By Patricia Weijzen Peters
Hong Kong….a vibrant and energetic city.
For the first time in Asia, Ginger Lapid-Bogda the noted Enneagram expert and author presented her Coaching Certification program in Hong Kong last month and I was doubly fortunate as I was not only able to take part in a 5 day masterclass for ENNEAGRAM practitioners which gave me amazing new insights into the dynamics of the Enneagram development model but I also go to spend 5 days with Ginger who is one of my most important role models.
Ginger Lapid-Bogda, is an expert in the business application of the Enneagram with over 30 years of experience as a business consultant, coach and trainer with an impressive list of Fortune 500 clients (www.theenneagraminbusiness.com/).
I have read all of her books and highly respect her vision, application and interpretation of the Enneagram system.
I was very curious to meet her and experience her as my coach/trainer and had high expectations of the program content as well of the person Ginger Lapid-Bogda.
Let me start by saying that she not only met my expectations but exceeded them: not only through her ‘down to earth’ style of training, her well thought out coaching program and effective exercises, her extraordinary fine tuned and beautifully designed training materials and her accessible knowledge but mostly because she is a very conscious and great person who is capable of inspiring people without making an effort to do so or needing the acknowledgment for it.
Ginger is in my Top 3 role models that I professionally aspire to.
The concept of role models is used in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) as a resource to tap from when working towards your objectives or goals esp. when stumbling on limiting beliefs. The process of working with role models is called: modeling.
We, in EDG, use role models and modeling as a technique or tool in our coaching process when the client needs to break trough limiting beliefs: role models are real people who already achieved or successfully obtained the goal or whatever it is the coaching client wants or aims for. The underlying assumption is: ‘if anybody has already done it before, you can do it too’. This proved to be working in 1954 when the first man ever run the mile in less than four minutes (something that was believed ‘impossible’): within one year almost 40 other people achieved the same impossible performance.
The process of modeling a role model is done with support of the coach and it is an empowering process that puts the client into the shoes of the role model; the thinking, feeling and acting patterns of the role model lead to a certain end result. Modeling these patterns bring the same end result.
I am aware that I am simplifying at this point and not doing justice to the technique and process and that you probably raising your eyebrow and think: ‘yeah, right, so I want to be successful like Richard Branson so I copy everything he has done so far…
Well, partly…action is one part of modeling but the action is driven by thinking (values, beliefs, how he motivates himself after failing etc) and feeling patterns (how he is calm, confident, handles stress etc).
My personal interpretation of modeling and how I use it with my coaching clients is practical and focuses on people you know well or are more accessible then Richard Branson. These personal role models often went trough rough paths to get where they are today. What got them there is a strong belief in their own capabilities and a sense of direction (goal) and the flexibility to change behaviour if it doesn’t bring them closer to their goal.
I haven’t studied the person Ginger and only experienced her for five days, and I am convinced that she is as much successful as she is not, failed many times and has her own role models or people that she admires, respects and aspire to. She is a role model for me in respect to her professional result; her books, her clients, her training style, her ability to connect with participants as well as containing her energy and personal space. And I have yet some miles to go. And I will get there because I belief it is possible and I belief it is worthwhile and because if someone else can, I can.
Next time more on the power of beliefs and how to deal with limiting beliefs.
