Time (to think) and Space (to be)

For more than a decade, we’ve been coaching senior leaders, including countless CEOs who engage with us to take Time to Think¹ and learn and grow.
But what does that actually mean?
Have we sat down with them and offered the benefit of our knowledge and experience?
Have we shared a few thoughts or a different perspective?
Have we offered advice and guidance?
Sometimes, but only very occasionally; the exception rather than the rule.

Only if it feels like the right thing to do.  

Because our role isn’t to offer solutions. Ours is to ask questions: sometimes simple; sometimes searching; sometimes challenging².
That doesn’t mean, though, that we sit stroking our chin as if we are the wise owl or font of all knowledge.
It does mean that we sometimes share our own insecurities. Our own challenges. Our own vulnerabilities.
That’s what makes coaching a unique human, relational experience and one unlikely ever to be completely replaced by AI.
It’s in this confidential safe space between the leader and coach that moments of enlightened thinking, decisions, and actions often emerge. 

The French Composer Claude Debussy³ once said: “Music is what happens between the notes.”
And this is what happens in the coaching relationship.
The harmony emerges over time (and space) when the leader reflects on, for example, their vision, strategy, stakeholder relations, or the way they are leading themselves.
By talking out loud, they either reinforce what’s important and plan next steps or let go of the unimportant and move on.

Moreover, this conversation is a catalyst for creativity.

This is the space where development happens. When the coach then reflects back what they’re hearing, the leader can dissect, delve deeper, or dismiss their own words.
And it’s in this moment of introspection and extrospection that the leader grows and can, in turn, influence the growth of their people as well as the entire organisation.

Who would have thought that an approach so deceptively simple could have such a deep and meaningful impact? 

Resources:

¹ Time to Think by Nancy Kline available on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and Amazon.ca

² Coaching Questions: Simple, Searching & Challenging).pdf

³ Claude Debussy’s Clair De Lune (Translated as: Moonlight)