Resources

Seeing the World Differently with Christine McDougall and "Cleaning the Glass" with Stuart Mackay

International Coaching Federation, Brisbane

September 2005

One of the most powerful moments in coaching is often when a client is finally able to see his/her situation from a different perspective, and from that vantage point, is able to clearly see what needs to happen to bring about the changes they so desire.

Our chapter guests for August, both provided us with "different ways of seeing" through the application of Spiral Dynamics and meditation.

Christine McDougall is a Master Certified Coach from the Gold Coast whose fullness of life and professionalism embodies what coaching is all about. In presenting Spiral Dynamics to us, she effortlessly outlined the different levels and colours, giving examples of each level to highlight their distinctiveness. The SD "levels" were then merged with Ken Wilber's Integrative Quadrants to provide the SDI multidimensional map. Christine used this model bring some understanding to the often asked question of "Why coaching now?".

From a historical perspective, we in the west are at a point where many no longer believe that the church, the state or science can answer our questions around beliefs, behaviours, relationships, and structures. We want to find out the answers ourselves. A coaching conversation is one of the few places that all these topics are addressed. Seeing coaching from this perspective really opened my eyes to the role coaching is playing as well as the role it could play outside the one to one format.

Seeing from a different perspective was also the theme of August's Tools and Techniques guest presenter, Stuart Mackay. Stuart presented his peaceatwork technique (or more specifically, the product he has developed to make open-eye meditation a bit easier). Complete with mirror, workbook, baroque CD and CD player, the peacatwork technique kit was a hit with those wanting to incorporate effortless meditation into their own or their client's lives. Personally, I loved the metaphor Stuart learned from one of his staff: Meditation is like cleaning the glass window. So true. - Trish Weston