One of the key differentiators of the Newfield Coach training program is that it is grounded in a rigorous and substantive theoretical framework – Ontology, the study of ‘being’. When a leader is said to have ‘presence’, it is his or her ‘way of being’ that is being referred to.
To clarify what ‘being’ is let us contrast the conventional paradigm of ‘Have-Do-Be’ pushed by marketing executives all around the world with the ‘Be-Do-Have’ paradigm that Newfield coaches use. An advertisement may show a guy riding a racy bike that impresses an attractive girl who falls for him. The message being pushed is that only if you ‘have’ the bike (by buying it) will you be able to ‘do’ certain things (like attracting good looking women) and therefore ‘be’ a certain kind of person (i.e. cool and sexy). However our understanding is that the order is completely reversed. Bill Gates needed to ‘be’ a risk taker in order to ‘do’ certain things like quit college and start his own company. And only then was he able to ‘have’ fame and fortune. It all originated with his ‘way of being’.
A person’s ‘way of being’ refers to how that person perceives the world. It determines the actions he would consider taking, which ultimately determine the results he creates. The results we create therefore provide feedback on our way of being and how we observe the world. So for example, if a person were working in a safe but boring job – it may indicate that he or she perceived the world as a risky place and placed a premium on security. He or she would only be able to become a successful entrepreneur if he or she fundamentally shifted the way he or she saw the world – as a place primarily full of opportunities rather than threats. He or she would have to shift his or her ‘way of being’.
A person’s ‘way of being’ can be understood more clearly by breaking it up into three areas – the way he or she uses language, the mood he or she generates and the way he or she uses his or her body.
Language
If a boss asks a subordinate whether he will be able to complete a project on time there is a big difference between the answers ‘yes’ and ‘I’ll try’. By being conscious of the different uses and abuses of language we can become far more effective in creating what we want to achieve with others. The problem is that we are so used to the language we habitually use (including the internal conversations in our head) that we don’t realize what we are generating. Language has long been considered an inert tool that describes reality. But Newfield coaches understand that language is actually highly active and in fact generates reality, as we perceive it. Newfield coaches are highly sensitized to the various distinctions and can help their trainees learn to employ language far more effectively.
Moods and Emotions
Many times we have fights with a loved one and know on some level that we should apologize or make a peace offering. However, we are unable to take that action because we are stuck in the emotion of stubbornness. Our moods and emotions also determine our ‘way of being’ and the results we create. A coachee who is predominantly in the mood of ‘anger’ will produce very different results from one who is predominantly in the mood of ‘gratitude’. This is an area that most basic coaching models miss.
Newfield coaches understand the importance of practices that will help their coachees learn to stay more consistently in a mood that is effective for creating what they want.
Somatics
The way a person lives in his or her body also determines how he/ she perceives the world. The simple act of deliberately uncrossing ones arms facilitates a more open way of being. Standing up straight can increase a person’s confidence, but most of us are unconscious of the habitual patterns our body holds.
Newfield coaches become adept at coaching people on how to understand their body so as to create shifts in their way of being. In our coach training program we have a team of trainers, some of whom work exclusively on showing participants how to understand their body to generate the appropriate nonverbal presence for the situation they are dealing with.
Language, moods and body are all coherent. A shift in one can produce shifts in the other two and so this creates multiple entry points into shifting a person’s way of being which, as we’ve discussed, determines the results they create.
ICF Core Coaching Competencies
The Coach Partnership teaches the ICF core coaching competencies which include how to build rapport and trust, how to enter into a coaching agreement, how to work with the coachee to develop coaching plans, etc. However, we begin the Newfield Coach training program by learning frameworks, models and practices that effectively facilitate the process of change in themselves before trying it with others. Beyond learning coaching as a list of ‘to do’ steps, participants deeply explore what it means to be a human ‘being’. Ontological coaching provides an extremely deep well of knowledge from which to draw to serve this purpose.
To learn more about The Coach Partnership Newfield Ontological Program visit https://www.thecoachpartnership.com/ontological-coaching-certification-program-singapore/. To speak to one of our team members contact us