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)"