GALLWEY’S INNER GAME
Use this when you want to understand how people’s capacity to perform can be affected by internal as well as external influences.
Tim Gallwey used sporting analogies to demonstrate how coaching can be used to unlock a person’s potential to maximise their performance. His main premise was that it was ‘the opponent in one’s head’ that was more formidable than any external obstacle.
His basic philosophy is summed up in the formula:
Performance = Potential − Interference
Gallwey argues that, the main task of the manager as a coach is to reduce or remove the ‘Interferences’ that block the individual from reaching their optimum levels of performance. In order to achieve this, he suggests that a manager must engage in three stages of conversation. These can be summarised as:
Awareness: The stage where the situation is clearly defined and understood by all parties.
Choice: This is the development of conscious perception which involves broadening the vision of how to get to a desired outcome.
Trust: This is where the manager and individual being coached have unshakable faith in each other’s capacity to deliver the goods.
Gallwey was perhaps the first writer to suggest a simple but comprehensive method of coaching that could be applied to almost any coaching situation. His ideas have influenced a number of leading exponents of business coaching. He defines ‘really good coaches’ as those who make the people being coached believe in themselves, their values and their capabilities.
HOW TO USE IT
- The awareness stage is simply the step of defining the situation clearly. Don’t impose your perception of the situation and don’t tell the individual what you are going to do. Ask them what they want out of the coaching and what coaching methods they feel comfortable with.
- The choice stage is about examining the options available that will achieve the desired objectives. Record all options regardless of how unrealistic they may appear; it’s the process of getting a list that’s important. Now do the reality check and discount the options that are not feasible. Prioritise the ones that are left.
- By now, because everything to date has been done with, not to, the individual, they should begin to feel respected, valued and able to move forward with confidence. The best coaches are those who make the person they are coaching believe in themselves, feel valued and have complete trust in their own abilities. This can only be achieved if the individual trusts in the coach’s ability and intentions.
Achieving this level of coaching won’t be easy. You need a mindset that acts as a framework for everything that you do. This includes: a good understanding of how people learn, your methods of communication, your motivational techniques and your value structure. Don’t be fazed by this – these are attributes that you can learn!
QUESTIONS TO ASK
- Have we defined the situation clearly?
- Have we fully explored the options available to achieve the desired outcomes?