Coaching and Remembering

As coaches, we justifiably hope that our clients will retain something of what we have discussed during our coaching session. We know that our clients will take what we have talked about and inter-mesh (assimilate) this with their existing constructs and schemata. Irving Yalom has noted in a moment of candor that he realizes each of his therapy client leaves their session with him carrying a quite different story regarding what occurred during their session then he is carrying from the session.

Nevertheless. we hope that this coaching content won’t be simply abandoned during the night following our session when our client is consolidating that which occurred during the previous day. It makes sense for us to use some mnemonic devices ourselves when working with our clients so that they retain at least some of what was revealed or explored during the coaching session.

Visual Images

While many sources are to be found in the schemata being formed, the visual elements of the schemata often play the prominent role. In our memory, we hear someone speak; however, the spoken word comes out of the mouth of someone we visualize. We retain visual memories of an impressive graph and then hook in the narrative that accompanies this graph. We “see” a beautiful woman or handsome man on the commercial that we remember and only then recall something of the message they are conveying.

Many organizations offering leadership and management training programs make use of visual images. This has become an almost automatic feature in programs that seek to leave a “lasting impression” on those enrolled in their program. The graphic might be a flow chart or a graphic showing the change in performance over time by a team that has been introduced to a new way of working together.

Increasing, these visual images come in animated form with lines moving, boxes expanding or shrinking in size, and objects (such as figures of people) moving in and out of clusters. We are also on the edge of animations that can be manipulated by those participating in a program. Computer-based modeling tools such as those used to display the dynamics of systems or the influence of “agents” on one another are now in the hands of those learning how to lead in systems that are operating in environments that are volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous, turbulent and filled with contradictions (VUCA-Plus) (Bergquist, 2020).

Visual images are also of great value when seeking to promote retention of concepts addressed during a coaching session. During my own sessions, I often make use of visual images. I might portray some important concept on a flip chart or white board located in my office or the office of my client. I might want to stretch a sheet of butcher paper across one of the office walls and begin to portray my client’s narrative by drawing (or having my client draw) images on the paper. We place it back up on the wall each week and add to the ongoing portrait narrative.

Pictures of the portraits on the flip chart, white board or butcher paper can be taken on a handheld device and sent after the session to our client. We might instead stay small and more intimate by drawing a diagram or image on a small slip of paper and hand it to our client—or place this slip of paper (perhaps post-it notes) on a wall of our office. Any of these visual tools can serve our memory and the memory of our coaching clients regarding the content of our session with them.