talking about ...

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Coaching is one of the fastest growing professions in the world. Its rapid growth is in response to the ever increasingly rapid change that is largely driven by enormous technological innovation. The way to deal with change is to learn and coaching is being seen as a way to deliver far more effective learning.

As a result of this growth, many coaching schools have been created to train people wanting to get into this new profession. We are not one of these. Rather we are an organisation of coaching professionals who have been coaching in corporate and private settings since 1990. Through our work, we have noticed the need for a coaching program that is designed to suit the specific needs of each participant and also provide a learning experience that will allow participants to learn what is needed to coach in a corporate setting. On that basis, we have developed coaching programs to develop people's coaching skills, which we offer in addition to our normal coaching work.

At Talking About, we utilise a ontological coaching approach, which has been identified by some commentators on coaching, such as Walter Truett Anderson, as being the pre-eminent coaching approach available today.

Ontological Coaching is based on a recently developed interpretation of human beings that has evolved from breakthroughs in our understanding of language, emotions and biology. These developments have led to an approach that provides a broader scope of intervention than any other coaching method of which we are aware. In this approach, we seek to intervene in not only the domains of language and emotions, but also the domain of the body.

Through our programs, you will learn coaching distinctions about how to observe and intervene in:

• The way in which human beings use language to develop their world view and limit what is possible for them;

• The expertise with which they have conversations and so enhance or limit their possibilities in life;

• The way in which they manage their emotional life and the impact this has on what is possible for them and its impact on others; and

• The role their body plays in generating their emotional life, the way language impacts them and the identity they create with others.

Our programs provides a number of benefits that are different to most other coach training programs:

• Each participant is assigned a coach for the duration of the program. We believe that participants should be coached through the program and have the benefit of as much one to one interaction with a professional Coach as they require in order to maximise learning. Our goal is not to just provide you with a knowledge of coaching, but a way of being that maximises your capacity to coach;

• At the beginning and end of the program, we will provide you with a comprehensive personal profile based on the Human Synergistics’ Life Styles Inventory (LSI 1 and LSI 2). This will provide some insights to your way of being, a sense of your progress through the program and opportunities for future development; and

• Our coaching programs are specifically targeted at participants who want to become professional coaches in the domain of business. We will share with you the systems and approach that we use to manage the coaching process.

 Our Program

We believe our two-person program, which first began in early 2003, is unique in that, apart from the benefits outlined above, it is also self-paced. Rather than do it at a pace to suit us, you go through the program for up to TWO years with a study partner and together you work out when you complete each assignment within the two year period.

The aim is to provide you with the scope to fit your learning into your busy life.

This program is designed to allow you to engage with a supervisor and a study partner to facilitate your learning. Accordingly, the program consists of a series of conversations with your supervisor, conversations with your study partner, assignments and coaching practice designed to have you move towards becoming an Ontological Coach. These activities will take place through a series of eleven assignments covering a period of time identified by you and your partner.

Our approach to coaching is based in what we have termed the SEA of Coaching - The SCIENCE, ETHICS and ART of coaching.

We have drawn here from the work of American philosopher Ken Wilber. He says that in any area of competence, there are three distinct domains that we must master to gain mastery overall. These domains are the "I", "We" and "It" domains.

The "It" domain refers aspects that are there for all to see and about which a community can gain an "objective" understanding. This is the domain of technology, knowledge, process and data. In terms of the "SEA of Coaching", this is the Science. The concepts of the TA approach to coaching is based in ontological coaching as originally developed by Fernando Flores and the Newfield Group and now enhanced by organisations such as the Newfield Network, Newfield Australia and, of course, us. You can find out more about the science of ontological coaching in Our Approach.

The "We" domain refers to aspects existing in the communities in which we live and that you must experience to know how these aspects apply within that community. This is the domain of relationships. In terms of the "SEA of Coaching", this is the Ethics - how we engage with our clients, in order to be successful as a Coach. This domain includes such things as trust, respect and legitimacy, and does not relate just to an understanding of these distinctions but how we actually apply them in our coaching. You can find out more about our ethical approach in Our Ethics.

The "I" domain refers to aspects that live within each of us as individuals and which we can only know or experience for ourselves. For example, how we each experience joy or the private conversations that go on for us in our head. The "I" refers to the domain of experience that we can only access second hand through conversations with others. In terms of the "SEA of Coaching", this is the Art - how we bring ourselves as coaches to the coaching conversation. This domain includes such things as our mood management, intuition and wisdom. Each of our coaches brings a broad and very different set of experiences to their work and, as a result, their own unique approach, yet all based in the same coaching framework.

This program is designed to be experienced in all three domains of competence - the "I", "We" and the "It" - to provide you with a solid foundation to attain mastery in our approach to coaching.

This program is designed to provide participants with a thorough grounding in TA's approach to ontological coaching, distinctions in regard to the ethical practice of coaching, insights into their own way of being as a coach to maximise who there are as a Coach and many practical tools and systems needed to become a professional coach. The program consist of ELEVEN assignments and conclude with supervised coaching conversations with people outside the program.

 Assignments

Each assignment will be sent to you, when you and your study partner have finished the previous assignment and will include some or all of the following:

• Reading a paper that provides distinctions and some discussion relating to the work being covered;

• A report on aspects of the paper and how they apply to the domains of life and coaching;

• Personal reflections on your engagement in the program;

• Exercises to enhance your intuition and understanding of the role our bodies play in the way we observe;

• Exercises to enhance your awareness of your own and other's emotional spaces;

• A report on experiences in conversations with your study partner or supervisor; and

• Practice coaching conversations with your study partner and people outside of the program and written reports on the experience.

There are eleven assignments in this program. They are:

• Being Human

• Human Beings and Learning

• Language and Action

• The Phenomenon of Listening

• Breakdowns and Conversations

• The Coordination of Action

• Moods and Emotions

• Emotional Learning

• The Human Becoming

• The Practice of Ontological Coaching

• Being a Professional Coach

Talking About will accredit you with a Certificate of Ontological Coaching on successful completion of this program. Our program is designed to cover all of the core coaching competences as defined by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and we were currently in process of moving towards ICF recognition for our program.

More details about the program can also be found in the course introduction.

 Your Investment

 $(AUS) 5,500  (+10% GST for Australian residents doing the program)

The enrolment process involves two stages. Firstly complete an enrolment form and send it to us. This registers your interest in the program and begins the process to find you a study partner.

When you have successfully engaged a study partner, we will ask for payment and once you have paid the course fee, you will be assigned a supervisor (coach) and the program can begin.

If you are interested in finding out more about how to become a Coach using the TA approach to Ontological Coaching, e-mail us at info@talkingabout.com.au. We will be delighted to spend some time in conversation with you to help you determine if this is the right program for you.