What’s a good action experiment? (5.14)
"The best way to come up with these action experiments is to have a spirit of curiosity."
In this video, Ramesh reflects on the value and importance of action experiments.
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RAMESH SRINIVASAN: Coaching is not just all about reflection. It's also about action.
To give you an example, I've been working with a coach for the last few years. And one of the key things I've been working on is just finding my own balance between all my professional and personal commitments.
And as she was asking me questions, I realized that there were some very important things I needed to do right away. And in fact, I left the coaching session midway through to go and do some of these things.
So the main point I wanted to make here was that coaching is not just all reflection, but really about acting on the basis of those reflections.
For coaching to have the impact you're trying to accomplish, it's often useful to have action experiments. These are experiments that the coachee comes up with on their own, based on questions and exploration by the coach, that help the coachee implement what they're trying to accomplish.
The best way to come up with these action experiments is to have a spirit of curiosity. And having a sense that they may work or they may not work, but in any case, they'll help the coachee learn something in the process.
A golfer could decide to expand his stance by a few centimeters. That helps with his swing.
And one of the coachees that I was working with, she decided to have to have a picture that she could look at before she walked into a big meeting that gave her the confidence and reinforced to her why she was trying to do something. So these are small things that can have a huge impact on the individual.
These experiments are truly experiments. If they work, great, and you can continue to use them and they become a ritual. If they don't, then they would have given you some learning, and you can use them as information for the next coaching session.
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