“THE TREE OF EXECUTIVE COACHING” …..AN ORGANIC FRAMEWORK FOR ENABLING INSPIRED COACHING
CONVERSATIONS….
February 2011
Introduction
This framework has been inspired by the oak tree which I can see from my Studio window
……It has been the source of my inspiration for my coaching and supervision practice for the
last 10 years.
In searching for a metaphor to describe my framework which is emergent, organic, generative
and holistic – one which describes all of what we do and how we are in the coaching moment
to help our clients become all of who they are - I realised that my oak tree said it all……..
The oak tree stands gracefully and graciously in a meadow of the River Pinn; it changes
shape, colour and hue depending on the light, the weather and the seasons; it has meandering
roots, a sturdy trunk, and many many branches which both reach for the skies and brush the
earth. Birds nest in it, people have picnics under it, and children and dogs play around it. And I
have gradually come to realise that I could use the roots, trunk and branches of the tree to
describe both the separate elements which make up excellence in coaching practice but also
critically to explore their interconnections and their interdependencies making it possible for us
as coaches working together with our clients to create a whole which is bigger, more potent
and more exciting than the parts.
It is with a wry smile that I offer up this framework because I believe that whilst we have to be
experts in our models, theories and approaches ... they also need to be known and then
forgotten in order for us to be fully present in each coaching moment …… and which then
paradoxically enables us to access our inner wisdom and all that we “know” and are aware of
in its broadest sense. As Luc de Belloy once said “technique is for the coach what text is for
the actor: they both have to be forgotten to be truly present”.
“The Tree of Executive Coaching” therefore aims to scope what we need to know and what we
need to pay attention to in order for us to work effectively with our clients… The power of the
framework is that it ultimately rests and is rooted in our humanity, what it is to be human and
what it is to work alongside another human being.
I believe that “The Tree” (– or plants of which there are many natural and hybrid varieties - )
can be used as a coaching framework, as a coaching supervision framework and as a coach
training and development framework to help us build and enhance our impact and
effectiveness with our clients. This short paper provides a headline overview of the model
which is then followed by a brief outline of its distinctive features, its benefits and next steps in
its development. A fully referenced version is available upon request. Two further papers will
then move on to explore how the principles of the “Tree” can be applied to the design of new
frameworks for leadership development and for understanding the art and craft of reflective
learning for reflective practitioners across all disciplines.
