Graduate School of Coaching 
Certified Coach Training from CoachVille
Proficiency #13. Learning Guide
Relishes Truth
 

Introduction
Relishes truth.

This may sound obvious, and it's deeper than that.  After all, truth is a level above mere honesty, as in there is always a truth about a situation, person or event that, when discovered and articulated, can transforms one's life or business.  Certified Coaches have come to enjoy and orient around truth as a source of joy and guidance.
Examples:
1. Come to enjoy/relish truth about the client's abilities and limitations.
2. Teach the client how to relish the truth for the pleasure, not just the utility, of it. 
3. Be open to truths about your coaching style/paradigm.
The key distinction is relishing truth vs. expecting honesty.

The Purpose of This Learning Guide
1. To explain the Proficiency.
2. To show how mastering this Proficiency makes you a better coach.
3. To provide key resources to assist you in mastering this Proficiency.

What the instructor covers in this teleclass
1. What "relishing" is.
2. How relishing the truth aids the coaching process.
3. Questions to elicit relishing the truth.

Key Points/Topics
1. Relishing truth vs. expecting honesty.
Honesty only goes so far. We're talking about the whole notion of truth as larger than just what you think about a situation. There is always a greater truth about a situation, a person, or an event, that once articulated, can provide greater meaning and resources. Honesty is your own reality. Truth is reality.  

2. Relishing is...
Taking a keen or zestful pleasure in; to enjoy the pleasure of...
It is not "trying" to enjoy. If you're "working at it", you're missing the point. 

3. Which comes first - the relishing or the truth?
Either could come first. It's more fun when you relishing before you know what the truth is. Coming from the perspective of relishing, anticipating the relishing, creates the space for it to pop up. There are tons of truths you might not ever recognize or notice, but having a "relishing" attitude makes is easier for the truth to present itself.

4. Relish the truth about the clients abilities and limitations.
It's all good - and it all holds a truth. Enjoy it and you will help your client enjoy it - rather than judge it.

5. Teach the client how to relish the truth for the pleasure, not just the utility of it.
"Working at" relishing defeats the purpose. Model and teach real relishing, just for the pleasure of it.

6. Be open to truths about your coaching style/paradigm.
Recognizing these - and relishing them! - helps you know yourself better as a coach. When you know yourself better, you'll relax into your coaching - always a more effective coaching approach.

What are some key distinctions?
1. The perspective that truth provides calms people down.
Relishing the truth actually takes the pressure off. Some client's won't want to tell you the truth they see because they think they have to make a change, and they might not be ready. If you help them relish the truth, naming it actually feels like a relief. It no longer has the power of the secret they can't tell anyone. 

2. Strategy and direction become clear.
Once the truth is articulated, and relished, things move much faster - the strategy becomes obvious.  

3. Timing is everything.
As always, use your interpersonal skills and intuition to know when the client is ready to hear about this. You can still relish the truth, just make sure the client is open to hearing about it. 

4. Relish the Client's truth.
The point is to relish the client's truth, not your opinion about what the client's truth should be. This is part of respecting the client's humanity.

What are some general truths about relishing truth?
1. Truth is something to be enjoyed, not avoided.
2. Clients avoid putting truth on the table because they think they will have to do something about it.

What is the model for Relishes Truth?


What can the client expect?
To shift from being rigid, held-back or I-oriented to feeling unweighted, untethered, and elevated. (You will, too!)

What are the 12 types of truth to relish?

 

Why is this a Proficiency?
1. Requires keen self-awareness.
You have to be able to relish the truth in your own circumstances in order to be genuine in using this skill. If this is not your normal approach to tough situations as well as easy ones, it may take awhile to develop the habit and skill. 

2. Requires elegance and finesse.
Relishing the truth requires keen awareness of timing, and grace and elegance to introduce. You can't fake it. You will find that many of the Coaching Proficiencies relate to relishing the truth.

3. Being courageous and trusting the process.
Since truth can be scary sometimes, you have to be courageous and trust in the process, even when you don't know where it's going. Relishing always creates access to more resources and ideas...if you can trust the process.

4. Have to get out of your own way.
Rather than pushing or trying to convince the client to relish, the coach creates the environment so the client can dig in and enjoy the moment. Anyone can go on a hunt for the truth, but it's the process of actually getting excited that makes it possible to relish.

How does relishing the truth make you a better coach?
1. 
Relishing the truth opens possibilities.
When you and your client look at the truth with anticipation and excitement, it changes the chemistry of the coaching relationship. You both are more excited and having more fun, and thus open possibilities.

2. Takes the pressure off.
Both you and the client will feel less pressure, so you can just enjoy the conversation. This shifts from having to always be working at something to letting something be or evolve.

3. Reduces client fears.
Clients may fear that they always have to be working at something, or that the truth is "hard". By relishing with them, these fears are reduced or eliminated. Then they have room and space to change if they want to.

4. The client reorients to truth.
When a client discovers something, he generally reorients. Sometimes it is a simple re-definition, other times a whole rug-pull experience.  

5. Client understands themselves better.
As a result of understanding a situation better, the client understands themselves better. Particularly if you ask relishing questions...

What are some questions you can ask?
1. Is there a greater truth here - something bigger than you, the event, or the source of the problem?
2. If there were a truth, what would it be?
3. What was really going on for you when X occurred?
4. What have you discovered about yourself from this?
5. In the future, how will your life be different because of this awareness?
6. What becomes possible now because you had this recognition?

How do you know if you're getting it?
1. You are excited for the client - regardless of what's going on for them.
When you genuinely relish, you feel genuine excitement about the process of discovering the truth. This is not about being insensitive - in fact, it's about being hyper-sensitive.

2. You are able to relish your own truth.
This allows you to really respect your client's humanity - and your own. 

3. Increases the choices/option available.
While you want to relish for the simple pleasure of relishing, one of the side effects will be that your client will see more options and choices.

What are some common mistakes when using this Proficiency?
1. Trying to convince the client to relish.
If you do this, you'll both end up frustrated. Instead, create an environment where excitement is possible, come from a place of relishing. The client will follow when they are ready. If not, you've still been able to relish and appreciate the truth as you know it.

2. Trying to relish.
"Trying" defeats the purpose. If you're not relishing it, what could you relish about it? Build your own excitement first, rather than trying to force it.

3. Being insensitive.
Use all your coaching skills and intuition to know when it's right to bring this up. No need to be a cattle-prod. In fact, you may not ever tell the client what you are doing, you'll just be relishing as an unspoken invitation to join you.

Resources
15 Proficiencies | here
The 3 Generators of Client Value | here
The 5-Element CoachVille Coaching System | here

Certified Coach Training Resources | here
The Orb/Graphic Version  |
view gif | view pdf
Twelve Ways to Relish Truth  | view gif | view pdf
Relish Truth Chart | gif coming soon | view pdf

Are there success stories/testimonials related to Relishing Truth?
coming soon | got one?

Class Notes
Transcript of Training Call | here
RealAudio of Training Call | coming soon
MP3 of Training Call | coming soon* (to download MP3 file, right click your mouse over link) .


*instructions for downloading/using MP3 file here.





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