{"id":209,"date":"2011-05-24T14:10:44","date_gmt":"2011-05-24T14:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/?p=209"},"modified":"2021-06-08T14:11:07","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T14:11:07","slug":"losing-equilibrium-and-gaining-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/2011\/05\/24\/losing-equilibrium-and-gaining-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Losing Equilibrium and gaining learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I was running a coaching session with a senior executive a couple of weeks ago and they got angry at me. In fact, I can\u2019t remember anyone getting quite that angry with me for quite a while. I think the last time was when I was running a session with an intentional affective methodology. It involved some powerful music to demonstrate the potential impact of poorly delivered feedback, and then how to deal with a recipient\u2019s negative emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this occasion, however, it was very different circumstances. The coachee has given me permission to talk about the experience in my blog, but I will not go into specifics. Suffice to say I asked a question, they answered it and then there was a realisation as to how uncomfortable they were with the particular value they realised that they held. And, not unexpectedly, they got angry at me. And it was \u2018at\u2019 me rather than \u2018with\u2019 me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Half an hour later, everything was fine \u2013 no, it was better than fine. They had accessed some powerful learning, our relationship had developed further and I had a real sense of achievement. And it was all down to the Adult Learning Cycle (ALC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a model that is little known about as far as I can see. Having Googled \u201cAdult Learning Cycle\u201d, I got pages of Kolb\u2019s Experiential Learning Cycle (ELC). And whilst the two can be linked, they are very different. Having then Googled \u201cAdult Learning Cycle Taylor\u201d, I got a few hits in amongst all the ELCs. That\u2019s because the model was developed \u2013 reasonably recently, in 1987 \u2013 by Marilyn Taylor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly to the ELC, the ALC has four stages. It is usually drawn in the form of a circular clock face with arrows pointing in a clockwise direction between each of the stages \u2013 and the stages are Equilibrium (12 o\u2019clock), Disorientation (3 o\u2019clock), Exploration (6 o\u2019clock) and Re-orientation (9 o\u2019clock). If that doesn\u2019t help you picture it, here\u2019s a link to a blog by a guy called Harold Jarche <\/a>who has skills I do not have \u2013 he managed to create and post a diagram of it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going back to my coaching session, we had started happily in Equilibrium. What happened when I asked the question and my coachee suddenly realised about their potentially limiting value, was they moved quickly into Disorientation. It\u2019s not a comfortable place to be for the person experiencing it. The coachee isn\u2019t expecting it and so they can become confused, anxious \u2013 or angry at the source. And in a coaching situation, the source is often initially seen as the coach as they asked the question that prompted it. Hence why I said earlier that they were angry \u2018at\u2019 me rather than \u2018with\u2019 me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people experiencing this want to get back to Equilibrium as quickly as possible \u2013 because it\u2019s more comfortable there. Furthermore, they didn\u2019t expect it, they\u2019ve been caught by surprise and can feel vulnerable. If they do that, they \u2018short circuit\u2019 the model (by missing out the Exploration stage), and gain no learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the point at which the coach needs to support the individual, help them with their self-esteem and work with them regarding their motivation to explore the issue. The more that can be elicited from the Exploration of the matter, the more learning there will be. What was driving the Disorientation? What were the reasons for it being so impactive?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the Exploration has been completed, the Reorientation is where the coachee reflects on their findings and starts to make sense of it all. In the specific example of a couple of weeks ago, my coachee decided to change some of their work practices and prioritise aspects of work differently due to the learning. And then they are back in Equilibrium \u2013 but a slightly different person from the one they were when they were last in Equilibrium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the emotions involved, individuals working through the whole of the Adult Learning Cycle are often emotionally drained. It is worth helping them understand what they have been through \u2013 and the model really helps \u2013 so that they can see it is not an unusual process, and that it is how we can develop deep learning. Having said that, I generally only spend a short time on it at that point, and spend a longer time on it when we next meet \u2013 when they are less tired. If the person understands the process, there is more potential for them to be able to work themselves through such issues in the future \u2013 or assist other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It really is a great model. And as Taylor herself explained, \u201cIn my experience, many more learners are at the threshold of change than realize this fact. Even those who start out saying, \u2018I just want a piece of paper\u2019 or \u2018I need this for my job\u2019 often find that what they really wanted was to look at their life choices in new ways\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So really, you never know when it\u2019s going to happen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was running a coaching session with a senior executive a couple of weeks ago and they got angry at me. In fact, I can\u2019t remember anyone getting quite that angry with me for quite a while. I think the last time was when I was running a session with an intentional affective methodology. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,8,30],"tags":[227,228,226,217,229,231,230,232],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210,"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions\/210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}