“It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge.”
So, goes the opening of this ground-breaking TV series that still has a loyal following today.
Perhaps, as the show’s creator Rod Sterling said, it’s because the series was about people, human beings “involved in extraordinary circumstances, in strange problems of their own or fate’s making.”
That sounds like a job for a coach. We are all extraordinary people with goals and desires that seem to allude us from time to time. And in my experience, what often trips us up is seeing our perception as fact. Remember how often this was a theme on the Twilight Zone? Is what I see or experience real? Or only the character’s perception?
If we find ourselves stuck, it’s a result of treating our perspective as FACT. If a client comes to the session believing that their boss hates them, they present it as fact – not just one way to see the situation. They complain that the boss ignores them, runs hot and cold, or overlooks their successes.
When you probe a bit, you find that these statements are just one interpretation of the boss’ behavior.
Of course, the boss might hate them but what else might be possible? Or True? That there is a great coaching question, WHAT ELSE MIGHT BE POSSIBLE? What if the boss acts this way with everyone? What if there’s a problem at home or with the boss’s boss? What if your expectations of this boss are not realistic?
In coaching we often say ‘don’t believe the client’. This doesn’t mean the client is lying or being deceptive. It means we need to listen for the facts and not buy into the client’s perspective. After all, its his or her perspective that is causing the ‘stuckness’.
When I listen to a client, I am often reminded of the intro of the Twilight Zone, “…. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge.”
Maybe that’s the Coaching Zone as well. What do you think?
