“I enjoy working with Carla’s easy yet focused approach. I highly recommend ROI Executive Coaching to executives and organizations that are striving to enliven business goals and expedite change through a leadership and team development program.”
— , Associate Dean, UCLA Anderson School of Business
Scientifically speaking, context is crucial…nothing really transfers, everything is always new and different and unique to each of us.
ROI Executive Coaching is brain-friendly with a scientifically based methodology. Every leaders, team or group is unique and experiencing a particular set of dynamics at a given time. ROI recognizes this and therefore, customizes each and every engagement with scientific sensitivity to context, system dynamics and individuals involved.
Excerpt from ROI Executive Coaching case study, The Neuroscience of Executive Team Coaching….
"Integration was our overarching thought during team workshops. Specifically, how to link these individuated elements (team members) to one another so that the process could lead to a state of continued health and well-being. (Siegel & McCall, 2009) Movement toward integration can occur when a system reaches a state of balance despite disruptions; a synthesis of stability and change that remains dynamic throughout the process. ROI believes that achieving this state with a client can assist with positive disengagement at the end of a coaching program.
In Siegel & McCall’s research paper, Mindsight at Work, published in the NeuroLeadership Journal, Issue Two, the authors suggest that we imagine this process of integration as a river. They explain that a well-led organization will move from the eddies and back into the forward flow through time with flexibility, adaptiveness, coherence, energy, and stability. Extending this metaphor for its own use, ROI saw its role as the river supporting kayakers (team members) as they paddled ahead at their own pace. Some floated forward together, and some flipped the kayak, causing others to come to their rescue. As the kayakers paddled along, ROI, as the river, gently provided the current to move everyone forward together, out of the eddies, and into the flow. (Csikszentmihalyi, 1991)"
This excerpt, taken from the ROI Executive Coaching case study, The Neuroscience of Executive Coaching, explains how the SCARF model, presented by David Rock in the NeuroLeadership Journal Issue One, can help to cultivate readiness in executives and teams….
"The neural drivers identified in the SCARF model also have the capacity to either enhance or decrease an individual’s coaching readiness and level of engagement in the process. When SCARF concerns are mitigated, a client’s state of readiness appears to increase, and vice versa.
Readiness is a popular topic of discussion among both clients and professional coaches. Potential clients usually want to know if they, or their executives and managers, are coachable. Clients ask coaches to create readiness. What is readiness?
ROI describes readiness as an individual’s degree of self-awareness and motivation to increase their effectiveness and achieve a desired state. While some individuals engage voluntarily in the coaching process, typically in team coaching, members are involuntarily enrolled by a supervisor or company policy. In the case of the latter, SCARF domains can be triggered immediately, and these individuals come into the process feeling threatened and distressed. This is not an optimum state of readiness or level of engagement for coaching.
Workplace engagement can be defined as the heightened emotional connection that employees feel for their organization, which then motivates them to exert greater discretionary effort. (Conference Board, 2006). With the application of the SCARF model and individual coaching (whereby team members realized they needed and desired change), ROI was able to cultivate readiness and a neutral, engaged, or deeply engaged state (Rock & Tang, 2009) with the client."
This excerpt was taken from ROI Executive Coaching case study, The Neuroscience of Executive Team Coaching.….
"From my perspective, with 25 years of practical experience, including roles as a marketing executive, business owner, executive education consultant, professional coach, and member of the NeuroLeadership Institute, I am noticing the paradigm shift taking place in the way executive development programs are designed and delivered. As research from the field of cognitive social neuroscience continues to offer practical applications for personal and professional development, the executive education industry must naturally evolve to a more evidence-based methodology.
