From Inner Game to Neuroscience - AC Conference reflects the progression of coaching over ten years
Association for Coaching, 2ndJuly 2012:From Inner Game to Neuroscience was the theme for this year's Association for Coaching Conference in Edinburgh, which received more than 300 delegates.
The Conference, which took place at St Paul's and St George's Church on 22ndJune, reflected how far coaching has progressed in the ten years since the Association for Coaching was established, from the profession's early roots in sports coaching to a practice based more strongly upon psychology and neuroscience today.
Supporting coaching's sporting origins were Tim Gallwey, author of The Inner Game of Tennis, which informed the development of coaching approaches still prevalent today and Dr Frank Dick, OBE, who hascoached many Olympic athletes, including Daley Thompson, Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe. The conference also brought to life how things continue to change, including the emerging insights from neuroscience as to the working of the human brain, and how coaches work with that knowledge.
In a video launched by the Association for Coaching at the event, Tim Gallwey commented: "Coaching is for individuals who want to learn, to increase performance and enjoy their work and play. Learning is an inherent capability within people. You don't have to put it into people, you have to encourage it and bring it out and that's the privilege of the coach."
Professor Paul Brown, a well-respected psychologist and executive coach commented: "Behaviour and neurobiology are completely interlinked. To change behaviour, there is a need to change the brain structurally."
This aspect of coaching, looking beyond just its plethora of coaching tools and techniques that have continued to be developed over the last decade, was explored well in the conference. Psychology and neuroscience were by far the more prevalent areas, with topics covering the coaching relationship, emotional intelligence, mindfulness and cognitive behavioural coaching and positive psychology.
The need to understand emotions was a theme of the conference, being touched upon by a number of speakers. Professor Jonathan Passmore commented: "We need to be mindful of our emotional state and that of our clients and bring that into our coaching practice."
Professor Paul Brown stated, "The key to brain-based coaching with a neuro-behavioural framework is to understand, catch, use and regulate your client's emotional energy, whatever it is, in pursuit of the coaching goals." Coaches were urged to remember that there are no good or bad emotions, rather all emotions are important in context. However, emotional regulation is key to success.
Lynne Cooper, Head of Standards and Accreditation UK at the Association for Coaching comments: "The Conference was an excellent reflection of how the coaching profession has developed. The coach needs to understand something of how the brain works and know and regulate their own emotions in order to do the same with the coachee. This helps create the right relationship and conditions to support the coachee to make desired changes."
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Established in 2002, The Association for Coaching ® (AC) is an independent, not-for-profit body with the goal to advance the profession of coaching worldwide. This includes promoting best practice and raising the awareness, standards and ethics of coaching, with members made up of professional coaches, trainers/providers of coaching, and organisations building coaching cultures.