Jane’s coach approach is centred around The Thinking EnvironmentÒ principles pioneered by Nancy Kline, best-selling author, and President of Time to Think. The Thinking Environment is based upon the observation that ‘the quality of everything we, as human beings do, depends upon the quality of the thinking we do first’.
The Thinking Environment is, in my experience, a powerful leadership framework designed to generate the highest quality thinking and therefore performance from individuals and teams. The difference that helps others to think well for themselves is the way others’ behave around them. Nancy Kline has observed 10 behaviours that generate the best thinking in others. Adopting one of these will make a difference. Embodying all ten, as a system, generates a transformation in the thinking of another whilst dignifying them as a human being. They are:
- Giving your Attention with deep interest in what the person is saying and where they will go next will help them think better around you than if you interrupt them or listen simply to reply.
- Regarding the person thinking as your thinking Equal, regardless of hierarchy, will mean they think better around you.
- Being at Ease yourself, regardless of the urgency or the rush outside of you, will help others think better than if you are in a rush yourself.
- If you genuinely Appreciate people 5 times more than you criticise them, they will think more imaginatively around you than if you focus on you their faults.
- When you Encourage people, build with them their courage to go to the edge of their thinking by eliminating competition, they will think better around you than if you compete with them.
- If you offer accurate Information that is in service of their thinking and respect what they may be facing, they will think better than if you withhold information.
- When you allow for them to express their Feelings: their sadness, their anger, their frustration, they will think better around you than if you step over or seek to avoid their feelings.
- If you are interested in the Difference between you and others, the differences between you, they will think better around you than if you prefer others to think and be just like you.
- If you can ask people an Incisive Question to cut through what is a limiting assumption and replace it with one that is more liberating, they will tap into their natural creative, resourceful self where breakthroughs and fresh ideas are born.
- When you prepare the Place for thinking together that says ‘you matter’ they will think better around you, than if you allow the place to feel intimidating and peppered with interruptions.