Need to innovate in our coaching practicespar Roselyne Giguère, Sophie Gélinas, Johanne Landry , Antoine Théberge

In 2022, while wondering about the challenges that tomorrow's leaders will face, the idea emerged of asking whether, in the face of these new challenges, “our way of coaching should not be transformed?”. And so a handful of coaches from different schools and networks got together to explore the question.

The road traveled has not been a straight line; we have oscillated between enthusiasm, discoveries, questioning and doubts. So far, our assessments have awakened us to the importance of such a place of exploration, emergence, innovation and sharing, and we would like to gather the essence of our discoveries to share them in this article.

A flexible framework, permissions and protections

From the outset, we created a framework for meetings, a cooperation pact, based on the values of kindness, flexibility, enjoyment, commitment, diligence and shared responsibilities, enabling us to make the necessary adjustments each time.

Our meetings were structured in a flexible way in 3 steps: getting started, exploring and wrapping up. We quickly realized that this first stage of getting started, devoted to “connecting”, allows us to value the richness of the unexpected and to make room for spontaneous emergence.

Over the course of our meetings, we have chosen to move forward without specific objectives, and to experiment, not in a spirit of trial and error but rather of trial and discovery. Preferring to remain connected to this intention of exploration, we have placed our trust in the TOGETHER and have preferred to inhabit a space of being (of experimentation) rather than of doing things (of practice and modeling). Through the various themes, whether related or not, we remain attentive to experience, connected to emergence, to the present moment, to the I, to the We, to the It, to the meta. Supported by our permissions and protections, in this space of psychological security, we dare, without censorship or theory, to share generously and spontaneously in the service of the collective, we allow ourselves the challenge and even the discomfort in the face of pauses, silences and unanswered questions.

In this space of freedom, we realize that we welcome not only people, experiences and sharing, but also and above all uncertainty and emptiness. In a flexible manner, but respecting the framework and the process, it is as if we had used and at the same time transcended recipes and models; we allowed ourselves to inhabit more vagueness.

Discoveries and harvests

Even though, throughout this winding exploration, we oscillated between questioning and doubt, we were amused and grateful to inhabit this space of awakening consciousness and discovery. By having our bond, our security, our whole, as a foundation, even without targets and indicators, the fruits were abundant.

One of the things we learned was to realize that the strength of this place of emergence was generated by four driving forces that we maintained: intention, commitment, principles and emergence.

• Intention: constant updating and feedback to the intention. Inhabited by the laws of the living, the intention was set more in the journey, in the direction, than in the destination.
• Commitment: we nurtured and took care of our commitment. Despite the fog, despite the blur, we were truly committed to experimenting together. And it was this commitment to staying connected, interdependent and trusting that brought about this very fertile something.
• Principles: we gave ourselves the freedom to revisit and re-choose, as we went along, our colors, our permissions, our protections. Therein lay the strength of our togetherness.
• Emergence: constantly attentive to what was emerging, in an intuitive presence, allowing ourselves space, slowing down the rhythm, in silence, tranquillity, ready to grasp what wished to reveal itself.

Thus propelled, we discovered, beyond the content of the discussions, that it was in the form that the harvest was richest: in the form of this constant invitation to refocus, in the form of this challenge to the security that structure, framework and the achievement of results usually bring, in the form of this nourished acceptance of remaining in the presence of suspension points, in the presence of an appearance of nothingness, even if it means appearing to stand still.

What this space has brought us that is even richer is the strengthening of our body of coaches, of those muscles which, when faced with the unknown, when faced with the emerging, allow us to remain welcoming, open and curious. How many times have we said to ourselves: “Ugh... is anyone going to speak, what are we doing here, where are we, what's emerging, ...?” And slowly this feeling gave way to security and ease in the slow pace. This permission we gave ourselves to “lose the plot” or “lose the north” allowed us to strengthen this form, this space, this muscle that gives us the strength, the courage and the desire to set off again with questions that will not have immediate answers, to propose the surprising, to welcome what deserves to be simmered, to remain serene in the blur.

A new posture has been reinforced, and this peace, this serenity, has materialized in a tool: a carte blanche ... where you can write whatever you want. More grounded, slower, more comfortable in the face of the unknown and what emerges, we are more at ease in the curve of the U and become aware that we dare to launch ourselves more. In our moments of coaching – suspended in mid-air, experiencing a slowing down and tranquility, listening more to our fragile and vulnerable body – we are given free rein and with it the ease of daring to do something new... a poem, a piece of music, a song, a movement, a rapprochement, an unanswered question, an invitation, ...

And now... what is our answer to the question we asked at the beginning? Does our coaching method need to change? What can we do to innovate in our practices? Well, perhaps the answer lies more in being than in doing: let's allow ourselves to create these laboratories of being to supplement our laboratories of practice. Let's create these spaces that allow us to develop our muscle of tranquility. Let's practice staying comfortable and confident, in a calm and attentive presence, and serenely welcome these spaces of blur. So it is an invitation to you too to create and experiment with these spaces of welcome, of truth, of connection, of questioning, an invitation to you too to strengthen your muscle of tranquility.

When reading our article, what does it inspire you?

Roselyne Giguère, MCC
Sophie Gélinas, PCC
Johanne Landry , PCC
Antoine Théberge, PCC