by Krishna Kumar
president@certifiedcoach.org
Who wouldn’t enjoy watching a magic show? Recently, while hosting a coach training workshop, I invited my good friend, usability expert and famous mind reader, Nakul Shenoy, to share his thoughts with our coaches-in-training. Nakul elected to speak on ‘persuasive communication’ – a topic that good mind readers excel in, which he felt would be of help to coaches.
The idea that magicians and coaches have much in common was often brought home to me during the workshop. I am not speaking about the ‘aha’ moments that unfold at the end of every good magic act and often at the conclusion of a coaching session.
Specifically, my thoughts took me to the IAC Coaching Masteries and the magic that resides in them. What are some of the Masteries that magicians use? I am confident that the IAC community will be able to easily identify the Masteries from this short list of actions. For instance, I found that good magic begins with making a connection with the audience and gaining their trust in a matter of minutes. Expert magicians can do this by training themselves to listen deeply, expressing with clarity, setting clear expectations and using all the support systems that they can get. It is amazing that they do all of that while remaining focused on their act (“processing in the present”), since the only person in the room who knows how the act will end is the magician.
As a disclaimer, I must add that magicians do many others things, like sleight of hand, illusion and deception that coaches would best avoid!
Beyond the illusionary world of magic, as we move along in our everyday lives there are numerous real situations when coaching is visible. Truly, coaching is much than coaching!
When you discover situations where ‘coaching goes beyond coaching’, please share with the IAC family and I would be delighted to hear from you at president@certifiedcoach.org.
In appreciation,
Krishna Kumar
Krishna Kumar is the Founder-Director of the Intrad School of Executive Coaching (ISEC) and a pioneer in the sphere of Leadership and Executive Coaching in India. His firm belief that coaching is the best way to learn has carried him through a varied learning journey over three decades that included donning the hats of a corporate executive, an entrepreneur, a tennis coach, a B-school professor, independent Board member and an Executive Coach. The journey continues…
