Coaching for Resilience

Organization Development Journal, Spring 2004 by Barrett, Freddie

Abstract

This new framework for coaching combines the work of Frederic Hudson and Pamela McLean (Life Launch: A Passionate Guide to the Rest of Your Life) and Daryl Connor (Managing at the Speed of Change: How Resilient Managers Succeed and Prosper Where Others Fail; Leading at the Edge of Chaos: How to Create the Nimble Organization). As the speed of change has rapidly accelerated and the profession of coaching has emerged, people are bombarded with a range of solutions to deal with the situation. Here is a framework that promises to inform a professional coach about various coaching strategies and their effectiveness for a specific client.

For thirty years I have worked in corporate America in various sales and management positions. In 1970 at the beginning of my career, I was the first woman hired by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco into its Management Trainee program. Over the years, I experienced phenomenal success, especially in my sales efforts. For sixteen years I significantly exceeded my sales quota. Four of my last five years as an Account Executive at Digital Equipment Corporation, I was recognized at Digital's Decathlon as being in the top 5 % of sales people worldwide.

Over the course of my career I have often been asked, "What is your secret for success?" I used to feel uncomfortable answering the question because I wasn't clear what had made the difference. Then in 1999 while I was immersed in a master's program at the Leadership Institute of Seattle (LIOS), I read Daryl Conner's book, Managing at the Speed of Change. As I read about the nature of resilience, I knew I had found my answer. Becoming conscious of my own resilience has enabled me to reach new levels of achievement and coach others in finding resilience. While becoming a Certified Hudson Institute Coach, I developed a framework for coaching for resilience. This framework has at its base Hudson Institute's cycle of renewal. In the following pages, I will discuss how the phases of change and five characteristics of resilience have informed my coaching strategies.

Cycle of Renewal

The cycle of renewal depicts a pattern of four predictable phases of change. Depending on which of the four phases your client is charting, the effectiveness of resilience coaching may vary. People in Phase 1, "going for it," are mostly optimistic, goal oriented, and determined. In Phase 2, "stuck in the doldrums," people resist change because they may not know what to do to make things better. By definition, these people"would rather feel the pain of their declining chapter than take a chance on someunfamiliar course of action" (Hudson & McLean, p. 56). They are the least likely to respond to resilience coaching, while people in Phase 3 ("cocooning") or Phase 4 ("getting ready") respond positively to resilience coaching.

The Nature of Resilience

Resilience is not a specific characteristic but rather a combination of traits that exist to different degrees in different people. To understand the different degrees of resilience, it is helpful to view people as having a preference toward one of two orientations to change. The basis of this view can be found in the Chinese language in which the concept of crisis is expressed with two separate symbols. One symbol represents potential danger, while the other represents crisis as hidden opportunity. A salient characteristic of opportunity-oriented people is their acceptance of change as a natural part of life. I define resilience as the ability to demonstrate both strength and flexibility in the face offrightening disorder. Resilience can be looked at in terms of five characteristics: positive, focused, organized, proactive, and flexible. Although in reality these five characteristics overlap, when coaching for resilience, I address each of them separately.

Positive

When coaching for the "positive" characteristic, I ask the individual to describe the possible opportunities that are presented by the change. When appropriate, I remind my clients that there are no "failures," only opportunities for learning.

Working in a safe environment where my clients can be comfortable closing their eyes during reflection, I engage them in the following activity:

1. I ask my client to close his or her eyes and think back to the problematic situation. I ask questions like, "What was your first reaction to this situation?" "What thoughts did you have?" "Did you have any clues that warned you beforehand?" "Remember the feelings." "Let yourself re-experience the event and remember as much as you can about the moment of surprise."

2. When the client is ready, I ask, "If you now look at this situation as a gift, what thoughts come to mind?" "How has this event been an opportunity for something new?" "What lessons have you learned about yourself from this experience?" "What did you learn about the other person that has been useful?"

3. At the end of the closed-eye process, I ask the client to explain briefly the situation out loud, highlighting his or her first reaction and revealing the gifts and lessons.