Transcend and Include

Transcend and include -- each moment transcends (or is external to) the previous moment, which becomes internal to (or enfolded in) the new moment. Ken Wilber

A recent discussion in a LinkedIn group (Enneagram Coaching) triggered many questions about how or if coaching might be based on a client's preference for the self-preservation instinct (home, food, security, family), the one-to-one instinct (personal energy, sexuality, close relationships, spiritual union), or the social instinct (social identity, participation in groups and community).

For those new to the Enneagram, go here and to my free web articles page and look in the right-hand column for the basics. For those who want to know more about the instinctual subtypes, there's a good introduction at Peter O'Hanranhan's web site.

Some teachers have used the metaphor of a three-legged stool with one leg each for the self-preservation, one-to-one, and social instincts. This metaphor is not unique to the Enneagram community, nor is the notion that an ideal "stool" will be perfectly balanced. In academic medicine the three legs of the stool are teaching, patient care, and research. The Episcopal Church's stool has scripture, reason, and tradition as legs.

The Enneagram instincts stool is often described as having one leg shorter than the other two, that leg being the one we over-use -- the one where our personality's ego-structure plays out most of its habitual behavior, a way we fall "asleep" in daily life. Perfectionists whose primary instinctual drive is self-preservation, for example, would tend to focus on organizing their physical world, on doing things right, and as coaches we would explore the degree to which this is an over-zealous, unconscious, habit-driven focus.

Perfectionists might also assume that the legs of the stool should be exactly the same length. But that's not a helpful coaching assumption. A coaching client with a one-to-one focus might have identified and released some key patterns in his one-to-one interactions as well as in his self-preservation focus. His social instinct might still be less developed than the other two, but there's nothing necessarily wrong with that, no need to ensure that his connection with community is exactly even with self-preservation and one-to-one relationships.

The coaching questions are always and only, "How do I help clients become more conscious?" "What are their habitual patterns?" "How do these patterns operate?" "As clients step aside, without judgment, and gain a broader perspective, how might they interrupt a pattern?"

If the above client comes for coaching with the desire to be more comfortable in groups, that does become a coaching opportunity. And I asked Peter O'Hanrahan to show how that might work, coaching me as an Enneagram Nine with a primary one-to-one and secondary self-preservation focus. We were looking for a way to move the energy around, to extend it in a new way.

I described attending an LGBT-sponsored dance at my church. I wanted to support the group, but entered the room in my habitual, one-to-one way, looking for someone familiar, feeling discomfort surrounded by so many faces of acquaintances I didn't know very well. I did find two people I knew, sat and chatted at their table for about 30 minutes, then left for the sanctity of my home and a good book I looked forward to finishing. Nothing wrong there. But I wish to be more comfortable in social settings, to release the habitual response of feeling marginal in groups.

Peter asked me to consider situations where I do feel quite comfortable in a group, and I described my qigong classes. As I mentioned in another blog, I'm a body-based type -- I learn kinesthetically and my discomfort in groups is physical. Peter said, "So what would be a way for you to stay grounded in your body while being around those people at the church party? Notice how your attention goes out to the people in that space, notice your anxiety, and bring your attention back into your body, being grounded in the way you are in qigong classes."

I have since been in groups where I had a chance to practice this grounding, felt surprisingly comfortable, and also noticed a spontaneous change -- I was quite chatty!

Completing the Circle: 360s

"The Tilt Suite of Tools can predict leadership that will create a climate for innovation and it does so with precision, accuracy and reliability... Why use an X-Ray (competencies) when what you need is an MRI (traits that create or detract from performance because of the climate created by the leader’s character)?" Pam Boney, True Tilt Leadership.

Twenty-five years ago I tailored all data collection to the organization where I was coaching. I'd facilitate a focus group discussion to identify key factors for success in their organization and industry, help them set priorities, and create behavioral profiles that became the measures for leadership development. In some cases, the same profiles became part of their performance management system, especially in companies where performance feedback had been informal. 

Very effective, VERY time-consuming, and old-fashioned in the eyes of present-day executives. Technological innovations and ease of Internet access have required that I rethink my strategies. Clients now can respond to an online questionnaire in 20 minutes with an iPhone while waiting for a flight at the airport.

A number of validated 360s on the market benchmark behavioral competencies that predict leadership success, and CTI (Coach Training Institute) has aligned itself with The Leadership Circle (TLC). Like Tilt, TLC is administered through the internet, has individual and culture or team options, and provides a framework for a coaching agenda. 

But TLC is based on competencies and "reactive" tendencies. In contrast, Tilt is strengths-based and well-recognized in the growing field of transcendent leadership (Founder Pam Boney was a featured speaker at the 2010 International Leadership Association Global Conference). 

Furthermore, Pam is an experienced coach, so she knows what works. Instead of "fixing leadership problems," Tilt 360 feedback provides clients with a positive vision of conscious leadership presence. The overall coaching goal is to rise above ego's personal agenda to serve the greater good for all stakeholders. As Pam describes it, "This form of leadership creates a positive impact through building a culture that is highly collaborative, creative and innovative, so it has a positive and sustainable impact on the economy at large."

The Tilt program also provides a highly supportive coach community. As a Tilt-trained coach, I'm part of a collaborative network with monthly conference calls and membership in the Tilt Forum -- where we learn from common issues and have access to highly professional support materials such as power-point presentations. 

If you're going to this year's International Coach Federation Conference, look for Pam's talk on Tilt. I hope you'll join Pam Boney in her mission to "change the world, one leader at a time."