|
The Provocative Proposition: A Case Study
Let's explore an example derived from a real relationship. Naturally,
certain key facts have been altered to protect confidentiality.
The male client, who we will refer to as Sam, is one of five group
directors for a midwestern market research firm. The firm is one
of several portfolio companies owned by a holding company located
in Chicago.
Sam had been at a meeting in which he had the occasion to speak
with the Global Vice President (GVP) of Human Resources, with whom
he had a long-standing relationship. Sam told his friend and colleague
about a series of struggles that he had been experiencing during
the last 10 months. Coincidentally, Sam's manager had expressed
to the same GVP on an earlier occasion that she had concerns that
Sam was in over his head, and that she had doubts about whether
or not Sam was the right person for the job.
The GVP suggested to Sam that he felt Sam would benefit from working
with a coach. Sam welcomed the assistance. In the initial coaching
session, Sam told a variety of stories. Unfortunately, they didn't
have happy endings. They were about his relationship with his manager;
why the numbers were off for the whole firm; how he was unable to
further penetrate his markets because of slow product development;
the difficulty of being pressured by the absentee executives of
a holding company who did not understand his firm's business; and
the challenge of overseeing inexperienced field managers in key
positions.
The coach asked Sam to think of the various stories as the current
chapter in a longer story. Sam was also urged to share some of the
earlier chapters, particularly chapters in which Sam faced and overcame
an obstacle as a hero in victory, and chapters in which he experienced
setbacks as a hero in retreat. Later, Sam introduced and described
key figures who appeared in the story and elaborated on their relationships
with him. At another point, the coach asked Sam to list the personal
gifts that historically brought him success or victory. Together,
the coach and Sam assembled a story of success and satisfaction.
In helping Sam reconstruct the story, the coach continually probed
Sam about the characteristics and sensations associated with the
hero in victory versus the hero in retreat. The coach helped Sam
identify traits of each version of the hero. Sam needed to learn
how to notice "in the moment," which version he was running
and then choose the more powerful story.
Later, Sam explored his current behavior. Particularly, he looked
at how he was spending his time at work. He was dismayed by the
immediate flash of insight of discovering that his recent behavior
more resembled the hero in retreat.
However, he could not see how to engage his gifts (doggedness,
planning, self-discipline, open-mindedness, problem-solving capabilities)
to address his current struggles.
Sam was directed to complete several homework assignments. In one
assignment, Sam was encouraged to write a story in which a hero
who possesses gifts like his overcame challenges that resembled
his own.
| 
