International Coach Federation

Below is part of an occasional blog series highlighting the Catalysts and sessions of ICF Global 2012.

John Blakey, PCC

In 2009 Ian Day and I co-authored the book "Where were all the coaches when the banks went down?" in which the we introduced concepts such as ZOUD (Zone of Uncomfortable Debate) and the FACTS coaching model (Feedback, Accountability, Courageous Goals, Tension, and Systems Thinking.) We emphasised the responsibility of professional coaches to leverage the opportunity presented by the privileged coach-client relationship and to act in the interests of the wider system (rather than exclusively in the interests of the individual coachee) by adopting a more proactively challenging stance with their coachees. Our first book created a lively discussion and debate amongst the coaching community, as it forced coaches to "look in the mirror" and to challenge deeply-rooted practices.

Ian Day

Our latest collaboration titled "Challenging Coaching - Going beyond the limits of traditional coaching to face the FACTS" was published in April 2012 and further explores these themes. In this latest book we explore more deeply the techniques for increasing the level of challenge using our FACTS coaching model to unlock deeper potential in business leaders and their teams. Long-held coaching principles such as being non-directive, building rapport, and holding to the individual's agenda are put under the spotlight as we question their relevance to a 21st-century business environment where the needs of the wider organization must take precedence over the particular wants of any specific individual. Our session will inevitably generate questions for coaching practitioners since it acts as a wake-up call amongst traditionalists and buyers of coaching services.

Our session will provide attendees with an opportunity to explore these concepts experientially and to examine practical techniques for "turning up" the degree of challenge within a coaching conversation. We anticipate a highly interactive session with plenty of opportunity for discussion and sharing of experiences and insights from the audience.

John Blakey, PCC, and Ian Day are Catalysts at ICF Global 2012, October 3-6 in London, UK, where they will be presenting “Challenging Coaching: Going beyond traditional coaching to face the FACTS." Learn more.