Hello, I am Roach the Coach and I am your guide through the Coaching Chronicles. There are 4,500 species of us cockroaches so we are well placed, across the globe, and across time, to tell you about coaching…
James succeeded his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, to the throne at the ripe old age of 13 months. As a slightly naive King, it became clear that he was going to need a lot of support, mentoring and coaching to help him accelerate his regal skills.
The care of James was entrusted to the Earl and Countess of Mar – a good choice as Earl Andrew was a keen follower of political shenanigans – at Sterling Castle. Historians have looked for more information on
Earl Andrew Mar, but there would appear to be a super-Jacobean injunction on him.
The Privy Council – who looked after all things related to the throne, including the administration of indoor toilets – selected tutors to mentor young James. George Buchanan (nicknamed Mark due to the after-effects of his legendary beatings), Peter Young (nicknamed Matt as he was like a doormat), Adam Erkine (nicknamed Luke as his catchphrase was, “Look here, your Majesty”) and David Erskine (nicknamed John as his IBS meant he was never off the loo), were all engaged to provide mentoring services and were expected to teach the King all the things he needed to know to rule Britain well.
George was seriously old school. His mentoring techniques were based on Pavlovian theory. As a result, poor James was frequently beaten for not using the correct cutlery or addressing someone by the wrong title. George did, however, instil in James a lifelong passion for literature and learning.
James continued to rub along with the people he thought he could learn a lot from. At the time, the Golden Age of literature and drama was thriving and James went to hang with William Shakespeare, John Donne, Ben Jonson and Sir Francis Bacon.
James and William struck up a great friendship. William encouraged him to think about who could help him in his ongoing personal development.
James was religious and he sponsored a translation of the Bible so it was more accessible to the masses. He thought that if he wrote a book about coaching and mentoring he could switch it with the translation and get its valuable lessons into the hands of millions.
A newer testament
James spent hours capturing his development journey and arranged each chapter as follows:
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (chapters 1–4) were an account of his early years and the mentors who worked with him as a child.
Acts (5) – a lesson from Positive Psychology about the wellbeing effects of random acts of kindness.
Romans (6) – a reference to Roman Blinds to remind people of a key coaching consideration: is the room private enough so the client feels safe to speak?
‘Colossians’ (12) – a lesson in the value of dreaming big and ensuring people set BAGS (big, hairy and audacious goals).
Timothy (15) – sadly misread as it should have read Empathy, a key competency for world-class coaches and mentors.
Jude (23) – introduces the notion of theme tunes and the importance these can play in helping reframe situations, past or present. James loved Hey Jude.
Revelation (24) – describes some of the techniques involved in helping clients review their new reality.
Many people were deeply unhappy that the religious teachings were to be replaced with some head shrinking nonsense about personal development and fulfilment. One man, in particular, took great offence: Guy the uncoachable.
Guy Fawkes was an ambitious man who progressed through the ranks of governmental jobs. One day, his boss suggested that he employ a coach to help him develop his leadership style. But the coaching was a disaster. Guy did not enjoy being asked lots of questions and found reflecting pointless. The relationship went sour and Guy sacked his coach.
Guy’s manager saw a new side to Guy through this experience and concluded that his utter lack of empathy and willingness to reflect and learn made him unsuitable as a leader and so sacked him. From that day forward, Guy Fawkes began plotting…
He heard that James was planning his Bible Launch in November at the Houses of Parliament in London. The great and the good of coaching and mentoring would be there so a few fireworks should cause a stir.
As you know, Guy was unsuccessful in this, but the plan caused a distraction, and James was unable to switch the religious translation with his coaching and mentoring version, and so the world was robbed of the greatest Coaching and Mentoring story ever written.
Sam Humphrey is an independent coach
Volume 7, issue 6