Category: Resources
Where Horizontal and Vertical Coaching Intersect
How Deep Can You Go as a Coach?
How deep we go in as a coach may well come down to three factors: how open and capable of deep exploration our client is the depth of presence and skill of the coach the intention of the program. I guess as you read this there are a lot more than three factors in the…
Transcending Unconscious Stories
It was one of these weeks where things were quickly going downhill. Or so it seemed. My partner was away for work. My dog got diarrhea. My daughter got the flu. My network of support was on vacation… and so on. I could see that I was looking outside myself, trying to identify the perpetrator…
Of Not Knowing
Is Anyone Listening?
It’s amazing how often we assume our requests can be heard while ignoring the capacity of others to listen to what we’re asking. Some examples: You made a request by email If your recipient didn’t read it, didn’t see it, or is overwhelmed by emails and messages, as so many people are, you probably don’t have…
Integrating Painful Feelings
What are you doing with your feelings? Chances are, not enough! We’re all trained by our culture and family of origin to become “thinking” and “doing” machines and to forget about our feelings as much as possible. It starts early. As young children, we’re told that we don’t need to feel afraid, that it’s not…
Wonder as a Practice
Looking for answers The world, and our experiences in it, are mysteries. There is so much about ourselves, others, and life that we don’t know. Our ego-driven minds don’t like this. We want clear answers! When we don’t understand, we do what we were conditioned to do: we become good students searching for the right…
Prison of Personality
Integrating What Is Broken in Us
We are all broken. In some circles, this is a radical thing to say (“Hey, some of us are doing just fine, thank you!”); for others, it’s a downer (“That’s a pretty negative view of people”). But for me, this is an uplifting truth and a fundamental tenant for coaching. For most of my youth,…
The Importance of Self-Development in a Breaking World
I admit it: even as an Integral Coach and the person at NVW most responsible for spreading the word about our work, I’ve had moments in recent months when I’ve second guessed the point of it all. With so much of the world in dire emergency, it’s to the point that I’m literally forgetting to…
Professional Coaching Certification as a Pilgrimage
I recently spent some time in northern Spain walking the ancient Camino de Santiago (The Way of Saint James). The Camino is a pilgrimage that has been walked for hundreds of years by people with a wide range of motivations from spiritual, to life transitions, to wanting a cultural experience. At the essence, all pilgrims…
Responding to our Times, Part 2
Balancing Judgement and Mercy
Whatever we say we’re most committed to, a great many of us live as if judgement were the primary human value, judging ourselves mercilessly and without respite. And, when we live in the stream of harsh judgement, no effort is enough, no achievement worth much, and our efforts to help seem to us nothing but disguised…
Coaching Certification: Are Shorter Programs Better?
As the Director of Enrollment at New Ventures West, I enjoy hearing about the different metrics that potential students use to compare our coaching certification program to other coaching certification programs. The length of coaching certification programs sometimes comes under scrutiny. There are coaching certification programs that offer “certifications” after just a day, or a…
The Enneagram Prison Project and Integral Coaching
NVW founder James Flaherty was recently interviewed about his work with the Enneagram Prison Project as part of the Shift Network’s 2017 Enneagram Global Summit. He was joined in the session by EPP founder Susan Olesek and program ambassador Alex Senegal. Inspiring, informative, and deeply moving, this conversation gets to the core of what can…
Beyond Good Questions: How the Integral Coaching Method is Different
The Integral Coaching method asks questions, of course. We start with a lengthy intake conversation intended to give us a picture of our client’s world. We ask the client their thoughts and feelings about the issue they’ve brought and what they have tried by way of resolving it. We also make sure to inquire into…
Choosing a Coach Training Program
My path into a coach training program Eight years ago I found myself entering a life transition. Up to this point I was making a living as a technical consultant, working just enough to stay financially stable, while I devoted the majority of my time to nonprofit work. Specifically, I was part of organizations that worked…
Responding to Our Times, Part 1
Become a Life Coach and an Integral Coach
As Director of Enrollment at New Ventures West, a question I am often asked is, “Is this a training to become a life coach or is it a training to become an executive coach?” My answer is “yes … and no.” Many people approach our training with the intention to become a life coach or…
Work-Life Balance: Setting Boundaries from Within
Work-life balance and boundaries In a world that’s becoming faster paced by the minute, work-life balance is a hot topic. In particular, we talk a lot about boundaries: recognizing we need them, developing the competency to assert them (usually by saying “no”), and vigilantly maintaining them so that we’re not overextending and neglecting what is…