Studies show that merely 15 percent of learning through traditional teaching media results in sustained behavioral change. (Cromwell & Kolb, 2004) Although the academic community has a clear advantage in informational learning, it has little advantage in behavorial/emotional or transformational learning. (Pfeffer & Fond, 2002; Mintzber, 2004; Bennis & O’Toole, 2005; Navarro, 2008)
This thinking was underscored in 2008 when some 100 Harvard Business School members who conducted a “100 year” review of business programs and found the current state to be “depressing”. They concluded “business schools are skilled at ‘know what’ – teaching disciplinary and functional knowledge. But they fall down on the ‘know how’ – teaching students how to think beyond information silos and to be more self-aware as leaders. It’s the ‘know how’ that is most valued in the business world…” (Thompson, 2008)
The paradigm shift indicated by the Harvard study calls for a flip-flop in the percentage of learning and development delivered through traditional teaching media (informational learning) versus experiential. Though, the shift might be more dramatic begging the questions, ”What if more leading executive education providers endorsed a point-of-view that positioned social cognitive neuroscience as the foundation of their program designs? What would those program designs look like? How would the individuals in those programs benefit?”
While business schools transition their traditional methodologies, there is interesting potential for neurocoaches to consult and collaborate with the schools to facilitate this shift. There are also immediate opportunities for emerging, boutique NeuroLeadership coaching practices to design and deliver transformational, evidenced-based programs in partnership with forward thinking organizations.
To further our field, we propose that NLI consider identifying and publishing a list of core neuroscientific guidelines deemed to be foundational to brain-friendly coaching programs. Professional coaches may self-qualify or follow a NLI process to have program designs stamped “NeuroLeadership Institute (NLI) Approved” as a symbol of credibility and integrity. Coaches who have the discipline to obtain the NLI stamp would demonstrate their thought leadership and dedication to the design and delivery of optimal, evidence-based programs for clients.
As the field of NeuroLeadership continues to enhance human enterprise, and performance and neurocoaching becomes the gold standard, the momentum may challenge business schools, executive education providers, and professional coaches around the world to design more focused, evidence-based programs that increase the probability of successful individual and organizational transformation."
This excerpt on Neurocoaching was taken from ROI Executive Coaching case study, The Neuroscience of Executive Team Coaching.
"If neuroscience informs and guides a professional coach’s methodology, then the title of “neurocoach” seems both reasonable and helpful. This distinction sends a signal to a client that the coach studies NeuroLeadership and integrates relevant neuroscientific findings to facilitate, augment, and optimize coaching programs. ROI approached the WSR engagement as a neurocoach might, keeping the brain and mind of the client omnipresent.
Credentialed professional coaches of the International Coach Federation (ICF) demonstrate 11 core competencies at a high level. One of these competencies, Coaching Presence, is defined as the ability to be fully conscious, intuitive… be able to confidently shift perspectives, and self-manage emotions without being overpowered by a client's needs. (coachfederation.org)
To maintain a coaching presence, a coach strives to be aware of when and how their mind maps and beliefs enter the coaching space. This mindfulness can signal the development of Mindsight: The reflective capacity to become aware of our own minds, as well as our empathic ability to recognize the intentions and emotional states of others and to truly understand where they are coming from. (Seigel & McCall, 2010) Mindsight has been considered our seventh sense, our ability to perceive the workings of our own minds, as well as the minds of others. Mindsight is a mission critical competency for coaches to ensure their minds and emotions connect with clients but are not entrained.
In neurocoaching, to be client-centered or have a client focus, takes on a deeper meaning when it has the potential to connect clients’ neurons in new ways, leading to novel thoughts, beliefs, and feelings. When David Rock explained coaching to neuroscientist Jeffrey Schwartz (Rock & Page 2009) he responded, “Oh, I see, what coaching is…it is a way of facilitating self-directed neuroplasticity.” This quote immediately struck me, and it continues to guide my coaching practice.
