Notice Everything

From Grant McCracken:

Notice everything and pay attention to things that puzzle.  Pay attention to things that demand your attention and then refuse your understanding.  Pay attention to the failure of attention.

He's writing as a cultural anthropologist and ethnographic researcher, but it's a message that resonates deeply with me as an executive coach.

Everything I do professionally starts with noticing, and that's why I try to notice as much as possible about the people around me.  Even--especially--when I don't understand what's happening or why, I need to note that something is happening.  In the coaching process, the act of noticing what's happening in the moment is more important than the act of interpreting what happened afterwards.

My interpretations are filtered through my meanings and subject to my biases; they're inherently limited.  My observations are constrained by my cognitive abilities, but if I can notice something and communicate it effectively to a client or colleague, we can work to interpret it together, broadening the frame of reference and diminishing the risk of misunderstanding.

It's easy for coaches and consultants to fall into the trap of imagining that we're valued most as interpreters.  It makes us seem more important, and it relieves our clients of a burden they're often glad to relinquish.  I'd like to believe that I do add value as an interpreter, helping others understand by making meaning, but that role is secondary to my role as observer, as noticer, helping others see what they may have missed.

Comments

[Helen]

I agree. Clients need to be noticed inorder to understand them clearly. Their action may somehow produce a deeper meaning and it's important that we notice what they are trying to say.

[Marie]

That's a nice way of understanding clients better. They just need the right observation and a thorough look at them to be able to connect with thier thoughts. It's hard to go on with business if you don't have complete understanding with your client.

[peter vajda]

I think there are two flavors of noticing. One with "periods" and one with "question marks."

As a coach I prefer the latter. I prefer to notice with a sense of curiosity, with a "beginner's mind", an open mind, and asking a client, from a place of curiosity about his/her intentions, actions, reactions, responses, motives, feelings, beliefs, assumptions, expectations, non-verbal communication, etc.

From this place, I never assume, "I know" or even "know better" which can sometimes occur when an observer is caught up in their own ego.

I can express something I observed only after asking a client to tell me what his/her perspective is; their view of the landscape, and then, and only then, ask if they'd be interested in hearing what what I observed.

The "period" thing can often make one feel "bad" or "wrong" and then, for me, there goes the relationship.

[Ed Batista]

Thanks, Helen and Marie.

Well said, Peter. I think "noticing with periods" is another (albeit more subtle) form of interpretation, and it's subject to the same dynamic I note above. It's tempting for a coach or consultant to interpret or to "notice with periods" because it allows us to play a certain role or to feel more useful or simply to show off our smarts and boost our egos.

Clients may willingly collude in that process--sometimes because they truly value our perspective, and sometimes because they'd rather avoid the hard work of reaching their own conclusions. And there are times when we really need to offer our interpretations, to share more than just our observations.

But I don't think that's the best way for me to add lasting value. Offering advice is a shortcut--and sometimes a necessary one--but helping people reach their own conclusions by "noticing with question marks" is the most effective way to motivate them to take action and make sustainable changes.

I don't always live up to this ideal--it can be hard to resist the urge to play the "wise interpreter"--but I think I do my best work when I interpret least.

Ed

[Ellen]

That's a good point. I alway see to it that I have complete understanding with a client and vice versa. Noticing thier actions tell me how they understood our conversation.