Self-knowledge through Questioning

From "Doing" to "Being".

Ontological coaching puts the focus on identity rather than action. Often, we become obsessed with operational questions, "What dynamics do I do?", "What content do I impart?".

However, true empowerment arises when we ask ourselves, "Who am I being when I teach?". This question forces us to review our attitudes and values.

If our actions do not work, it is not only because of poor technical execution, but perhaps because we are operating from an emotion or a belief that is not useful. What we do speaks of who we are.

Dismantling limiting beliefs

We all operate under a system of beliefs, many of them inherited from childhood, that act as automatic judgments about ourselves and others.

Thoughts such as "I have no authority" or "this group is impossible" are not absolute truths, but interpretations that limit our capacity for action.

The job of the teacher-coach is to stop this internal dialogue, question it and reformulate it.

Practical Example: A teacher may have the ingrained belief that "asking for help is incompetent". When overwhelmed by a conflicted group, he suffers in silence and burns out. By applying self-awareness, he realizes that this belief is hurting him.

He decides to change it to, "Asking for collaboration is an act of professional responsibility."

By changing who he is being (from a loner to a collaborator), he changes his action (he asks for support) and his results improve.

Summary

Ontological coaching focuses on the identity of the teacher by asking who he/she is being when teaching. This questioning forces a review of values and emotions that affect technical performance.

The work of the teacher-coach consists in stopping and questioning the internal dialogue full of limiting beliefs. Inherited thoughts about authority or difficult groups restrict the ability to act.

Changing a negative belief to an enabling one, such as asking for professional help, directly improves results. Changing the "self" transforms actions and success in the classroom.