What an amazing week! Week I of MCG's Equine Assisted Coaching Training Program was a smashing success! Kathy Esper, one of our students says,

"Our week was the perfect combination of intellectual stimulation (systemic coaching model) and deep fulfillment of my heart (work with the horses) and I am so grateful to you and Johanna for creating this program and the space!"

I am the one who is grateful. I have been putting my desire to do this work out to the powers that be for the last 3 years and I am now feeling and seeing the return on that energetic investment.

This program is based upon MetaSystem Consulting Group's Multi-level Systemic Coaching model http://www.metacg.com/mls_coaching.shtml and The Epona approach to equine experiential learning http://taoofequus.com/. It is for coaches, consultants, therapists, leaders, managers and HR professionals.

At the end of the program, these professionals will be able to integrate equine experiential learning through the multi-level systemic coaching model into their already existing practices.

Week I of four weeks over the course of 2008 focused on Setting the Foundation, one of the Core Competencies of the International Coach Federation. The week had a rhythm of didactic experiential learning and 'classroom work' and was spent outside near the barn, with the horses in Wellington, Florida. We used this rhythm as an opportunity to step into different roles and perceptions simultaneously. Because the coaching model is multi-level and systemic everything was information to deepen both the experience and learning process.

We focused on many things in setting the foundation for a powerful coaching relationship. Among them:

• The coaching agreement— What happens first?
  
• Assessment/Diagnosis as a continual tool— Because everything is information, continual assessment is critical to powerful coaching.
  
• How to develop and maintain a systems perspective— The ability to see the whole picture and how it is interacting with each other allows for the multi-level perspective.
  
• The coach's role in influencing and impacting the relationship— What part are you playing in creating the relationship and its results?

A powerful guiding assumption of this program is that:

Coaching is a relationship. Therefore, how you are being in the relationship impacts the outcome. Exploring , discovering and transforming yourself first is necessary for you be a clear conduit for an outcome that has the most value for your client.

All of the above work was supported by powerful experiential learning with the horses. In Weeks II through IV will go deeper into these experiences and learning. As we progress, so will the participant's ability to coach and facilitate these experiences from the multi-level systemic perspective.

The entire Equine Assisted Coach Training Program comes from MCG's Operating Principles http://www.metacg.com/axioms.shtml. Assisting organizations to change, grow and develop over the past 25 years has given MetaSystem Consulting Group the opportunity to identify certain consistent patterns in their operating systems. In keeping with our partnership approach to coaching and consulting, we have taken these common operating patterns of our clients and developed much of our methodology around them.

The Equine Assisted Coach Training Program is the next evolution of the principles. Take a look. As always, we welcome your comments and questions.

Stay tuned for a report from Week II, June 23-27.