Case study 2 (inner game and grow model)

CASE STUDY [1]

[1] JOSEPH O'CONNOR AND ANDREA LAGES, HOW COACHING WORKS,

First published in Great Britain 2007, A & C Black Publishers Ltd

Brian is a 41-year-old manager in a new cosmetics company. A Korean

working in a US company branch in London, he has anglicized his name
to fit in. He took a degree in chemistry at college, worked in a pharmacy
for three years, then for several drug companies before becoming a
senior manager in his present company. He has been there five years
and is in charge of a team of ten people developing a new product. The
company itself is seen as a leader in the cosmetics market because of
its innovative (although expensive) products.

Brian plays chess and reads a lot (mostly technical material) and also
likes historical novels. He has joined a gym three times in the past five
years but has never kept it up for more than two months and has let the
subscription lapse every time.
Recently Brian has become distracted, and is increasingly wondering
if he is in the right job. He used to enjoy his work but now he does not
He is constantly tired and there is one member of the team who always
seems to be getting on his nerves. He believes that person is making a
bid to replace him.
Brian was passed over for promotion last year and this year he
doesn't know if he should leave or put himself up for promotion again. He
does not know if he deserves promotion based on his recent work.
Brian was raised in a Korean family with a strong work ethic. He went
to an English school and also to a Korean school on Saturdays, and he had
flute and tennis lessons during the week.
He has been married to Anne, an Englishwoman, for 12 years and
they have two children, a boy of eight and a girl of six. His wife trained
as a dental hygienist and works part-time in a local dental surgery. She
would like to work full-time when the children are older. Recently, she
and Brian have been quarrelling, as his job has taken up more of his time
and they are not seeing each other much except at weekends.
Brian is quiet, and seeks co-operation rather than confrontation, but if
this does not work, he can lose his temper rather easily. Until now he has
kept this under control, but recently he has been constantly irritated and
feels stressed. His company has instituted a coaching programme for senior
managers, and he has jumped at the chance to meet with a coach. He
wants to feels less irritated and less stressed. He is thinking about looking
for another job, but wonders if leaving the company would be a good move
either personally or professionally.
Brian's situation

We can briefly look at Brian's situation with a combination of inner game and
GROW methodology to see the main ways they
could help him. Who is Brian's inner opponent? It appears to be the one

that distracts him, that makes him upset and irritated and not persist with

his plans, like joining the gym. The first step for the inner game method
would be to encourage Brian to be objective and non-judgmental about his
situation. Is he very self-critical? What are his inner voices telling him?
What exactly happens when he is irritated with his co-workers? Does he
feel he should confront them? Does he think he should be more assertive?
Brian needs to see past his self-criticism and self-judgment and describe
what is happening objectively. He needs to be clear about what he wants.
He needs to clarify whether he wants to stay with the company or leave,
and if he does leave, what job exactly he would go to.

The GROW model will make these steps more definite. What is Brian's
goal? What is most pressing? Does he want to work first on his tiredness
and irritation and see if things improve, or does he really want to leave the
company? If he wants to leave the company, then he needs to be clear
what sort of job he wants. He needs to explore the reality of his situation
at the moment, objectively and specifically. When he does this, he will
probably feel better, because it will reduce his self-criticism, which is
fuelled by his strong work ethic and sense of obligation. A coach will help
him brainstorm his options in the situation and identify his resources, both
personal qualities and also friends and family. Finally the coach will help
him take specific actions to remedy the situation, and identify the
obstacles that could block him and deal with them one by one.