Why Coaches Need More Than the Traditional Non-Directive Approach

We are often asked why at Paseda360 we are bucking the age-old trend in coaching that insists coaches stick within the confines of a non-directive coaching practice.

As Paseda360 founder, I’ve had the privilege of facilitating thousands of hours of coaching, and through these sessions I have learnt that solely using a non-directive approach does not fully meet the needs of a client. It keeps the coaching intervention on a transactional level, and any transformation that occurs is shallow.

I remember in the early days of my coaching training, back in my corporate career, I would conduct non-directive style sessions. One client would say ‘I don’t know’ to almost every question I posed, even the seemingly simple ones. She was so stuck, lost, and overwhelmed she couldn’t think straight. Banging the same non-directive drum does not help a client shift when they are stuck. It requires a more directive style.

I hear ‘I don’t know’ in the coaching room today too, which is why at Paseda360 we teach coaches a more directive style that allows the coach to create a working hypothesis, present options, offer ideas, play back observations and sometimes be shift-in-the-seat challenging.

To truly create deep and lasting change, a therapeutic approach is required. I’ve learned through thousands of experiments and endless training encounters that not all therapeutic approaches are equal.

Many therapeutic approaches offer a short-term lift, which can be helpful but not sustainable. I have found and created techniques that build a resilient brain landscape, neutralise the trauma response and cultivate a positive belief system.

In 2018 I paid to have a two-day immersive session with an NLP Master. It was a fabulous session with lots of weird and wonderful techniques used. I felt fabulous afterwards and immediately signed up to train in the techniques, becoming an NLP Master soon after.

My own experience showed me that the impact of that session was short-lived, and I started to notice this with clients too. I knew there must be a better way to create lasting change and spent thousands of pounds trying to find it.

The aha moment came when I studied Psychology and Neuroscience at university. Understanding how the amygdala works helped me see which components were critical to the efficacy of a therapy.

I’ve found the therapies that work, have developed my own, and feel a therapeutic aspect to coaching is critical.

Teaching coaches to use these therapeutic approaches in their work creates a safe, non-judgemental, and supportive environment for clients to explore and understand their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours.

This approach helps clients gain deep self-awareness, develop resilience, and make positive changes in their lives through a new empathic perspective.

Additionally, the therapeutic approach can build deep trust and rapport between the coach and client, leading to more effective coaching sessions and better outcomes. As the relationship grows, the coach has paved the way to switch into the trusted advisor role.

Working the whole coaching spectrum, across the client’s whole life, is the future of coaching, and at Paseda360 we’re leading the way.