After learning about neuroplasticity, the power of the brain to rewire itself; I was liberated and relieved to read about Neural Darwinism (Rock 2006), the term for how the brain constantly prunes and removes unused links. As a coach, this made immediate sense. If we wallow in an individual’s problems, we reinforce those problematic neural connections. Instead, as neurocoaches, we “operate”’ on our clients’ brains with questions that have the power to reconfigure and modify neuropatterns into new designs, new thoughts—insights—that can move our clients forward in a meaningful way. It is a relief to have permission to “let go” of the neuropatterns or mindmaps that aren’t working for our clients, knowing that without attention they will fade and fall apart. Instead, neurocoaches can focus energy on creating new ways of thinking that will be more productive, positive, and effective.
….Finally, ROI was keenly aware of the impact of the coach’s presence on the dynamics of the system (CEO and team). ROI promotes meditation, yoga, and visualization to prepare for coaching sessions. This preparation helps the coach monitor physical, auditory, and emotional signals to create an environment of positivity in an attempt to expand the client’s peripheral vision and generate greater insight. (Fredrickson 2009)"
The Harvard Business Review, July/August 2010 issue MBA & executive education program directory article referred to a survey by the Institute of Executive Development asking companies how they calculated ROI on executive development:
o 10% said always
o 7% said frequently
o 15% said sometimes
o 21% said rarely
o 46% said never
o 82% said sometimes, rarely or never
Some organizations don’t take measurements because it is embedded in their culture and they simply adhere to the philosophy that developing leaders is essential to growth and success.
While ROI Executive Coaching understands and agrees with this philosophy it also believes that through measurement program designs and methodologies can be improved and become increasingly effective for individuals and organizations.
The article refered to the trend to increase evaluations of ED programs.
ROI Executive Coaching prepares an ROI report for its clients 100% of the time.
The power of feedback is described in this excerpt from an ROI Case Study, The Neuroscience of Executive Team Coaching.
"….At the end of each workshop, we initiated a step-by-step process for feedback. After demonstrating the process, team members were allowed time to practice the skill. The key factors that guided this practice included allowing the team members to offer their own observations first. Other factors included keeping the feedback specific and focused on the positive. Follow-up questions such as “What did you do well and discover about yourself?” or “What went well, what impact did that have, and how do you think you could do more of that?” serve to reinforce positive neural patterns and create new habitual behaviors.
The delivery and receipt of skillful, positive feedback is further endorsed by neuroscience research indicating that social and physical pain are similar (Lieberman & Eisenberger, 2008) The findings suggest that bringing out the best in people in the workplace depends at least as much on optimizing a person’s social and emotional well-being as it does on cognitive processes.
Leiberman and Eisenberger offer the analogy of “expecting someone who has a broken leg to run from one meeting to the next…But when someone is in social pain, we often treat this as if it should be compartmentalized and kept outside the office. We might tell them to ‘get over’ their hurt feelings despite the fact that we would never think someone should ‘get over’ their broken leg.”
According to Leiberman and Eisenberger, specific, positive feedback that treats individuals as valued members of the organization may activate reward systems in the brain that promote stronger learning of those behaviors. When social needs are satisfied, the brain responds in much the same way as it responds to more tangible (monetary) rewards. Skillful feedback can be viewed by organizations as a highly cost-effective social reward system."
During a recent engagement, ROI Executive Coaching leveraged the Birkman Method® assessment to combine cognition & feeling to affect powerful change.
Coaches and other change agents can find it very useful to acknowledge the role of emotion. Neuropsychologist Dr. Louis Cozolino (2002) underscored this fact when he noted, “Intellectual understanding of psychological problems in the absence of increased integration with emotion, sensation, and behavior does not result in change…There is a recognition that the evocation of emotion coupled with conscious awareness is most likely to result in…personal growth.”
The Birkman Method® assessment is unique for its ability to report the potential emotional stress behaviors if underlying needs are not met. This assessment creates a complex and useful picture of individuals that spotlights their usual behaviors, underlying needs, and resultant stress when needs are not satisfied. The Birkman Method® measures eleven (11) components on a scale of 1 (low) to 99 (high) and measures Usual Style (public self) Need (private self), and Stress (Red-Zone emotion) for each component. In Birkman terms, when needs are met, Green-Zone emotions (Ringleb & Pagon, 2009), or the individual’s usual, positive most productive self will emerge.
