I, we, it

The different vectors of change

There’s a lot of mystery around coaching, and a lot of variety in what is being done under the the banner of ‘coach’. Unfortunately, for many people, their exposure to coaching comes through the headline grabbing ‘gurus’ building new forms of multi-level marketing schemes; or perhaps the strange cults established by egotistical maniacs. At the less extreme end, there is an increasing tendency for folks to adopt the term ‘coach’ to describe a wide array of different consulting, advising or facilitation type of work. Coach isn’t a regulated term, so people are well within their rights to do so, but certainly this broad application contributes to the confusion.

So part of the challenge in my line of work is in identifying the right language to help people understand what it is I actually do. And having spent some time recently with the team at Evolution, I credit them with introducing me to the framework of I, we, it (although I’m interpreting it here in my own ways). I, we and it represent the different vectors of change I might work with a client on and I’ll elaborate on what I mean by each of them below.

I

What does it mean?

‘I’ is where the deep personal work happens. It is where we explore and challenge what it means to be you. What you believe. How you show up.

Why is it important?

Leadership is all about getting people to collectively align. Whilst there are skills, processes, frameworks etc. that help here; without the deep personal work that allows you to understand yourself and to actually embody the things that you’re seeking from others, those will only take you so far.

In a lot of cases ‘I’ also includes a theme of self-management. There’s no getting away from the fact that being a founder or a leader is hard work, but let’s be clear, managing yourself IS managing your company/team. If you drive yourself over the cliff then at best you’ll make bad decisions and at worst you’ll burn out entirely.

WE

What does it mean?

‘We’ is all about the relational - your connection and interaction with those around you, whether that’s your co-founder, your exec team, or the company as a whole.

Why is it important?

It seems obvious to say but you can’t go it alone. In the words of Patrick Lencioni in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, ‘‘If you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.’ And it’s not just about dominating industries of course, but about tapping into the power of the collective to achieve any great outcome.

In the context of growth organisations the ‘we’ is always shifting. There are new people joining, people leaving, structural re-organisation, and new strains on old relationships. If there’s not the conscious investment in ‘we’ then there is little hope of getting people to row in the same direction.

IT

What does it mean?

‘It’ is about the structural and organisational specifics.

Why is it important?

There are a lot of amazing coaches out there who focus almost entirely on the ‘I’ and the ‘We’. That work can go a long way and add a lot of value, but for me, when I think about the ways in which I can bring the most value for clients, then I have a lot of relevant experience around the ‘it’ to bring in too. So whilst I don’t think the ‘it’ dimension is critical to all coaching, it is a way in which I’d distinguish myself from some other coaches - I’m equally comfortable doing the deeply personal ‘I’ work; helping co-founders navigate their relationship in ‘we’ work; and helping a founder CEO refine their company strategy in ‘it’ work, for example.

The truth with all of this though, is that the separation is artificial. I, we and it are constantly interacting with one another. Most of the time, if a new client comes to me with what they believe is an ‘it’ challenge e.g. my leadership team is poorly organised, it is also an ‘I’ challenge (what’s stopping me from taking the necessary steps to intervene even when I see the team being poorly organised), and a ‘We’ challenge (what are the relationship dynamics at play in the team that causes this lack of organisation). Helping clients to identify these different vectors of change for any scenario, and then to work through them is ultimately what I believe creates lasting impact.

So I hope that dispels a bit of the mystery, but if you still have questions then you can reach out to me via my website, Linkedin, or email me seb@sebagertoft.com and I’d love to talk.