Thursday evening we met wonderful people with all kinds of hopes regarding their lives. Many of them were members of the Pragmatic Coaching Club since a long time ago while others were joining us for the first time. What we all had in common was the desire to improve ourselves and a strong motivation to make steps towards our beautiful goal. As the topic of this Club’s meeting was ”How do you get out of your comfort zone?”, Ciprian Dobre-Trifan – Technical Mentor Coach gave us all the opportunity to look at our lives and become aware of what is it that protects us from the unknown and what is it that provokes us to grow. How were we able to do that?
The Protector and The Motivator – reaching The Balance through technical coaching
We worked in small groups, in which each of us experienced a coaching exercise as a client while the others in the group were supporting the client in his objective related to his comfort zone from three different roles: the Protector, the Motivator and the Coach (the Balance).
The Protector is the one who emphasizes the difficulties that we need to overcome in order to follow a specific dream. His main goal is to make the client understand what are the advantages of remaining in the comfort zone and also to bring up arguments for not taking too many risks on behalf of a dream. If we let ourselves be driven by the Protector alone we will probably remain in the same place, whether it’s a physical or a mental one.
The Motivator has the important role of encouraging us to take action according to our dream. Trying to constantly provoke us is part of his job. He wishes us to become aware of our resources and to use them properly in order to fulfill our dream. But again, if we only listen to this force we might push our limits so hard that we could end up broken down.
Last but not least, the Coach is the one who balances the influences of the Protector and of the Motivator so that the results of this interaction will be a realistic and well-balanced action plan. That’s why we named this role the Balance. Whenever he senses a dangerous approach of one of the two forces, he steps in and restores the balance.
Group coaching – a way of sharing valuable insights/experiences
For me, it was nice to notice that this three roles can actually work together although they seem to have different goals. Somehow, they reunite in a single entity who represents the client, their synergy becomes the client. Trying to keep these forces apart from each other creates confusion and disharmony.
From what I’ve seen, some people feel comfortable not to try something new and therefore they prefer safety over excitement. On the other hand, people who do embrace the unknown aren’t really aware of their limits and thus they often take too much pressure on their shoulders. Regardless of our pattern, we should be aware of the importance of finding a balance between safety and challenge so that we can choose the best path to follow in a certain situation.
After these exercises, we reunited in a single group so we could talk about our experiences. It seemed like everyone shared the idea that all three forces (the Protector, the Motivator and the Coach) are valuable and that they usually merge together for a higher purpose. We also found out that it really depends on the perceptions of every person whether a situation is viewed as a challenge or as a protection. I was happy to see that all of us have something we are dreaming about or something that we want to change about ourselves and, moreover, that we are willing to do something about it.
As for myself, I really enjoyed the experience of being in these roles. I can say that it was challenging for me to play the role of the Protector because I was constantly experiencing the feeling of somehow holding the people back from growing. This was an important insight for me because it made me realize that wanting to achieve something as fast as I can may not be the best solution if, while I’m doing this, I endanger my peace. So right now I’m looking forward to finding the Balance, so I’m trying to find a better way of doing things taking into account my well-being. As the Motivator, I was actually enthusiastic to be part of someone’s process of development. I enjoyed asking people challenging questions that encouraged them to think about what they can do in order to get closer to their dream.
Self-coaching – a good alternative for working individually
For those of you who didn’t attend this meeting, but you are interested in this topic, here are some examples of self-coaching questions that you can use for yourself:
The Protector: What do you like about your life in the present?
The Motivator: What would your life be like when you’ve accomplished your dream?
The Coach (Balance): How can you take one step towards your dream and still feel safe and comfortable?
The First Pragmatic Technical Coaches
 |
During this Club's meeting we have also celebrated the first generation of pragmatic technical coaches, who attended the Technical Coaching BootCamp this autumn: our teammate, Andrei Cristian, and our Club colleague Andrei Ioan. We were happy to hand them their diplomas, as recognition of their dedication and involvement with the pragmatic coaching practices. We wish them to experience success and fulfillment in their coaching practices and we are looking forward to working with them in the future activities in Pragmatic Coaching Club & School. |  |
Pragmatic Coaching Club & School – We want to meet you!
We invite you to join us on December 20 at the next Club meeting – How do you celebrate your success? that will be facilitated by Iulia Dobre-Trifan – Executive and Life Mentor Coach. Since Christmas it’s nearby we’ll be sharing gifts so it will be a special ocassion for you to get to know everyone.
If you are interested to find out more about Pragmatic Coaching School we kindly invite you to download the brochure from here. We are an enthusiastic team of coaches ready to assist you to take action!
