Business Coaching: The Goal of Work... You Dig?

As a business coach, periodically I have a session that's so powerful that I just have to share... I just completed a business coaching session where I provided a group of clients with building blocks (ie, Group Coaching). "Building blocks? Those are for kids..." you might be saying, and the answer is "Yes!" Here's the exercise:

Today we wanted to discover "What We Are Building" in our work and in our lives. Each participant was provided with four building blocks. Remember building blocks when you were a kid? The possibilities were endless for you to mix/match/stack. The only boundaries imposed on your creation were set by your imagination. Well in our exercise, each participant was expected to build a structure from the blocks provided and tell the group:

1. What is the theme of your structure?


2. What is the inspiration for the creation? (ie, What life moment caused you to create the structure?)


3. Lastly, what is your message based on what you built?

Often times in Executive Coaching, we discuss something that is so powerful, so impactful, so perfect that clarity is gained and major advancements can be made by the individual both professionally as well as personally. This was one of those moments...

One of the participants structures was somewhat simple, but deep on interpretation. The theme for his four blocks which were stacked one on top of the other was "The Goal of Work... You Dig?" The inspiration was that this is where he perceived himself to be at this point in his life. He'd tried several solutions in the past, some worked while others didn't. However, now, at this point he reflected that the bottom block equated to these baseline experiences. The second block represented his "striving" to achieve. The third related to his failures, or negative influences that brought him down. And his fourth block, which was yellow and perched atop his structure, represented his never-ending quest to go for the gold in his life. The group applauded with a coll round of coffee house "snaps" of their fingers!

So what structure would you create? What would your theme be? What's your inspiration? Most importantly, what would your message be?

Sam Palazzolo @ Pathos Leadership Group