In professional coaching, we are trained to work with the client who is “in the room,” helping them explore choices they may not be aware of, identify and achieve their goals, and ultimately develop as leaders, parents, partners and human beings. We’ve been trained to put our attention on where the client has personal responsibility, knowing that for many clients the idea that they are “at choice in their lives,” can bring freedom and forward movement. This is important work, and one of the reasons coaching is so helpful. 

Unfortunately, this focus has become uncoupled from the understanding that while we have personal responsibility for the choices we make and actions we take, we are also impacted by the systems we are in – both the immediate systems of workplace, organization, family etc., and also the larger social systems of racism, homophobia, patriarchy, capitalism, and more. 

Sophisticated coaching needs to pay more attention to the intersection of personal and organizational impact. The science is uncontested on this – we are creatures of both our own creation AND by the systems within which we exist. In the words of John Donne, “No [person] is an island, entire of itself; every [person] is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” 

Effective coaches need to understand how to work with both the person in the room and the system or systems in which they exist. Generally, there is no 100% responsibility or 100% choice. There can be a fine line between blaming others or a system(s) for things we ourselves are responsible for, and blaming ourselves for things that are happening because of the system(s) we are in. 

In this webinar, we’ll find that line, explore tools for working in this intersection, and help you as a coach step into a more sophisticated and effective understanding of human development and systemic impact.