Powerful Goal Setting to Support Transformational Change

Setting goals at the end of a coaching session is a key component of the coaching conversation to support clients to make the transformational changes they desire.

We say at Empower World, it is one thing to be more aware and know information (creating conscious awareness is 95% of the journey of change according to the experts), but it is another thing to actually take action as a result of new awareness to create desired change.

Setting appropriate and effective goals to support a client to take action is critical to instigate transformation and derive new experiences. Otherwise the new awareness you have facilitated with the client can become 'lost.'

As a coach, when supporting clients to set their goals, the BE-DO-HAVE model is a simple and very effective structure to follow. When a client chooses who they want to BE - in other words the characteristic traits appropriate to support and achieve their goal - then they can decide what they will DO to reflect those traits consistently. And by BEing and DOing those actions, this means they will HAVE what they truly want.

If a person attempts to create change with the old ways of BEing, they are very unlikely to experience transformational change. For example, we probably can't expect to go from doing no exercise to carrying out a daily fitness routine with potential previous traits of let's say; laziness, comfort seeking, uncommitted, anxious unfocused, reactive and so on.

After a client has created new perspectives in relation to themselves or a situation, which can lead to a decision to create change, as coaches we can utilise the BE-DO-HAVE structure to set goals by asking the client who do they want to BE to support what they want. In other words, what are the new characteristic traits they will choose to start experiencing and living from this moment on to HAVE what they truly want.

For example, a client who wants to improve their health may decide to BE:

• more focused
• health conscious
• goal oriented
• active
• committed
• accountable to achieve their desired goal

Once the client identifies and defines their future characteristic traits, we can then ask: what will you DO specifically to reflect those new characteristic traits of BEing?' So, asking the client to determine SMART goals connected to who they choose to BE which commences as soon as possible will support them to create change. This ensures the new awareness becomes something they BE and DO versus something they know they 'should' do and don't act upon it.

Using the example of the client who wants to transform their health and the potential ways of BEing going forward, the client might decide they go for a 15-minute walk three times a week, add one fruit to their diet each day, and drink a glass of water when waking up in the morning as expressions of BEing and DOing.

These goals support their decisions to change by BEing healthy, DOing something new and specific (SMART goals) to support their desire and what they will ultimately experience. In other words, HAVE. In this example, improved health.

And to make the model of setting goals even more powerful, if we support our clients to create heartfelt goals - that is, support them to emotionally connect with them - the more the goal is much more likely to be achieved.

Listen to Empower World's Coaching and Leadership Podcast Episode-94 where Jeanine and Marie discuss the Be Do Have model which is a powerful structure to support clients to create immediate change based on new awareness and decisions to move forward in an empowering way.

Episode-94 can be found here, Direct link: bit.ly/2t7ZGFa #itunes: bit.ly/EW-Podcast-iTune or ‪#stitcher: bit.ly/podcastepisode94.