Continuing our series looking at coaching tools and techniques, Coaching at Work road-tests the photoVoyage process
THE WOW! FACTOR
photoVoyage is a process that combines portrait photographs with facilitated conversation, raising self-awareness and allowing us to see ourselves as others see us.
Here, Penny Millar, owner and director of photoVoyage and an executive coach, along with Peter Wilson, executive coach and Academy of Executive Coaching faculty member, reveal how they experienced Peter’s photoVoyage.
Penny Millar: In coaching, as in life, I believe that personal authenticity is essential. photoVoyage allows us to look ourselves in the eye and talk about the person we see in front of us. Using photographs as a prompt to honest and open dialogue we challenge our self-beliefs and become more open to feedback from others. It is simple (90 minutes), high-impact and the results are long-lasting, as the photographs can be looked at in the future.
Peter Wilson: I agree with Penny that authenticity lies at the heart of coaching. I was excited about working with her because I was hopeful that the process of looking at pictures live and ‘in the moment’ would open up a new way of discovering more about what I bring to my work.
I never see the face that clients see when I am coaching them so I was curious to learn. I was also, if I am honest, a little apprehensive because I am not used to looking closely at photographs of myself and I wasn’t sure whether I would be laying myself open to being vulnerable.
PM: The process starts with a photography session in natural light. My ‘voyager’ and I chat in an informal way, while I shoot – my experienced eye capturing different expressions and body language. Nothing is forced. I remind them that these are not studio photographs – this is about who they are, not what they look like.
PW: My goal for the session was to be open to discovery. I remember Penny asking me a few thought-provoking questions as she was shooting: “What do you enjoy about your work?” “How do you remain curious?”
The camera was not intrusive – it felt a bit unusual at first, but it quickly became secondary.
The other thing I noticed was that my answers were important to me in two ways: First, it is rare to talk openly about what motivates me, so the answers were rich reminders. Second, the questions provoked responses in me that showed thinking, deciding, surprise – which is a long way away from staged photos.
PM: After the 15 minute photo session I download immediately on to my computer, editing to the 20 images I feel will be most useful.
The voyager doesn’t see them yet.
PW: I remember vividly when Penny was doing her first edit of the photos, she said: “Wow”.
It was such a spontaneous, generous response that I was dying to know which one she liked, but she wouldn’t tell me! She said it would be interesting to see if it stood out for me above the others.
PM: I saw this particular picture – an image Peter might never usually see of himself. It showed power in the thoughtfulness – peaceful contemplation but with an awareness of the world. I probably also said at this moment: “Oh, I love my job!”
PW: It is fascinating to observe a photographer select pictures because a professional is, of course, very used to visual information giving clues to something more, something deeper.
The first time I watched the slideshow of my photos, I was asked just to take it all in without comment. I remember thinking a lot of thoughts at the same time… everything from: “Eek, my hairline is disappearing”, to “She’s really captured something interesting in that one.”
The second time around, it felt slower, more purposeful. Though in reality it probably lasted only 20-30 seconds per photograph. Penny asked me to select the 10 that I really liked.
What I valued was that she was observing closely, so that when I dismissed one a bit too quickly, she asked me to explain my choice.
Sometimes it was a case of: “I just prefer another one”, and sometimes I recognised in me that there was a bit of resistance to what I was seeing in myself. At no point did she judge. If anything, I believe Penny was giving me the space to appreciate myself – warts and all – and to see beyond facial expressions.
PM: Now we refine that choice to three, looking for the images that have the most powerful resonance for the voyager. We are also looking for one photograph that stands out as: “Here I am. This is me.”
PW: Penny encouraged me to fully own what I was seeing in myself, rather than being objective. The first photo captures how I feel when I am training. I don’t mind that I don’t look perfectly poised – it captures me mid-flow and I like the energy in it.
I like the second one because it shows a listening presence. It expresses the coaching part of me rather than the group facilitator.
PM: “…and the WOW photo?”
PW: It sounds a bit clichéd, but the photo I chose is of me not trying too hard, just being. In my work on Executive Renewal, I help executives get back to an earlier, simpler sense of themselves in their work. This picture, I feel, captures that simplicity within me. And Penny captured it in the image.
For me the photoVoyage opened up – quite literally – a new way of seeing myself. Very often, those who are in serving professions take time to reflect on what they bring to their work, so they can remain true to it. Coaching goes a long way to helping this reflection, but the photographic element makes it much more real.
PM: At the end of the session, Peter took away a CD of his images and a book containing his reactions at the time and ways to use the photos going forward.
photoVoyage has a wide client base – including young people in the youth justice system, people lacking confidence or facing challenge and change, and corporate clients in coaching and personal development programmes. n
- READER OFFER: Book a photoVoyage before 31 May 2012 and receive a 20 per cent discount.
- Email: info@photovoyage.co.uk
- Phone: 01825 723840
Penny Millar has been a special needs teacher and photographer for 30 years and is an executive coach (AoEC). Her passion is working with young people who are struggling with identity and confidence. A fluent French speaker, she photoVoyaged an entire village of 68 people in southern France.