The GENIUS Coaching model for creative coaching from Alec McPhedran of Skills Channel TV, a creative training company. The GENIUS Coaching model provides a structure for coaches to guide them through a session.

1. coaching
Coaching creative talent can be
exciting, hugely rewarding and
extremely challenging.
Alec McPhedran
outlines a coaching
framework for
developing creative
people – GENIUS
Turning ideas
what you believe the solution is,
it’s what the client believes it is.
In the creative world of
television, film, music, arts, theatre,
games and music, the idea is
the asset. Talent always shines
through. On that basis, creative
into reality
coaching, and indeed training
creative people, relies on always
working with the talent and their
ideas first and foremost.
Great creative talent coaching
is about working the individual,
his imagination and his aspiration
I
into an inspiring and exciting
n my naïve, innocent, early One of the key skills within reality. Not yours. It has to be
days, coaching was working coaching is managing the process owned by him. So your inputs
with the client, imparting of the coaching session in a timely have to be really relevant,
my worldly knowledge way, as well as making good use valid and appropriate. You, the
and wisdom as well as, of your questioning and listening coach, act as the conductor. The
sometimes, working on their skills. In the creative industries, in individual has the talent. The
ideas. Of course, it’s actually which I mainly work, it is critical creative coach’s role is to get the
about working solely on the that ideas and solutions came best out of the talent.
individual’s agenda, developing from the client, and that’s really Like most coaches, I have
his ideas, stretching his thinking hard when you believe you know come across a number of really
– hands-on coaching and hands- what the solution is. But surely useful coaching models, including
off coaching. that’s one of the points. It’s not the often-used GROW model
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2. coaching
(Goal, Reality, Options and
Will do). Another useful model
Great creative talent often change as the ideas and
enthusiasm move in different
is CLEAR, developed by Peter
Hawkins. CLEAR concentrates
coaching is about working directions.
Remember that, in the creative
on Contracting, Listening,
Exploring, Action and Review.
the individual, their world, the idea is the asset. In
many cases, it’s not right to pitch
However, within the world of
creative talent, these two models
imagination and their your creative ideas unless you
have the passion for them. In
as a guide to the structure of a aspiration into an inspiring coaching, as the idea evolves and
coaching session don’t always the passion for it grows, that is
quite work as effectively as the and exciting reality when the objective can change –
situation requires. becoming more challenging, more
Creativity, innovation, exciting exciting. The different approach
aspirations, firing imagination, in, first of all, is often an issue. here is being able to stop, reflect,
new territories and fresh They don’t often think there review and revise, if appropriate,
new ideas all need turning will be a benefit because ‘nobody the coaching objectives.
into a reality. That’s the great understands them’. Over the following months,
challenge in media and arts with In business or management therefore, I revisited my sessions,
creative coaching. For me, a coaching, we develop objectives the processes I was using and the
new approach was needed that for personal and business results we were getting. Goals
worked differently for some of improvement where appropriate. were being achieved but I was
my clients. With creatives, this causes wondering if they could have been
automatic eye-glazing – a weird wider, more challenging – daring
GENIUS and unusual symptom, I find. to be truly different.
GENIUS coaching developed However, once they acknowledge The GENIUS model of
following a chat with a pretty that it’s linked to helping them coaching evolved after testing
cynical script-writing friend who turn ideas into reality, a script into it out on some knowing victims
felt coaching had its place but a film, an idea into an image, they with mixed success. People
most definitely not in the world of become engaged. who were really up for a new
creative people. Coaching talent has other adventure opened their mind to
Her previous experience of challenges, typically in keeping great new ideas and opportunities
being coached at a leading up with the fast-paced process that truly seemed off the wall. It
broadcaster had been helpful only of exploring options and ideas made others feel uncomfortable
in career progression, not in her and managing the flow of ideas and my learning was that you
desire to be the best in her field without trapping them. Equally, have to work with the aspiration
of telling stories. A number of the use of a coaching programme and the reality of the coachee’s
coaches had been unable to really or session ambition. Again, not my
fulfil her aspiration. objective ambition.
This made me think about can very Eventually the
myself, my own ability to go GENIUS model
further than I had been before came about,
with people and, therefore, how probably the
I could meet her challenge. result of a fire,
Yes, we do offer stretching aim, ready strategy. It’s
objectives but are we held now one of my favourite
back with the SMART models, particularly when
objective format, particularly working with exciting talent.
with the Reality part? Whose GENIUS coaching is simple.
reality? Her point was whether It’s another model for coaches’
we really always push past the toolkits, drawing its inspiration
boundaries. Was I helping my from the likes of GROW,
coachees by agreeing to their CLEAR, OSKAR and other
initial objectives or was I really useful models.
stretching them, taking them to
new and exciting areas, sometimes
scary in their ambition?
