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The Council of Joshes
I’ve anticipated today’s post for months. I’m sharing one of my favorite techniques for personal reflection. Several of my clients have employed this technique to build their own council, and I hope I can inspire you to do the same. The Birth of The Council My Council of Joshes began to form one morning during…
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Exploring Integration
In my quest to accelerate growth—both my own and that of my clients—one building block I’ve come to embrace is integration. In a recent class, I shared my understanding of integration with one of my spiritual teachers. It resonated deeply with her; she asked me to document my definition. As I started down this path,…
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Mirror, Mirror
As my client appeared on Zoom, I was happy she looked relaxed and upbeat. My shoulders softened, and my mood lightened. She has a challenging role that often leaves her stressed and overwhelmed – the familiar dance of more #1 priorities than she and her team have the capacity to address. She began to update…
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Your Future Self
Shifting Perspectives is one of my most popular articles. In that post, I walk through a favorite exercise, enabling you to view a situation from several different perspectives leveraging your physical space to support the shift. Over the past month, I’ve engaged in a daily practice similar to this one, where I seek the perspective of…
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You’re Not The Leader You Think You Are
In 1993 I was a software developer fresh out of school. I was determined to be a “Renaissance Programmer.” Someone who could do every aspect of development, not unlike the “Full-Stack Developer” of the current era. I was sure I would have nothing to do with management and “climbing the corporate ladder.” I remember sitting…
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Coaching Ontologically
Last week I had a call with a potential coachee. He was talking to multiple coaches to decide which one would be the best fit for his journey. Early in the conversation, he said, “You describe yourself as an ontological coach – what exactly is that?” The question took me by surprise. Although I reference…
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I Do Declare
Last week we talked about speech acts and learned the distinctions between assertions (facts) and assessments (stories). In his book, Language and the Pursuit of Happiness, Chalmers Brothers points out that with assertions, first comes the world, and then comes the word. We use language to describe the world. With declarations, the word comes first. Through our declarations,…
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Just The Facts
One key learning from my ontological coaching training is a set of distinctions called Speech Acts. These were introduced by philosopher John Searles and expanded by individuals, including Humberto Maturana and Fernando Flores. The speech acts outline a set of daily constructs we use in language, including assertions, assessments, declarations, requests, offers, and promises. Language is one…
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Shifting Perspectives
Today’s blog post explains one of my favorite exercises dating back to my earliest days as a leader and mentor. I now know this exercise foreshadowed more profound techniques I would learn on my journey as an ontological coach. Ontology is the study of being. Ontological coaching examines our Way of Being – how we view the…
