EF

Philosophy

of Ontological Coaching

I received my diploma in coaching from an ICF accredited school which teaches the Ontological-Transformational model.

Ontology is the philosophical study of Being. An ontological coach is a particular kind of coach who uses distinctions of the “Ontology of Language”. Language not only describes our world but also generates it.

One of the first things that I learned was that being human means we are able to converse with others as well as have our own internal dialogue in which we’re constantly planning for the future (or possibly ruminating over the past).

We also use what John Searle called “speech acts” and they serve to both describe a state and create an action. What we say in the present has a direct result on the future, one way or another. It’s when we change our present dialogues that we are able to change what will happen in the future. If I declare something “impossible” I will take actions in order for it to be “impossible”. If I decide in the present moment that something is “possible”, I will take actions in order to realize that possibility.

Ontological-transformational coaching helps individuals understand what their vision is through conversations which activate a learning process. Once a vision is established, a plan of action can be carried out in order to reach that vision. Since the future doesn’t exist, and it exists only in our conversations in the present, we can imagine what it is that we want. We put ourselves in the future in a real/hypothetical state and ask ourselves questions on how we “arrived” at that vision, that goal. What did I learn to get here? What kind of thinking did I leave behind? What were my steps?

Ontological-transformational coaching speaks also to the “Ontology of the Human Observer”. Sometimes people know what they want in life, often they do not know how to get there. And then they do not always know how to avoid what they do not want. People can be committed to reaching results but the actions they perform just don’t seem to be working. Sometimes, people do not even know what is missing for them. Dealing with these blind spots is the job of an ontological coach. Through powerful questioning, a coach supports others to face what is missing in the different domains of their lives, relationships, work, family, career and so on.

The role of an ontological coach is not to tell people how to be or behave, rather to assist them to identify and achieve what they desire. Ontological coaching is not a process based on a script known by the coach. It is about enabling others to better serve themselves, expand their possibilities, increase their capacity to learn, act more effectively and better design their future.