Overview

Exploring tangibles gives a wide-angle lens to someone who previously has had only a close-up focus. It s the coaching equivalent of the TV advertisement for a national newspaper where a young male is being chased down the street by a policeman. The viewer s assumption is that the youth is trying to escape arrest. It is only when the camera draws back that we see that the youth is rushing to save someone who is in danger of being crushed by falling scaffolding, and the policeman is following in his wake to offer support. The strap line a different perspective , is exactly what the Manager Coach is enabling when they spend time in establishing tangibles.

For some staff this will be enough. The recognition of the wider terrain will enable them to start moving towards identifying their goal and solutions for achieving it. For others it will be insufficient because they come not only with a narrow focus but also with assumptions that colour their view of themselves and the world. The A in the STARTED model signals the need to give time to exploring those assumptions that are blocking progress.

Assumptions sit in the subglacial territory; the holder does not refer to them because they behave as though they...