Simon in Wonderland

Having a 12-year-old being constantly exposed to my coaching studies is a transformational experience by itself. There are so many insights on the way. And now I have a co-author! Please give a warm welcome to Simon!

As it is a half-term break week, Simon has re-read “Alice in Wonderland.”

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where—” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

“—so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.

“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”

Doesn’t it describe a common approach that can be used in coaching? You will always get somewhere, no matter what choices you make. If you want to get to a specific point “B” then the path would matter more, even though there might be multiple paths that would get you there. So, when someone comes to coaching, we would start from identifying that point “B” first. When we have the destination, it is easier to navigate the path and make choices that would get you there faster. It might happen that point “B” will change on the journey as well. The result most probably wouldn’t be immediate, you will need to walk long enough to get there, and the coach can support you on that journey.