Background to the Robust Coaching Model

The world is VUCA – volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous and the world of work is changing rapidly in unexpected ways. Leaders can no longer wait until they have collected sufficient information. It could be too late. So they need to learn to trust their intuition and ‘go within’ in order to decide what to do. In addition, because of the high level of specialist expertise amongst members of teams, leaders benefit from an attitude or approach of collaboration, drawing on the specific strengths of others in their teams. Thus leading the leaders requires a different type of competencies and abilities to previous era’s.


Through my previous research and through the experience I have built up in coaching leaders, I have realised that coaching can help and I have depicted this in the visualisation below.

Visualisation of the coaching process

The Robust Coaching Model involves eight one-hour sessions ‘ in person’ or virtually and takes the form of a conversation between the client and coach at two-weekly intervals. I have purposely chosen eight sessions because I find that high-level executives are ‘ time poor’ and they find it easier to commit to eight sessions than to twelve.


The brown blocks represent the outside, VUCA world. At first it is so much part of him that the stress (brown arrow) penetrates and stays as part of him. As the coaching proceeds, he is able to distance himself from the elements of the VUCA world and begins to deflect the stress.


The green boxes represent the world of work and a similar phenomenon is noticed there. During my research I found that generational issues (including the millennial influence), gender issues and exceptionally high levels of stress amongst all the staff weighed heavily on the leaders.


While the client is rigid in the beginning, possibly numbed by the enormity of leading in the current external VUCA world and also difficulties in the world of work, he begins to thaw, become more flexible as the coaching proceeds. Instead of his eyes looking sideways he is now able to look ahead. His mouth while very down in the beginning, now shows a smile.


The purpose of coaching using this model is to train coaches to go within to be more comfortable drawing on their inner worlds.