Written By Naomi Ward

Naomi writes:

In Story, we ask people how they would draw the shape of a coaching conversation, then to explain what it means to them. 

It’s fascinating. There is often a container: a bucket sailing across a vast ocean, a bubble that moves and shifts as the conversation unfolds, a circle with a zig-zag running across it like a hatching dinosaur egg. 

After all, we know that coaching is not a straight line…

One of the participants drew a circle, called ‘the circle of curiosity.’ The coach, if they are embodying a coaching mindset, strives to rest in curiosity, not judgement – in their presence, the questions they offer, and what they notice:

What does courage mean to you?
What’s it like to feel stuck?
What excites you about this opportunity?
What’s the story you’re telling yourself?
You just looked up
What’s here?
What do you feel as you say that?

The participant went on to say: if we are dedicated to expanding our circle of curiosity, we are encouraging the thinker to do the same. Through this humility of not knowing, there is contact and potential for trueing our understanding, as circle after circle grows, creating spaces for the tenderness of new thinking…

How would you draw a coaching conversation?

What’s inspiring us

In this clip from her TED talk, Ruha Benjamin invites us into imagination and wonder. When we think about the future, what are the UStopias that we can create? We see coaching dialogue as a space to expand awe and imagination, so we love this question.

What are you learning?

We’d love to feature your coaching insights in this monthly email. If you have a story to share that could be a guest blog – please be in touch.

Happy coaching!

The MSB Learning Team