The Clergy Coach
The Rev. Dr. Rob Voyle is a leader in the development and use of appreciative coaching in his work with clergy.
The Career Coach
The Dr. Kim Voyle is the Founder and Director of Pathfinders Career Services.
The Appreciative Way
Discover the essentials of the
Appreciative Way in this fast
read format book by Rob and
Kim Voyle.
Restoring Hope
Practical Appreciative Inquiry based strategies to effectively resolve grief and resentment.
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What People Say
"Of all the training I have been to, Rob's notes are the ones I keep coming back to time and again for practical resources."
P.W. Conference Pastor.
Rob's combination of organizational savvy, teaching skills, theological and spiritual integration, and ability to rapidly build supportive, learning communities is quite simply the best in any of the churches today. Gray Temple, Episcopal Priest, Author & Coach
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Online Coaching Resources |
The Coaching Process
Get from where they are to where they want to be, Using the client's strengths and resources, By aligning the clients values and identity with their purpose. |
The Process of Coaching
Having established the goal, the process of coaching is about helping people access or acquire the resources they need to get from A to B.
We call the tangible resources, or those things that are "external" to the client environmental resources.
The intangible resources are personal or "internal" to the client. They essentially fall into two interrelated categories, skills and abilities, and motivation.
These areas of environment, skills, and motivation provide the coach and client three entry points to help the client achieve their goal.
For example, if a client wants to be a better preacher they could:
- Make changes to their environment, such as improving the sound system, location of the pulpit etc.
- Develop their preaching skills by learning better ways to plan sermons or communicate more effectively.
- Improve their motivation to preach and preach more effectively.
Clearly these domains are interrelated and during the coaching process aspects of each domain will be explored to help the client achieve their desired level of excellence as a preacher.
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Appreciative Coaching: Case Example
Coaching Spiral
Is coaching directive or non-directive? As in most cases the answer to this type of question is: "it all depends." Coaching to develop environmental resources and skill development tends to be more directive or training oriented, whereas coaching in the motivational realm is open ended, exploratory and may lead to the client awakening to transformational understanding. We created the coaching spiral to describe how these domains are related and the coaching strategy that each requires.
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Locating Resources on the Coaching Spiral
Coaching Isn't Psychotherapy
While coaches may use many of the same techniques or change strategies as psychotherapists, such as empathic listening, reframing, goal setting, and even more complex strategies such as role rehearsal in imagination, coaching is different from psychotherapy, in large part because it has a different starting point and purpose.
The purpose of psychotherapy is to treat and reduce the impact of symptoms of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, compulsions, thought disorders, etc. The starting point of psychotherapy is the reduction of troubling symptoms such as suicidal thoughts or anxiety. Because of the risks involved, the people who can offer psychotherapy is goverened and controlled by various State Agencies.
The purpose of coaching is to help people achieve the personal and professional lives they desire. Unlike psychotherapy, coaching does not require a "problem state" as the starting point. Our coaching clients are psychologically healthy people who are wanting more from life or who are seeking to develop the skills and abilities to enhance their work performance. Coaching is about the pursuit of life and excellence.
While the following is a gross over generalization, we can make the distinction between these two types of helping as:
Psychotherapy: is about making the bad stuff in a person's life smaller.
Coaching: is about making the good stuff in a person's life bigger.
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Take the Quiz: Is it Coaching or Psychotherapy?
Check Out Our Coaching Services
Are you still wondering if our coaching would be helpful to you?
Check out our Just-In-Time Coaching Services. You can send Rob an email and request a free 30 minute session to explore whether coaching with Rob would be of benefit to you.
>> Obtain the Coaching Letter of Agreement
Coach Training
In addition to providing Coaching, the Clergy Leadership Institute also provides appreciative inquiry based Coach Training for those who would like to develop their coaching skills.
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Appreciative Coach Training
Our Certificate in Appreciative Coaching program is especially oriented toward training clergy to coach: peers, staff, and volunteers; and psychologists and counselors who are interested in coaching clergy and consulting to congregations.