Our Brain-Based Approach to Business Coaching

At its core, business coaching is not about telling you what to do or following a prescribed course of action. In the end, humans do what is important to them. We view coaching as a dialogue based on a relationship of mutual trust and respect that focuses on outcomes desired by the client. Our coaching process recognizes that no two human beings are alike and that we are all driven by how we think. As a result, our approach to business coaching is "brain-based", meaning, we help you look at how you are thinking and whether your thinking is getting in the way of your results. Here is how the process works.

How we think influences how we feel (our emotions) which, in turn, drives our behavior. Our behavior day-in and day-out drives the results we get. So at the root of all results is our thinking -- the thought process that creates the results.

Most of the time, when we consider the results we get or the results an employee gets, we focus on behavior. That is natural because behavior is all that we can see. If we observe poor performance, we conclude that the behavior that produced the results was somehow deficient also. But that line of inquiry does not take us deep enough -- into the thinking that produced the behavior. Consequently, we may attempt to change behavior without considering the underlying thinking.

Rise of Behaviorism

Behaviorism, which had its roots in the 1930's work of B.F. Skinner, a Harvard psychologist, focused on modifying behavior. If we want someone to behave in a certain manner, we reward them in some way. In Skinner's case, he rewraded rats and pigeons with food to get them to behave differently. Skinner called the approach "operant conditioning" and extended the lab research to people teaching that external motivators will alter behavior. This early work gave rise to the incentives, bonuses and perks that are still in use today in many workplaces.

However, research during the last thirty years has not yielded any significant corrrelation between external rewards and long-term behavior change. You can get people to change their behavior in the short term, but once you remove the incentive, behavior reverts to what it was before. At the same time, still more research concluded that external incentives can be perceived as a bribe by employees who believe that there must be something distasteful in work that demands a premium payment.

Why Examine Thinking?

The evidence for examining thinking, not behavior, to change results is rooted in research in both the neurosciences (the physiology of the brain) and psychology (the study of behavior). Through brain imaging, the science shows that the brain changes physically based on the thoughts that we focus on. In fact, a new link is created. And the longer we concentrate oon a thought, the more the link is strengthed. Another interesting thing also occurs when we consider a new way of looking at something. If we generate the thoughts ourselves, the brain not only creates stronger linkages, but the process releases chemicals in the brain called endorphins. These chemicals make us feel good which, in turn, reinforces our new way of thinking. Think back to when you were wrestling with a problem and had an "aha" moment. Suddenly, there was clarity about what actions to take and that solution made you feel good, right?

So, rather than reviewing your situation and offering solutions, Headwinds Ltd. coaches take a brain-based approach and begin by asking good questions. Then we support leaders as they work out solutions on their own. The result is that you “own” the solutions and are much more likely to implement them than if they would have been handed to you by a well meaning but overzealous consultant.

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