Coaching creative talent, of
course, has its challenges. Buy-
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3. coaching
Goals Get the client to rate his energy Hat discussion, identified an idea
The first step of GENIUS is levels for making this work, that eventually became a web-
to set the goals – an obvious perhaps with a score out of ten. based drama using new actors and
starting point. We know the goal Without the genuine energy quality mobile phone film clips.
is critical for a number of reasons to achieve the goal, is the goal The website now has a
but, primarily, it provides us with the right one in the first place? following of more than 250,000
the reminder of what it is we are Discussing energy allows you people and he will be meeting
working on, what needs to be to explore why that rating has an American television station to
achieved, and it makes sure all been given, based on reviewing explore new projects.
future conversation is relevant to the current situations, issues he Once you have looked at each
achieving the goal. is facing and other things he has idea, work through and prioritise
With GENIUS coaching, there tried. the key actions that came out of
are three types of goals to set: the nurturing process. Priority
1. The aspirational goal of the Nurture one is the way forward. Options
overall coaching contract. What Once goals and the energy levels two, three and four are potential
will we have really achieved needed to achieve them have been back-up ideas or ideas for further
at the end of the coaching established, you need to nurture a discussion at an appropriate time.
programme? This should be range of ideas and opportunities. From the Six Thinking Hats
highly ambitious, breaking into This, again, is where the coach’s model, you will then be able
new territory for the coachee questioning, listening and creative to move into the next stage
2. Session goals. What do we need thinking skills come into play. of GENIUS coaching, thanks
to achieve by the end of each Your ability to explore ideas and to identifying emotions and
coaching session that directly encourage the creative thinking negatives from the Red and Black
supports the aspirational goal? of things that are really off the Hat discussions.
3. Action goals. As a result of the wall – that have never been done
coaching session, what steps does before – is absolutely critical. Inhibitors
the coachee need to take by the Nurturing ideas should ideally You need to revisit the agreed
time we next meet to achieve the be treated in the same way as a priority actions from the nurturing
aspirational goal? pure creative thinking session: pull stage and identify the inhibitors.
Using this three-step approach out the ideas, don’t critique too What’s going to stop the ideas
to goal setting provides the early, set the parameters linked to from working? This is really
coachee with consistency and the objectives and work through powerful as you seek out the
focus for making things happen some of the ideas. My experience negatives. Again, de Bono’s Black
and a clear understanding of why has shown that many creative and Red Hats significantly help
he needs to do things. people have good visual thinking here. The use of the Yellow Hat
The key skill for the coach skills, so do use Post-Its, flipcharts helps to explore benefits and
is managing and setting the with colour pens, magazines and counter arguments to any potential
aspirational goal. the like – visual stimulants are inhibitors. It’s those negatives that
fantastic. Equally, having a range you then address with the client to
Energy of soft toys or items around can establish how they will be tackled
Once the aspirational be a useful sub-stimulant. if, or when, they crop up.
and session goals This is also a great time to use I guess it’s the development
have been set, the challenging and creative thinking of the cunning plan B scenario.
next part of tools such as de Bono’s Six We are great at planning the
GENIUS Thinking Hats (data, emotion, perfect life but, unfortunately, life’s
coaching negativity, positiveness, feel not perfect. Therefore it makes
is to look at good, innovative thinking and sense to anticipate inhibitors and
the energy of process). Often, Six Thinking manage them into positives. It’s
the coachee. He Hats generates all the issues and worthwhile at this point revisiting
may want to achieve options as well as creating new your nurtured actions to see if
something that is far ideas. It also provides the coach they need revising to reflect the
reaching for him but with an opportunity to contribute points identified in the inhibitors
does he really have the to the generation of ideas when stage of the session.
energy? using the Green Hat.
The desire to achieve In one session, a young writer Utopia
and the energy to and I explored how he could So, we now know what the client
do something can promote his work to television wants and how much energy he
sometimes be poles apart. people and, through the Green has to achieve his goal. We’ve
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4. coaching
generated some great ideas, and
have identified the potential
problems and the likely responses
to any negatives. If it all works
fantastically, then… utopia: an
imagined perfect place or state.
This is where the coach’s NLP
knowledge comes into play. Can
you get the individual to visually,
auditory and kinaesthetically
imagine his utopia once the goals
have been achieved? This is a
powerful tool to make the end
result feel real. What will he see
happening, how will it sound and
how great will he and others feel
once it’s been achieved?
It’s that thinking process that
turns the aspiration into the
reality for a creative. Envisioning,
recording or feeling that end goal
gives it life. It puts utopia in the
mind of the individual. I have in
the past encouraged clients to
make that picture real – getting
a close or true-to-life image and
placing it at their desk or work
space. For the auditory types, a
written statement always at hand
has the same effect.
We’re back to the immense
importance for creatives of goals
linked to imagination. Once
goals look real, they become
Goals were being that’s the beauty of the business
we’re in. If we were all perfect,
real. Setting, writing down and
imagining goals are an essential
achieved but I was we wouldn’t have anybody to
coach.
role of the coach to get the
creative talent to understand this.
wondering if they could G – Goals to be achieved
I believe that the best
prediction of your future is
have been wider, more E – Energy to achieve the goals
N – Nurturing and exploring
whatever you believe it will be. challenging – daring to options for achieving the goals
The skill of the coach is to plant I – Inhibitors that may arise on
that positive and exciting future be truly different the way to achieving goals
with the talent. U – Utopia when the goals will
be achieved
Steps So there you have it – yet S – Steps to be taken to achieve
Finally, the coaching session is another wonderful tool for the goals. 
rounded off by summarising the coaching. The very simple
steps to be taken by the coachee. GENIUS coaching model. It’s
What will he do between now about pushing and developing
and the next session? ambition and creativity for
These are developed by writing creative people, exploring wide-
SMART (specific, measurable, ranging opportunities and
realistic, agreed and timed) action imagining the realities of what
goals and clarifying the actual success will look, feel or sound Alec McPhedran is the managing director
steps to take to achieve them. I like when achieved. of Skills Channel TV. He can be contacted
on +44 (0)845 8377763 or via
guess in the good old days that Obviously, I know this model www.geniuscoaching.co.uk
was called action planning. may not be perfect for some –
66 TJ September 2009 www.trainingjournal.com