WHEN KIKIS META-COACH

As you probably already known, this past week was the Coaching Bootcamp of Coaching Mastery in Auckland New Zealand and the fourth one in as many years. While it was technically “an international training” because at least 3 of us were from “somewhere else” on the planet (myself, Robert Were from Australia, and Wilkie Choi from Hong Kong), everybody else were from New Zealand. Not only that, but everybody with the exception of team leader and Neuro- Semantic trainer, Alan Fayter (from Christchurch) was Maori. And that created a very new and different experience— since we could say that Meta-Coaching was as much immersed in Maori culture and Maori culture was immersed in Neuro-Semantic culture.

Although, even as I write that, I think about the years that Colin Cox (Master Neuro-Semantic Trainer) and Lena Gray have been introducing Neuro-Semantics to Auckland and New Zealand ... certifying 200 to 300 people a year in APG (they call it “self-leadership,” which is Module II of Meta-Coaching, alias APG). They have been immersing people into the vision and mission of Neuro-Semantics. Anyway, it was a great experience and exceptionally transformational.

And when I say exceptionally transformational, that is not hype or over-statement. We saw many people making tremendous developmental changes mastering anger by meta-stating with awareness, acceptance, choice, respect, and so on— mastering fear, hesitation, poor health habits, etc. I was privileged to see one young lady develop a strategy and the frames for more robust states to handle some “crazymaking” by a mother-in-law that had been driving her to the bring of despair.

And it was exceptionally transformational outside of the sessions as well as within. That’s because a large portion of our group stayed at a Backpacker’s Hotel in the city, just a few blocks from the venue. And that was great, first of all, for the residential effect of the training— the collaboration, partnership, colleagial relationships. Not to speak of the coaching that went on to 1 and 2 and 3 am most nights!

It was also great for the other inhabitants at the hotel! There were a lot of backpackers who got a lot of free coaching as our coaches-in-training were looking for people to practice on. And I’m sure the backpackers and later, some homeless people, heard a lot of strange language— “That’s your frame, bro! Have you had enough of that or do you need 5 more years before you step up to your potential?” And from what I hear, some of the backpackers even began to get use to the language. One Meta-Coach came back and reported that when he introduced himself (using his Introduction of course!), the person said, “Hey, I’ve met other Meta-somethings around here.”

Actually we had a number of our group who were quite bold and outrageous— practicing their

Introductions — “Hi, my name is ... and I’m a Meta-Coach, I specialize in ... and my style is...” And they were doing this in all of the three elevators that went up and down the 13 floors of the Mercure Hotel. Talk about literally perfecting your “elevator speech.”!

As I mentioned, while we sought to bring a cultural immersion of Neuro-Semantics to the participants of Meta-Coaching, we also experienced a cultural immersion in Maori culture given that only four of us where not Maori. So I saw for the first time an Axes of Change Haka. And how can I describe that? Each of our teams took on of the axes on The Axes of Change and created a mind-to-muscle “song,” “rap,” “dance” with it. It was as mind-to-muscle as any pattern I could have invented and quite powerful in effect — even for an observer.

Another aspect of the Maori culture is the Taonga. I heard about it several times in coaching sessions when a coach would ask, “How do you want to remember this state or experience? How do you want to anchor it so you can keep this new robust frame of mind or feeling?” And they would talk about wearing something around their neck as a Taonga — a “treasure.” Colin and Lena tell me that they even introduce Neuro-Semantics as a Taonga (treasure) and as a term that carries special significance for those who wear a black or green stone which they receive as a gift around the neck. And that, by the way, is a way that the Maori people naturally anchor a state and use it for re-accessing it with ease. The training ended on Day 8 with a Neuro-Semantic Haka that was offered me which was especially moving and powerful, leaving me speechless.

And the new format for the Coaching Mastery Program? I congratulate Lena Gray on the exceptional job of co-training she did having to adjust to the new format and keep up with me and doing all of that and co-sponsoring the whole event. Meta-High Fives for taking on all of that! Meta High Fives also to Antoinette Ehmke from Pretoria South Africa who joined Colin and Lena on our panel of Expert Coaches on Day 7 to contribute to the business acumen of creating a commercially viable coaching practice. And also to Joseph Scott of Australia who showed up on Day 4, sat in and helped with the benchmarking of competency skills and then shared some of his experiences and insights having worked with leaders and companies as a Meta-Coach for some four or five years now. (Both Lena and Joe are part of the leadership team of the MCF — both in their internship for being signed off as a Meta-Coach Trainer.)

Every single person reached benchmark competency on the seven core skills; several are provisional due to needing to catch up on Modules I and II. We even had 2 people without any NLP (Module I) and Meta-States (Module II) who succeed in an exceptional way. And for the first time ever we also had two teenagers graduate from Coaching Mastery! That’s right, two young people 18 years old. Now imagine their futures knowing this stuff! Imagine what your present future would have been like if you had been introduced and trained in those coaching/ leadership skills at 18! And then there were the visions that we heard on Graduation night —What wonderful visions of the legacy that will be left by Meta-Coaches in New Zealand! As I now fly to Pretoria South Africa for the next Coaching Mastery, I am impressed with the quality of the new graduates in New Zealand and the foundational work that Colin and Lena are doing there— along with numerous other Neuro-Semantic Trainers and Coaches. Here’s to the Vision of Self-Actualizing people, companies, and countries!