Pivoting: A Coach's Guide to Igniting Substantial Change

Change is a necessary, though sometimes challenging part of staying relevant, being engaged and seeking ways to flourish in one’s life. Coaching helps individuals develop coherent strategies for their life and work and to tap into their strengths and inspiration. Often our clients find themselves having to shift or transform their limiting belief systems or habits of mind and behavior to move them toward greater self-direction. How does such meaningful change occur? What role can coaches play to effectively lead our clients to new insights?

To answer these questions, the authors set off on a scholar/practitioner journey of research, study, and first-hand experience to better comprehend the mystery and wonder of how clients actually make meaningful transitions. Their path of inquiry describes a new science of change about how pivotal moments in coaching occur and what coaches can do to help ignite substantial change.

This book interweaves master coach stories, examples, tools, strategies, and research to inform and enlighten readers of the profound awakening human beings are experiencing to the power of individual choice. No longer constrained by the outdated Newtonian concepts of linear change and external control, individuals are now capable of self-organization by shifting their perceptions and choosing to leave patterns of limited thought and action.

From their research, the authors found that coaches play a key facilitative role in helping unleash the capacities and power of these pivots. Readers are invited to reflect on their own experiences of insight and those of their clients and to focus on priming strategies they can use to inspire and support pivotal moments for others. The authors share a dynamic model for igniting substantial change which shows the interrelationship of three core processes that contribute to a person’s readiness for a shift: beliefs, inner knowing, and memory.

About the Authors

Ann L. Clancy, Ph.D., is an executive coach and organizational development consultant helping clients to successfully reach their desired performance results. She is a researcher and co-author of the book, Appreciative Coaching: A Positive Process for Change, and specializes in Appreciative Strategic Planning. She coaches from an appreciative philosophy based on the assumption that inquiry into and dialogue about strengths, successes, hopes and dreams is itself a transformational process for individuals and teams. Over the past 20 years, she has worked with a wide range of clients from corporations, businesses and governmental agencies to community groups and non-profit organizations. She has presented Appreciative Coaching® workshops nationally and internationally. She is also adjunct faculty at the Fielding Graduate University (Santa Barbara, CA) for a 12-week academic course on Appreciative Coaching® and international faculty advisor for doctoral students in Management and Organization Development at Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand. Her doctorate is in Organizational Development from The Fielding Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA. She lives in Billings, Montana.

Jacqueline Binkert, Ph.D. is an executive coach and consultant specializing in leadership coaching with CEOs, leaders and their teams. For over 20 years, she has worked with a diverse range of clients from non-profit organizations and international corporations to educational institutions, governmental agencies and manufacturing, including the Executive Development Center of a Fortune 50 company. Clients benefit from her in-depth knowledge of psychology, leadership effectiveness, organizational behavior and change, and team dynamics. She co-authored the book, Appreciative Coaching: A Positive Process for Change, which presents a researched, evidence-based approach to coaching founded on Appreciative Inquiry. Her coaching model applies the principles of Appreciative Inquiry to individual coaching relationships. She has done workshops and presentations on Appreciative Coaching® internationally and nationally. She is adjunct faculty at the Fielding Graduate University (Santa Barbara, CA) for a 12-week academic course on Appreciative Coaching® and international faculty adviser for doctoral students in Management and Organization Development at Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand. Her doctorate is in Human and Organizational Systems from the Fielding Graduate University. She lives in Milford, Michigan, USA.