What do we mean by Heart?
Those of you familiar with Graydin know that we talk a lot about Heart. The Heart is really at the centre of everything we do—from our philosophies to our action items. Without Heart, there would be no Graydin. But what, exactly, do we mean when we refer to Heart?
When we talk about Heart, we’re not using it as a metaphor for love or emotion. We are also not referring to the organ that resides behind our lungs. Instead, we are referencing our human capacity to access and know who we are and what we want.
In coaching, we use the word 'Heart' as a metaphor to point to a person’s values, passions and motivations. Since it's intrinsic to each human, this means the Heart is unique to each student and colleague.
As you’ll see, Heart resides at the centre of our model and, as a result, is the starting point for all coaching conversations, short and long.
The Heart (values, visions, motivations) is the starting point of our coaching model that also factors in Head (realities, options, resources) and Step (growth, action, accountability).
Take a moment to consider what your life would be like if you had 100% clarity on your Heart. If the choices and decisions you made daily were in alignment with your values—those things that are important to you and influence who you truly are. This is the power of starting with Heart.
This model underpins our work at Graydin – to help teachers and students understand themselves better in order to take aligned actions. As a result, the Start With Heart model can be used for both students and colleagues—whether you're having a one-to-one coaching conversation with a student about exam results or a short chat in the hallway with a colleague about a challenging relationship.
When we start with Heart, move to Head and then to Step, we are more able to make decisions and take actions aligned with what’s really important to us.
Interested in learning more? Join us for The Anatomy: Foundational Coaching Course and learn the power of using the Start With Heart model in daily conversation.