A long time ago I read about something called "the Pygmalion Effect", and was reminded of it when thumbing through Shawn Achor's (excellent) book "The Happiness Advantage".
Achor writes:
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"According to the Roman poet Ovid, the sculptor Pygmalion could look at a piece of marble and see the sculpture trapped inside of it. In particular, Pygmalion had a vision of his ideal, the zenith of all of his hopes and desires - a woman he named Galatea.
One day, he began to chisel the marble,
crafting it to his vision. When he was finished, he stepped back and looked at his work. It was beautiful. Galatea was more than just a woman:
The statue represented every hope, every dream, every possibility, every meaning - beauty itself. Inevitably, Pygmalion fell in love.
Now, Pygmalion was no fool. He was not in love
with a stone woman; he was in love with the possibility of his ideal coming to life ...
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The Pygmalion Effect is when our belief in another person's potential brings that potential to life, and it perfectly sums up an ideal coaching relationship.
The client probably
doesn't realize their potential, they're rarely getting encouragement to think bigger, and a good percentage of their 60,000 thoughts per day are negative ones instead of positive.
A good coach sees what they could be, and helps them craft it from the unfinished chunk of marble ...
If you're looking to help more
coaching clients, my Secret Coach Club can help you bring them in.
Get in for November before the deadline tomorrow night by going here:
www.SecretCoachClub.com
Marc Mawhinney
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