Coaching models are not something we’ve discussed much on this blog. While the ICF coaching competencies give us a framework for assessing a coach’s effectiveness and skill, and guide coaches in how to grow and improve, they don’t give really practical suggestions for how to accomplish this.
Why use a coaching model?
I can think of three main benefits. First, it gives you a structure and format with which to coach. Second, it provides simple language to explain what coaching is or isn’t. I often use some kind of visual representation of a coaching model: a diagram, chart, or other image.
And lastly, it helps me stay in the coaching mindset instead of sliding into “fix it” mode, mentoring, or something else.
The very first coaching model I learned, more than 20 years ago, was called 1, 2, 3 Coach (even though it actually has five parts). It was before I’d even started training, and another coach gave me this easy way to get started.
Here are the five steps of 1, 2, 3 Coach:
- Listen
- Evoke
- Clarify
- Brainstorm
- Support
So as we listen, we want to really listen—not listen to fix, but listen to hear. What’s the thinking behind what the client is saying? What are the feelings? What’s the perspective? How are they viewing this? How might I, as the coach, develop them?
Evoke was the most important step for me to learn. Because I would listen, but only for a short time. Then I’d go quickly into problem-solving. I remember this coach saying to me,
“You need to listen and then evoke. You want them to say more. We really want to explore and get them to talk in greater detail, like, ‘Okay, so tell me more about that.'”
Another helpful phrase for the evoke phase is, “And what else would be helpful for me to know?” Something like that.
So listen, evoke, and now we’re at clarify. Here we’re going to step back a little bit. Get the view from the balcony, or another way to look at the situation. Also, what’s the belief that’s going on here?
Another clarifying question could be, “Tell me about another time when you’ve dealt with something similar to this.” In this stage, we want to look at the issue from different angles.
Next, we brainstorm, asking the client, “Okay, so what might you do about this? What do you think? What’s the simplest thing you could do? What’s the most outrageous thing you could do?”
As the coach who taught me this model explained, our goal is to help the client come up with more than the one idea they’re stuck on right now.
Finally, it’s time for support. Questions to ask include: What would be the first step? Who can help you with this? What resources do you need to be successful?
Should you try the 1, 2, 3 Coach model? Decide for yourself, but here’s what I often tell new coaches when I teach this model: This was the framework I used for my first five years as a full-time coach, and nobody asked for their money back.
P.S. Can someone who’s not a coach or coach-in-training use this model and call it coaching? Well, you certainly can’t call yourself a coach at this stage, but you can absolutely use 1, 2, 3 Coach to be more coach-like and step towards becoming a coach.