Do you need a magic wand?

Never underestimate the power of magic

Just this week a coachee asked me if I had my magic wand to hand. As a coach, it is not uncommon to be asked this question, especially when a coachee is beginning to experience the perceived magic of coaching.

I do not have a magic wand but if this is what I get asked many times, and if this is what coachees feedback, what exactly is happening in a coaching session?

Coaching sessions are used to create a working partnership of mutual trust through a blend of skills such as questioning, listening, observation and feedback which ultimately creates conversation abundant in insight and learning.  In addition to this, a coach will use a broad array of well-respected techniques and processes.

There is plenty of science and research that drives the approach of a professional coach. Generally speaking, everything presented in a coaching room can be wrapped up in how we think, feel and behave.  And if everything we think, feel and behave comes from activity in our brains, it makes sense that neuroscience and coaching are closely aligned.

All professional and effective coaching is performed with an understanding of how our brains work. Neuroscience research is helping coaches understand why certain methods are particularly effective and then advancing them to the way the brain works.  It is translating the process of science into the coaching practice and most importantly the experience of the coachee and the results achieved.

So, although it feels like magic it is much more likely to be an evidence-based approach with proven results.  Or maybe the magic is that coaches, unexpectedly think and behave like scientists, always curious and always asking questions.  

 “Also, neuroscience research points specifically to the role of appropriate experience in creating new learning. Therefore, it indicates how best to create change. Behaviours change when we create opportunities for appropriate experience. Our brains rewire when we do something different – we sculpt our brains through repetition of the new behaviours, thought patterns, or skills we want to learn”.

The most important message here is explaining as humans we all have the capacity for change.  And so maybe, the credit of the magic must go to the coachees who commit and invest time with a professional credentialed coach.  The coachees who see how important it is to spend time on yourself so you can not only be your best for those around you, but also for yourself.

 Magic is rare, and for those coachees lucky enough to experience it I hope you enjoy using your wand!