How to build your coaching methodology

Finding The Central Idea For Your Coaching Methodology

Let's begin with the fundamental principle that's behind all coaching methodologies...

It's the centerpiece...

The heart of it...

I'm talking about the central idea.

The central idea is the spark, that first piece that you'll use to build up your entire methodology.

When the core concept or central idea is powerful, solid and reliable, the rest will fall into place easily.

You're going to learn exactly how to ignite that central idea inside your mind and how to get that idea to grow and evolve.

But first, let's look at something that's critically important...

It has to do with new ideas and how we come up with them.

When we get inspired by an idea or are focused on coming up with one, we tend to go to people who already agree with our essential outlook and views on life and work.

This is exactly the wrong thing to do.

When you talk to people or read books or take courses and programs that are already in sync with the way you see the world, all you're doing is reinforcing a belief that already exists in your mind.

This is the Perpetuating Learning Theory at play.

How to build your coaching methodology

The Perpetuating Learning Theory pretty much guarantees that you will never come up with a truly powerful, life-altering central idea for your coaching methodology.

You can't because you're not adding anything new to the mix of thoughts, insights, experiences, and learnings that you already have around your area of expertise.

You're not growing or stretching your thinking.

You're not expanding.

All great ideas come from a place that is outside regular thinking and beliefs.

Outside the norm.

Electricity. Space travel. The smartphone. All of these things were created from a single central idea that went way beyond "regular" thinking and beliefs of the time.

So, how do you go beyond regular thinking? How can you push past the "norm?"

Allow yourself to expand your thinking by exploring and collecting information and knowledge that are different or even conflicting with what you already believe is right or true.

Be open to learning from people who are different than you.

This is called the Disjointed Learning Theory.

How to build your coaching methodology

When you embrace disjointed learning you are NOT looking for related or connected ideas...

You're looking for the best ideas including those that are disconnected from what you already know or what you think you know around your zone of genius or area of expertise.

Going back to the example in Chapter 1...

If you're a performance coach for CEOs who are looking to rapidly reach their personal and professional goals, you need to go beyond learnings and teachings that give you the direct, most obvious methods to help them do that.

Look at ideas, insights, and techniques that are unusual, different or even contradictory to what you already know about rapid goal-achievement. For instance, don't just read books about goal-setting. Read books that tell you goal-setting is a bad idea... and what you should do instead.

When you approach learning in this way -- when you use disjointed learning -- something amazing happens...

You will start to look at your patterns, your reality and the clients that you work with, and you will naturally highlight the theories that are better for your work as a coach and ignore the theories that might not be relevant.

Your brain will find a way to connect all of these incredible, disjointed great ideas and create new theories, systems, processes... and yes, coaching models... in a way that makes sense to you and your reality (see Chapter 5 for a special template that will help you cultivate disjointed learning).

This is how an original central idea is born.

This is the moment when your coaching methodology is born.

How to build your coaching methodology

Creating A Learning Plan To Build Up Your Coaching Methodology

The more you learn, the more knowledge and experience you gain, the richer and deeper your ideas and your coaching methodology will be.

But there's a catch...

All learning is NOT equal.

Disjointed learning (see Chapter 2) - the kind of learning you need to spark a central idea for your coaching model - cannot happen randomly.

You must choose what you learn. It must happen consciously.

You must plan your learning.

Most of us do the opposite.

We allow ourselves to learn anything and everything that gets our attention.

We allow social media or sales funnels, or book recommendations to dictate what we learn.

This is not how you cultivate disjointed learning and create sustained, consistent, increased growth around specific skills that lead to a powerful, unique central idea and coaching methodology.

This is not how you become a high-level expert at what you do as a coach.

If you want to establish your expertise and create a coaching methodology that kicks a$$, you must focus and master the path of your own learning for the right information and knowledge to flow to you.

You must learn consciously.

The most effective way to do this is to list out the skills you need to achieve a high level of competence around your area of expertise as a coach and the kind of transformation you want to create for your clients.

You also need to be clear on the method or platform you will use to learn these skills - such as through an online program, a live workshop or any other learning channel (see Chapter 5 for a special template to create your learning plan).

When you embrace disjointed learning you are NOT looking for related or connected ideas...

You're looking for the best ideas including those that are disconnected from what you already know or what you think you know around your zone of genius or area of expertise.

Continuing with our example from previous chapters...

As a performance coach for CEOs who want to learn the art of rapid goal achievement, you need to look at how you can improve your skills in this area.

Think about books, courses - both online and offline - plus seminars or training you can take on goal-setting and other related factors such as accountability, productivity, confidence, and self-belief.

When you have a learning plan, you will never again be a "reactive" learner. You'll be a "proactive" learner. Someone who is in charge of their creativity...

Someone who's in charge of what enters their mind, what gets their attention and gets their time.

This way you know that every second you spend reading, studying, and watching programs, courses and videos will produce high-value, focused output that keeps you moving toward creating a coaching model that is powerful, reliable, and consistently creates results.

How to build your coaching methodology
How to build your coaching methodology