The Discovery that Transformed My Leadership Coaching Process

Last updated August 7, 2021

Those of you who know me well will know how much I LOVE to research things, whether it's a new hobby, tool for the kitchen, I'm in my element online. So I'm can often be found nerding out on the new, leading-edge developments in neurology and psychology that I can apply to my work.

And, as you can imagine, I've spent A LOT of time trialling the latest techniques, processes and assessments during my 10+ years of coaching helping clients to find work they love or love the work they do. (I've been lucky enough to have several long term clients willing to be guinea pigs with the techniques I've found!)

Recently I came across something really special - an emotional intelligence development framework that has fundamentally changed my coaching practice for the better: the practice of ‘Axiogenics’ and value-genic self-leadership.

This process begins with an assessment unlike any other I have come across. With this method, gone are the days of rating your own behaviours on a scale, thus skewing the results to your own opinions of yourself (think about how often you have had to rate personal qualities for an assessment at work - how confident have you been in your answers?).

Also gone are the days of being given assessment results that, no matter how hard you try, you cannot work out how to integrate into your actual work and life. Instead, the Axiogenics approach not only gives you information that is incredibly accurate, but it also gives you a how-to in making a massive and profound change to your life.

The science behind Axiology 

To understand why this assessment is so ground-breaking, we have to have a bit of a history lesson...

In 1960s Dr. Robert Hartman, a philosopher, economist, activist, and mathematician (to name but a couple of his occupations) knew about Axiology; the philosophy of good and evil. However, it was just that - a philosophy with no way to apply it directly to our lives. He wanted to develop a methodology and a framework that actually measured what is good and what is bad. So he developed two systems known as the Hierarchy of Value and the Law of Dynamic Value.

These models are objective, scientific frameworks, that measure what is good and what is bad, what is most good and least good. This lead to the creation of the Hartmann Value profile, an assessment tool that has been adopted by many high performing professionals, organisations and, now, everyday people to create success in their work and life.

Just like how we use numbers and symbols to navigate the world around us, Hartman’s work puts logic around things we find more difficult to quantify - like the way we think. Applying this tool to our professional development helps us gain a better understanding of our unconscious thinking patterns and how to make use of the best ones more consciously and more consistently.

Applying Axiogenics in coaching 

The 123 Self Leadership Assessment, which I'm now using in my coaching practice, is built using this methodology. The results from this assessment reveal the most helpful, and unhelpful, thought patterns we have. 

During coaching sessions, I use these results to help clients understand and develop awareness about how they think, act and behave and develop the self-knowledge and mindfulness that leads to making use of their better ways of thinking so that they make better choices, that lead to the success they want.

These are the 5 steps we go through together:

Step 1: Assessment

Take the profile assessment. This reveals unhelpful thinking patterns as well as our most helpful thinking patterns.

Accept the information objectively. The trick here is understanding that information does not represent what is good or bad about a person. It just is.

Step 2: Goals

We set a challenging and specific goal that we can measure progress against. We use HARD goal setting to help create a really meaningful and aspirational goal.

Step 3: Observation

Focus on the area that is creating the unhelpful patterns that are keeping you stuck. We observe how the findings of the assessment play out in real life: we use techniques like situational observation, reflection, storytelling and narration and questioning approaches to see how this plays out in real-life scenarios. 

Step 4: Pivot

We identify the activities to focus on and commit to so we can move forward. This means identifying unhelpful thinking habits and learning how to pivot to leverage your strengths and assets to get different results.

Step 5:  Accountability

I coach clients to stay on track by having regular, open conversations that focus on what is going well, what a client needs to stop/start doing, and what is getting in the way of progress. Together, we devise ways (using all sorts of tools and techniques - whatever is most relevant to the situation) to work around, through or over these barriers.  

After this, we rinse and repeat as we continue to progress towards success.

I've been hearing great things from clients who've begun the process such as…

'Axiology is helping me to learn how to influence my life outcomes and influence others at work' - Nadine, Wellington. 

'For the first time, I understand how my thoughts create the life I’m living and the outcomes I’m getting' - Joel, Auckland. 

‘I have spent years with various therapists and coaches - all because I couldn’t enjoy my work life and it was a disaster. I knew what was happening and what I SHOULD do to fix it but I had never, until now found the way to do it… that bridge between what I knew and how to do it. I am so grateful for this assessment tool and the coaching approach. Everything has changed for the better; for me and for others for the first time ever.’ Nick, PA, USA

If you're interested in finding out more, read Angela’s story to see how she used inner dynamics to move past the thoughts and feelings holding her back.

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