Power Tool Assessment Name: Raju Bhatnagar Date: 17th October 2012 Email: bhatnagar_101@yahoo.co.

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Spontaneity Versus Deliberateness

This submission is an attempt to explore two states of the human mind with the intent to create a more effective approach for coaching an individual. Basal State of Human Mind: Deliberateness Man is a social animal and therefore most of his actions are conformist. He 1 does not want to stand out and be noticed as being the odd person out when he does unconventional things. His actions, therefore are well thought out and conform to accepted societal norms i.e., his actions are deliberate. In a few instances, he may give way to unconventional decisions but in most such cases, the consequences of his actions are isolated and do not impinge on his standing and impression in society in general. Sometimes, performances by virtuosos, in their field of expertise are hailed as spontaneous performances. It is generally believed that because expert performance is qualitatively different from normal performance the expert performer must be
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The use of masculine gender in this document is only indicative. It applies equally to the feminine gender as well.

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endowed with characteristics qualitatively different from those of normal adults. However, empirical studies conducted by Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Romer2 have shown that expert performances are the end result of individuals prolonged efforts to improve performance while negotiating motivational and external constraints. Many characteristics once believed to reflect innate talent are actually the result of intense practice i.e., a regimen of effortful activities (deliberate practice) designed to optimize improvement. A star sportsperson or a dancer delivers a masterful performance and the audience applauds it. The masterful performance delivered is after years of training and practice. All nuances of the game or dance style have been studied to the n th degree and mastered. When the performance is delivered it is a supreme display of a well trained person, a true master of the art. The fact of matter is that each stroke of the game or each movement of the dance is well choreographed and rehearsed even to the point when, in the event of something going amiss, recovery is seamless. These are all deliberate or intentional actions of a master proponent of the craft. Deliberateness is often associated with serial processing, effortfulness and the rejection of emotional influence. Enlightened State of Human Mind: Spontaneousness or Spontaneity On the other hand spontaneity is often associated with parallel processing, effortlessness, lack of insight into the decision process, emotional influence and impulsive actions (impulsive actions here does not refer to rash or unrestrained erratic behaviour). Being spontaneous means acting in the present, being responsible for ones actions no matter what they may bring. Spontaneity creates fear which is why people shy away from it. The great Spiritual Guru, Osho, was once asked Why does spontaneity create so much fear in a

person?
His reply was Spontaneity creates fear. It means you are taking responsibility for

your actions. If you rely on the conditioning given by your parents, teachers, priests, leaders and instead of being spontaneous just act out of your past conditioning, there is no fear. Because you know you are not alone; you know your action is approved. The fear arises when you find yourself alone and you are doing something which goes against the whole training. Spontaneity means you are acting in the moment not reacting, but acting. When you react it comes from your past accumulation of
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The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance by K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf Th. Krampe, and Clemens Tesch-Romer in Psychological Review 1993, Vol. 100. No. 3, 363-406: The American Psychological Association, Inc.

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knowledge, experience. But when you respond, it is a pure act out of your present consciousness not from memory. [emphasis added]
Our past experiences often prevent us from seeing things clearly and also tend to limit our creativity. At times, they also prevent us from exhibiting high level performance by forcing us towards routines and bias.

When leaders are truly spontaneous and creative, they flick a power switch that electrifies human energy potential to respond with competence and confidence to the demands of todays rapidly changing business environment.3
An Interesting play of words Two words that are central to this theme are: Deliberate, and Responsibility (as an outcome of acting spontaneously)

In English, addition of the prefix de is used denote the opposite meaning or to remove or to reduce a noun or verb.4 Thus Deliberate could be read as DeLiberate i.e., reducing or removing Liberate or giving it the opposite meaning of Liberate. Similarly, with respect to spontaneity one needs to take ownership of ones actions and (as stated above) not react but respond i.e., the ability to respond or responseability. Relevance to Coaching The role of the Coach is never to provide a solution but to partner with his Client to help the Client determine the most appropriate solution for his situation. Most people reach out for a Coach when they have tried to work out things to the best of their ability but have not succeeded in breaking the logjam. Typically the Client would have attempted to identify a solution by trying out alternatives that he is familiar with and drawn a blank. These attempts typify the deliberateness in his efforts to resolve the issue.

Collaborative Role Coaching: Releasing the New Leadership Energy Spontaneity and Creativity by Andrea Barrett and David Matthew Prior 4 Definition of de prefix from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus; Cambridge University Press. Illustratively, words like de-bug (removal of errors), de-forestation, etc

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The Coach, on the other hand, helps the Client identify, clarify and articulate his goals. Thereafter, the Coach encourages the Client to delve into his experiences and work out an action plan which would serve to break the logjam and provide a resolution to the problem vexing the Client. In some ways the Client expects the Coach to solve his problem, but the Coach needs to continue to dance with the Client often making himself invisible and yet providing directional guidance to the Client. The Coach is like the bank of a river, which does not intervene in the journey of the water to the ocean, but gently guides the water to its goal. This aspect has been very well elucidated in ancient texts like

Tao Te Ching, in the concept of Wei Wu Wei. Wu may be translated as not have or without; Wei may be translated as do, act, serve as, govern or effort. Wu Wei is an important concept in Taoism that means non-action or non-doing. The literal meaning of Wu Wei is without action, without effort, or without control and is often included in the paradox Wei Wu Wei: action without action or effortless doing. Wei Wu Wei is not about being passive.
It is about enlightened action. It is about doing something, seeing if one is closer to the goal and making appropriate corrections. It is effortless action without judgement and without forcing the universe to change. An example of active non-action using Wu Wei, would be to coach in such a way that no course of action is dictated to a Client. Thus the Client assumes that they have been taught nothing, until their learning gets integrated with their lived experience and spontaneity bursts forth. This approach is also reflected in our usage of daily language. When faced with a complex or vexing issue we keep it at the back of our minds or sleep over it. There is a deliberate effort not to consciously think of a solution and let the issue germinate in our minds for a resolution to emerge spontaneously. One of the best chronicled instances of this relates to Herr August Kekul von Stradonitz, the German organic chemist, who struggled for a long time to define the structure of benzene. Kekul, himself narrated that he had discovered the hexagonal ring shape of the benzene molecule after having a reverie or day-dream of a snake catching its own tail. Ideally, the role of a successful Coach is to take his Client from a stage of deliberateness (i.e., from his comfort zone) into areas where he fears to tread and encourage him to explore areas that he may be aware of but is unwilling or unable to explore and help him journey into spontaneity. In this role the Coach works to

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(de)Liberate the Client from his comfort zone (of being deliberate) and help him get onto a glide path towards response-ability by being spontaneous. Reflection and applicability to Coaching What is it that needs to be changed in order to attain the goal that has been set for oneself? Can the aspects which are posing a resistance to change be identified? Are there facets that create a feeling of discomfort and inhibit movement outside the comfort zone? Try and identify the primary emotion that surfaces? Usually this is the emotion / feeling that is creating a block in becoming spontaneous. Encourage the Client to allow his mind to wander thereby changing gears of the thought processes to a more spontaneous and less deliberate kind of thinking. Usually such an approach could help the Client reach more creative and less predictable resolutions. What techniques would the Coach use to elevate the Client into a spontaneous thinking process?

When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons. In vital matters, however, the decision should come from the unconscious, from somewhere within ourselves. ~ Sigmund Freud

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