"The Inner Game of Work", W. Timothy Gallwey - Review by Dr. Inas Ghanem
Posted on June 26, 2015 by Inas Ghanem, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.
Gallwey teaches the coach to guid his client balance between the inner game played by his minds and outer game played by eternal obstacles.
In every human endeavour there are two arenas of engagement; the outer and the inner. The outer game is played on an external arena to overcome external obstacles to reach an external goal. The inner game takes place within the mind of the player and is played against such obstacles as fear, self-doubt, lapses in focus, and limiting concepts or assumptions. The inner game is played to overcome the self-imposed obstacles that prevent an individual or team from accessing their full potential. In simple terms the game can be summarized in a formula; Performance = Potential – Interference P = p – i According to this formula, performance can be enhanced either by growing “p” potential or by decreasing “i,” interference and this is why people go to coaches.Interference affects the process of performing any action and is particularly prevalent when we are learning a new action or behaviour.
Gallwey, in his book, addresses the inner obstacles that face people at work and ways to handle them. Gallwey shows how to tap into your natural potential for learning, performance, and enjoyment so that any job, no matter how long you’ve been doing it or how little you think there is to learn about it, can become an opportunity to sharpen skills, increase pleasure, and heighten awareness. And if your work environment has been turned on its ear by Internet technology, reorganization, and rapidly accelerating change, this book offers a way to steer a confident course while navigating your way toward personal and professional goals. Gallwey, in his book, introduces a new approach to coaching, namely, The Inner Game. This approach is based on three main principles;• Non-judgemental Awareness
• Clarity of Goal and Choice
• Inspiring Self Trust
Coaching is Eavesdropping on Client’s thinking process.
The Coach needs to use the Transposing tool to have a richer picture of the three primary levels of the client;
1. Thinking
2. Feeling
3. Will
Inner Game Coaching is divided into three conversations;
1. Conversation for Awareness
• Getting the clearest possible picture of current reality
The Coach synthesizes the three conversations to gain help the client gain mobility
Gain mobility = Get unstuck + Circumvent inner & outer obstacles
The coach should keep the client focused and balance between inner and outer games
The Inner Game Coach helps the client;
o Identify beneficial learning goals (QUEST)
Quality
Understanding
Expertise
Strategic Thinking
Time
o Identify critical variables to assist with focus
o Balance learning, experience and performance
o Grant himself mobility
o Recognise outmoded assumptions and definitions
o Keep task and purpose in synchronization
o Be more aware of task and time completion
o Keep in touch with feeling, intuition and creativity
o Improve skills
o Access inner and outer resources
o Keep workload, ability and time in synchronization
o Identify and overcome blocks to mobility
The Game Coach;
o Encourages acceptance of mobility
o Fosters a non-judgmental environment
o Provides learning/coaching tools as appropriate
o Provides another perspective and source of insight as needed
A Toolbox for the Inner Game Coach;
o Focus on Critical Variable
o STOP
Step back
Think
Organize your thoughts
Proceed
o Transposing
o The Control Questions
