to make a change, not because their coach is cheerleading for them, but because he helps them find their own inner strengths and motifs, which in turn demonstrates a firm belief that they are, indeed, capable of making the change.
It is important to note that, however possible coaching is in certain situations, it is not a panacea for all problem solving and every change known to man. Not everyone is ready to change at any given time and it can happen that someone is ready to change one aspect of his life but not others. According to the Transtheoretical Model of Change, there are 5 stages of change which can be roughly applied to almost any change process:
-
Precontemplation (not ready for change)
-
Contemplation (thinking about change)
-
Preparation (preparing for action)
-
Action (taking action)
-
Maintenance (maintaining a positive behavior)
In a precontemplation phase, the client is consciously refusing to take any action that involves change of behavior. When asked about it, the client might answer with “I won’t”, or “I can’t”, meaning he is either satisfied with his current behavior or he is not but does not believe that he is capable of a change.
A client in a contemplation phase will usually see the problems with his current behaviors and the benefits of a change, however, he has doubts whether he can be successful or not. He might delay a change if the reasons for change don’t outweigh the reasons not to change in his mind yet.
In a preparation phase, the client has mostly overcome his ambivalence about the change and mostly sees positive effects from the change. It is important that the client develops strategies for overcoming challenges in this phase, otherwise he might fall back into the contemplation phase.
The change itself happens in the action phase. This is where the client is changing his behaviors, adopts new patterns and generally sees things in a new light. For the whole process to be complete and a change to be a permanent one, the last stage of maintenance is also important, as it ensures that the new patterns the client has adopted during the action phase are there to stay. It is often said that it takes 21 days to adopt a new behavior. That idea comes from a famous plastic surgeon Dr. Maxwell Maltz, which he describes in his 1960 book called “Psycho-Cybernetics,” in which he discussed the concept of behavioral change. He observed that it took his patients about 21 days to adjust to their new physical appearances following surgery, and he extrapolated this timeframe to other areas of life as well. It is worth noting however, that even if it might take 21 days to adopt a new behavior, it takes much longer to adopt a new lifestyle, probably a few years in most cases.
A masterful coach will find out where his client stands on that scale with regards to every particular behavior that he wants or doesn’t want to change. If the client is not ready, the coach will not hurry him into the process, but will instead show appreciation for the client’s current state and help the client himself realize it in an affirmative and non-judgmental manner. That will help the client to gain more confidence and trust in the coach, after which they might focus on some other area for which the client currently has more interest to work on. By working on a topic which is easier and more manageable for the client first, the client will get confident that a change is possible and could, in time, feel that he is ready to tackle the next challenge.
Summary
Coaching has come a long way since it came out of executive offices of big business into health and wellness. Its tools and benefits are being used and enjoyed every day by thousands of coaches and clients worldwide. Market trends are showing that not only individuals are becoming more prone to seek the help of a coach, but companies from many different industries as well, as they recognize the importance of their employees’ physical and mental well-being to their prosperity and future.
While coaching is mostly a non-regulated profession, meaning that no formal education is required for someone to perform a coaching activity, there is growing recognition that some form of education is desired for a coach to be successful in helping clients during the change process. The strongest movement to support this comes from the US, where the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches oversees the accreditation of certified coaches after passing the exam. That certainly makes sense for a profession that borrows so many of its tools from psychology and which takes place within often sensitive and complex coach-client relationships that builds on trust, rapport and openness. As clients are better served by certified coaches, it will be to a mutual satisfaction of both sides, while making healthier life choices and thus more happy people on the planet that we all love so much.
Read other articles in the series from Robert Novak on our Zealousness blog Robert Novak Archives – iN Education Inc.
References:
- Moore, Margaret. Coaching Psychology Manual (p. 1). LWW. Kindle Edition.
- Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow. New York: Harper & Row.
- Prochaska, J. O., Norcross, J. C., & DiClemente, C. C. (1994). Changing for good: A revolutionary program that explains the six stages of change and teaches you how to free yourself from bad habits. New York: HarperCollins.
