Joseph O’Connor: Use Brain Science to Enhance the Coaching Experience –TPS501

Joseph O’Connor is the Co-founder of the International Coaching Community (ICC), and one of the best known and respected coaches and coach trainers in the world. He also founded the Neuroscience Coaching Centre. Joseph is the author of nineteen books in thirty languages on coaching, training, and neuroscience that have sold half a million copies worldwide. He follows his two great interests, giving coaching training and courses on creative nonfiction writing.

Highlights

• Joseph’s background as a musician provided the impetus for him to figure out what he has been teaching about both performance and teaching.
• There is a gap between what you do and what you can do and Joseph helps people understand how to bridge that gap.
• His original interest was in helping people use psychological techniques such as NLP to do a better job of playing the guitar (in the 1980s).
• Joseph’s latest book is Coaching the Brain, which helps coaches understand the brain science they need to use when working with clients.
• If coaches don’t understand brain science, then their ability to lead clients is limited. It also helps coaching clients to know more about how their brain works.
• Emotions are a combination of body sensations and meaning. Joseph talks about emotional intelligence.
• Every thought contains an emotion, and every emotion has a thought, i.e. meaning. Our decisions are based on the emotions that are going on.
• In the end, our decisions are based on our emotions which are designed to keep us alive and moving forward. The idea is to use the energy of emotions constructively.
• We spent time talking about money and emotions.
• Thomas Leonard, who started the whole coaching profession, was originally a financial advisor.
• When we get afraid because the amygdala is activated, the rest of the brain shuts down and stops thinking.
• Our brains are very good at making up negative stories about the future. Taking action can ground us in the present.
• To reduce anxiety, first acknowledge and accept where you are emotionally. Trying to make the anxiety go away, you’re actually makes it worse. Then ask, what can I do? When we do that, other parts of the brain are engaged and we can find solutions.

Links

Coaching the Brain – the book

www.CoachingTheBrain.com has a lot of helpful information