This assessment tool was particularly powerful, because it enabled the coach and client to articulate triggers for Red-Zone emotions that might be affecting the person’s performance and effectiveness on the team. These challenges were captured on individuals’ trackers and explored during coaching sessions. By applying knowledge gained through the Birkman Method®, individuals were able to combine emotion (“How did that situation make me feel?”) with cognition (“Why did I feel that way?”) to generate insights and create personal growth.
ROI Executive Coaching recently completed an executive team engagement. The following post describes how the SCARF model served to guide the coach throughout the engagement.….
The SCARF model is an excellent tool for leaders, and it proved to be a highly practical and effective guide for ROI Executive Coaching during this phase. ROI remained cognizant of SCARF throughout the engagement and aligned behaviors to mitigate potential amygdala triggers that could interfere with a positive, productive frame of mind. (Goleman 2002)
This is a quick summary of ROI’s practical interpretation and application of SCARF from an executive coaching perspective (Rock, 2008):
Status
Status refers to an individual’s feeling of relative importance compared to others. Related research by Eisenberger and colleagues showed that when individuals perceive a reduction in status, or social pain, the same regions of the brain are lit up as would occur with physical pain. (Lieberman & Eisenberger, 2008). ROI focused on positive feedback and affirmations in an attempt to trigger the ventral striatum, the brain’s social reward system, and increase feelings of satisfaction.
Certainty
ROI was aware that the brain is a pattern-seeking device constantly seeking to predict outcomes to satisfy its craving for certainty. A blip in a predictive pattern can send an error signal to the orbital frontal cortex (OFC) and interrupt an individual’s focus. ROI watched closely for expressions of uncertainty surrounding issues such as role definition, hiring decision, or financial transparency. To counter these uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, ROI coached the client to find a place of increased certainty to calm the perceived threat.
Relatedness
This was the most complex and challenging domain to manage during this engagement. Relatedness refers to an individual’s sense of belonging, and how that person determines whether someone is on the team or not, i.e. friend or foe. ROI saw this domain as closely related to trust. Viewing a teammate as a competitor has been shown to significantly reduce an individual’s capacity to empathize. ROI witnessed behaviors and listened to perceptions of individual competition that triggered the threat response numerous times. ROI’s explanation of the brain science behind these feelings helped to normalize the emotions and equip the team members with the knowledge to relate more effectively.
Fairness
An individual’s threat response is easily triggered by a sense of unfairness. ROI witnessed numerous SCARF infringements throughout the engagement, with many of these related to a perception of unfairness. The OC decided to revisit its ground rules for behavior and focus on process management and role clarification, all of which appeared to mitigate most feelings of unfairness.
When a coach tunes into the five domains, the expressions of these threats are quite distinctive and difficult to overlook. One particular situation triggered all five domains for a team member, which catapulted her into significant distress and disengagement. During this individual’s personal coaching session we were able to tease out the SCARF threats, discover options and improve thinking to temper the concerns. This process significantly reduced her stress, enhanced her situation, and lessened the potential negative impact that her emotional distress might have transferred to the team.
There are many interesting links between professional coaching and the blockbuster movie Avatar. I noticed the "hair meld" that the characters practiced to "become one" with others.
As a professional coach, there is a type of "hair meld" created that connects the coach with the client's mind/body to discover the insights and solutions that will be most powerful for the client.
For coaches, the visual of the "hair meld" that is practiced throughout the movie is a strong reminder of the power of that connection to achieve true understanding and exceptional results for clients.
When the client is ready the connection is established. As client and coach establish that special connection it can feel for some as if they are taking off, as in this Avatar clip, on an adventure that can feel exhilarating, freeing, powerful and sometimes frightening but, together, they explore and discover things they were not able to alone.