And one more important reason to remain sceptical: working in a solution-focused way requires a radical shift in paradigm. We are invited to change where we place our attention in coaching. A Brief Coach focuses on the details of the preferred future and on building solutions. This way of viewing clients differs fundamentally from traditional approaches that focus on solving the problem. The difference between these two perspectives is as dramatic as seeing the Earth as round rather than flat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nAny method or technique contributes only a small part to the success of a coaching session. The most robust scientific meta-study currently available on genuinely helpful professional conversations (Duncan, Hubble, and Miller, 2001) shows that the method used – the technique or explanatory model – accounts for only 15% of the outcome. Factors such as the client\u2019s resources, which account for 40% of success, and the coach\u2013coachee relationship, which accounts for 30%, are far more relevant to the results achieved than the method applied. So set aside any academic disputes about the \u201cmost useful method\u201d of coaching. Solution Focus Brief Coaching may not be it either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nBrief Coaching <\/strong>offers neither a theory nor explanatory models. From this perspective, it does not meet the conventional expectations of a scientific approach. At best, it offers a theory of having no theory. Steve de Shazer preferred to describe, in simple language, what had proved useful in his conversations rather than attempting to explain why it might be so. He was concerned that, if he introduced theories and explanatory models, they might be regarded as \u201ctrue\u201d rather than simply as working hypotheses still under development (de Shazer, 1984).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nThis paper therefore describes one of many possible constructions of coaching reality – one of many possible ways of being useful as a coach. Feel free to try some of these assumptions within a solution-building perspective<\/strong>. And remember to observe carefully whether your new assumptions are genuinely useful to the client.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf what you are doing works, do more of it; if it does not work, do something different.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nCase Example: Brief Coaching Assumptions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe following single coaching<\/strong> session with one of my clients illustrates the typical considerations and assumptions of a Brief Coach. I have selected ten of my own assumptions that seem most relevant to the brevity of this coaching conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\nI deliberately chose this particular form of case description. In his book Words Were Originally Magic<\/em>, Steve de Shazer (1994) discusses the influence of therapists\u2019 assumptions on the language used in a conversation. Another book by our colleague Ben Furman, Pickpockets on a Nudist Camp<\/em> (1992), describes from a systemic perspective <\/strong>how clients willingly adapt to the assumptions made by therapists and, in doing so, happily co-construct a reality that fits those assumptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThroughout the following case description, you will witness my client\u2019s ability to learn quickly and flexibly. In line with my own coaching assumptions, she soon discovers that she has already made far more progress<\/strong> than she initially believed. She also willingly co-constructs sustainable solutions <\/strong>and resources<\/strong> that she can access independently, without requiring further coaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA) Contracting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The request came from the Human Resources Director of a large industrial supplier. The coaching session was intended for Helen, a highly capable line manager who reported directly to the Managing Director. She was currently leading two departments and was also responsible for an urgent strategic project. She was under enormous pressure, and the expected results were critical, so she was fully entitled to receive the best possible support <\/strong>in order to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe agreement between the Human Resources department and the coach was as follows:<\/strong>
\u2022 The coaching fee was payable from the first meeting; there was no free assessment session.
\u2022 If the first meeting did not prove useful from the client\u2019s perspective, no fee would be charged.
\u2022 If the client felt that a single session was sufficient, twice the standard fee would be invoiced, because the greatest added value of a Brief Coach is generated from the very beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAssumption 1:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n