In my mind, one of the least known contributors to coaching is Virginia Satir. Her career as a therapist was principally during the 1960’s-70’s. Most of her work was done under the umbrella of “Becoming More Fully Human.” She was a psychotherapist in the same vein as Carl Rogers.
While her contributions are many, as leaders we should be familiar with three.
1. The Satir Change Process Model. Change is scary, whether you are approaching it as an individual or as a leader who has to take a team through changes. This model was developed through clinical studies and is influential in most contemporary change models in organizations. Satir created a five step change model that reflects it.
2. The Satir Theory of Human Validation. By working on human validation within the family, her theory provides a strong grounding for self development models. Her study of language is unparalleled in human relations. We all recognize what happens when we say, “I love your work, but….” The “but” undermines anything positive we want to say. Satir’s insightful studies point to the role of language in validation.
3. Satir’s Theory is one of the fundamental models for NLP theories. Christiane Turner recently wrote about NLP on the Ultimate Coach University blog. It’s hard to talk about the relationships between neuro-linguistic processes and behavioral activities without making some reference to her work.
I like reading and listening to Satir because her insights are explained so clearly and are so aligned with common sense that they are easy to absorb. Give yourself five minutes and see what you think.
Which insight do you appreciate the most?
