The Lighthouse Coaching Model

A Coaching Model By Leora Kirby, Leadership & Life Coach, UNITED STATES

The Lighthouse

As I sit here and ask myself who am I as a coach, I reflect upon the numerous coaching sessions and classes. I am a person who cares deeply about the situations in which my clients complete their journey through unknown waters and make plans to arrive safely at their desired destination. My goal is to be a PCC coach who provides life and leadership coaching services to clients on their career and life journeys or to clients who are exploring their post-career journey.

At Get Courageous Coaching we listen to our clients’ desires to be mariners on life’s seas. Just as sailors take on the challenges of learning how to navigate both calm and treacherous seas, this coaching model helps you adopt a growth mindset of adventure, hold fast to conquering rough seas, and build a supportive crew around you as you set sail toward your desired destination. Whether you are thinking of a new career, taking on a leadership role, or exploring thoughts of retirement; our coaching model will help you stay focused on your goal, battle the thoughts of failure, and achieve goals that you thought were impossible.

The Lighthouse Coaching Model

As we all have learned in life things do not always go as expected. We often find our clients needing to determine how to navigate their safe passage through rough seas or treacherous shorelines. The lighthouse model represents how our clients view us as coaches. A lighthouse is a beacon of hope. We are their lighthouse in the distance that is present when issues or dangers are confronting the mariner (client). We reflect to them what concerns/issues we hear that they believe may be confronting them. Just like true mariners of the world’s oceans, our clients are in charge of their decisions and actions.

Our clients, like mariners, are a courageous group. The sense of adventure and growth is a longing inside. As a coach at Get Courageous, I am there when you need me, just like the lighthouses that you find along the shorelines around the world. When a mariner is approaching their desired destination, they often encounter riptides, hidden obstacles, and shallow waters along the shoreline. Each of these obstacles could stop the mariner from reaching their destination and have them “stuck” on what to do next. Fortunately, lighthouses, like coaches, are usually located near these sorts of issues to alert the mariner and help reflect a light of hope for the mariner to reach their destination. In our life journeys it is beneficial for a person to have a coach to help them discover the answers they need to find within themselves.

When you look at the beacon shining at the top of the lighthouse you will see a multi-faceted reflector, that is your coach. We are here to shine a light on your area of concern, stay present as you sort out your next steps, and provide solace as you decide what next steps are necessary for you to arrive at your destination. The multi-facets of the beacon represent the varied approaches that are available to us as coaches to help our clients see what is hidden, to help clients see themselves in a different light or perspective, and to show clients that they are not alone.

We start our coaching sessions by finding out what is troubling our client. We explore what would be different for our client if they can determine what is the obstacle that is stopping their forward movement in thought or deed in reaching their desired destination (goal). It is not always easy for clients to determine what or who is holding them back. This can be frustrating for clients as they try to figure this out. Our goal is to keep a calm and settling approach to help the client become aware of what their true concern is.

We stay the course with the client. Sometimes we discover that their spyglass may be blocked by their perceptions of where the real issue lies. Or their failure to use the sextant (available tools)to discover the best way to navigate forward to resolve the issue or to reach their destination (goal).

We find that sometimes we come across rough seas that the client has to journey through to find their answers. Again, we stay the course with our client. We help our client find clarity on what is getting in their way and what support they may need to move forward to their goal or the resolution of an issue. It is our goal to help the client keep a growth mindset and to view setbacks or delays as opportunities to learn and progress forward if future issues arise (typhoons).

Reaching the destination for our clients is where they believe that a successful journey was accomplished through the accountable action of the captain (client) and/or crew and they have reached the goal they were searching for or resolved the issue of a possible shipwreck. Just as sailors will celebrate after a successful voyage, we celebrate with our clients when their concerns have been resolved or achieved their goals.

Lighthouses and the sea have been a part of my life since I graduated from college. There is a picture that has been on my desk for as long as I can remember. It is a picture of an ancient sailing ship battling rough seas and below the picture is a quote that is attributed to Ferdinand Magellan, Explorer (c.1520).

The sea is dangerous and its storms are terrible, but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore…unlike the mediocre, intrepid spirits seek victory over those things that seem impossible…it is with an iron will that we embark on the most dangerous of all endeavors…to meet the shadowy future without fear and conquer the unknown.

Let’s set sail together to discover the benefits of coaching so we can dare to venture into the sea we fear the most and be confident in finding our desired destination.