Vassilis Antonas - Coaching for Impact

Coaching for Impact

The world is changing. The first century of the third millennium has seen exponential growth and advancement in almost all areas, and makes the last century of the second millennium look like a rusty old steam train by comparison.

The digital revolution is no longer a revolution. Practically anyone can publicise their outlook, whilst having access to a wealth of information at the click of a button. And this levels out the playing field in an unprecedented and unpredictable way.

So how can anyone stand out? How can anyone gain a competitive advantage? How can anyone master more influence?

How can anyone lead?

The answer lies in coaching: a discipline that enhances performance by generating meaning through the art of relating.

In Coaching for Impact, Vassilis Antonas brings together his dual expertise in executive coaching and psychotherapy to present a transformative, evolutionary approach. The book examines methodology, presence and fundamental skills and includes a new, innovative model of leadership. Antonas also uses Jungian concepts to address the coachs internal disposition, supporting their evolution and transformation.

Coaching for Impact equips trainee and beginner coaches with an A to Z of executive coaching and engages seasoned practitioners in an uncompromised pursuit of excellence by pushing the boundaries of leadership coaching. It will appeal to executive and leadership coaches at all levels, including those in training.

Vassilis Antonas is an Executive Coach, Psychotherapist, Organisational Development Consultant and Course Director of Impacts Diploma in Executive Coaching and Organisational Development (AADCT). He has consulted internationally for a wide range of functions and industries.

Coaching for Impact

The Evolution of Leadership

Vassilis Antonas

First published 2018

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2018 Vassilis Antonas

The right of Vassilis Antonas to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Names:Antonas, Vassilis, author.

Title: Coaching for impact / Vassilis Antonas.

Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY : Routledge, 2018.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017023954 (print) | LCCN 2017037572 (ebook) |

ISBN 9781315110400 (Master E-Book) | ISBN 9781138087569

(hardback) | ISBN 9781138087576 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Executive coaching.

Classification: LCC HD30.4 (ebook) |

LCC HD30.4.A628 2018 (print) | DDC 658.4/07124dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017023954

ISBN: 978-1-138-08756-9 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-08757-6 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-11040-0 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman

by Keystroke, Neville Lodge, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton

Contents

The purpose of this book is twofold: First, it aims to provide trainee and beginner coaches with an A to Z of executive coaching. Second, it aspires to engage seasoned practitioners beyond that, in an uncompromised pursuit of excellence by pushing the boundaries of coaching further. This entails taking the risk of, once they have been presented, putting the manuals and cook books aside and appreciating that the coachee cannot travel further into uncharted territory than the coach.

Executive coaching is a very young discipline that has flourished over the past couple of decades, for the most part due to the markets increasing demand for it, the establishment of solid training programs and some initial research. Its methodological underpinnings can be found in the behavioural sciences (psychology), business and, of course, sport; its theoretical origins can be traced as far back as Ancient Greece; its ultimate aim of maximising performance for winners clearly resonates well within the realms of military endeavours also. However, anyone who feels that an adequate understanding of just one of the aforementioned themes will suffice in rendering them an expert in the field of coaching is sorely mistaken. The reason is fairly straightforward: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Business people and executives need to supplement their expertise with the psychological background required to bring about change; behavioural scientists need to appreciate that the quest for meaning (that is effectively the primary driver for psychotherapy) needs to be combined with supporting performance and even profitability; academics and theoreticians need to be able to transfer their knowledge towards an applicable direction; sports figures (including sports coaches) need to acquire the necessary tools (language, business principles, etc.) to effectively convey their message to their teams. The ability to integrate the new, whilst maintaining the existing, is vital. Its a transformational process.

It was with the above in my (subconscious) mind that, more than a decade ago (2004), together with Bernd Leygraf, I co-founded the Diploma in Executive Coaching and Organisational Development, a coaching training course that successfully runs in London through the Naos Institute and in Athens via Impact. The course is open to all of the aforementioned categories of candidates (and more) and integrates theoretical and practical coaching components in a way that provides each and every participant with a competitive edge. At the same time, it aligns tools with skills, behaviours with internal growth, performance with meaning and, finally, doing with being.

The evolution of this training program, which was globally the very first to be accredited by the Association for Coaching in 2014, as brought about by facilitators and participants alike, coupled, primarily, with my accumulated know-how as a consultant for more than 60 local and multinational firms over the last decade and supported by my work as a psychotherapist over the last two decades, is what I will be sharing with the reader of this book. I know its a long, breathless sentence. Its been a long, breathless ride. Thank you for coming along.

Note

Unless otherwise stated, all quotes included in this book originate with the author.

For the evolution of this text, I would like to thank:

My trainer of almost 10 years and currently friend and colleague, Bernd Leygraf, for laying the foundations for both my psychotherapy and coaching practice;

my supervisor, Professor Renos Papadopoulos, for repeatedly demonstrating to me that I am miles behind from where I think I am and that I cant cut corners in the pursuit of excellence;