Coaching with the Identity-Belonging-Agency Framework

One of the highlights for me this year was having my work on Identity-belonging-Agency (IBA) framework published. The IBA framework is a transformative development framework, which has emerged from my work in Black/marginalized communities. As a developmental framework, I have used it in programs and workshops but another way I have consistently used and found tremendous value with it is in leadership coaching.

Leadership is a professional practice. Research has confirmed that while some personality traits may support leadership growth/potential, leadership is a practice and a skillset that is learned and developed and requires systematic practice/experience over time. In particular, in this age of complexity and compounded polarities, the textbook approaches for leadership do not always apply. In those circumstances, where do you turn? How do you work through today’s leadership challenges? How do you gain wisdom to address situations you have never been in before? One answer is to gain support through leadership coaching, in the same way you would get a sports coach or personal trainer if you were trying to develop a physical capability. Leadership coaching is the process of using questions to help leaders gain insight and clarity into the stuck challenges they face and find their way forward.

I have particularly found, both as a coachee and as a leadership coach, that not only is coaching effective in sorting through organizational challenges but much more than that, I have found it fundamental to unveiling issues that get in the way of leadership presence. Leadership presence is the ability to show up clearly and authentically connected to the source of who you are and your purpose, such that that inner clarity creates openness in self and others in a way that cerates generativity. We know through work such as Scharmer and Kaufer’s that presencing is fundamental to leading through complexity in a way that leads to generative awareness and co-creation to address ecosystem challenges in meaningful ways. Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee’s work on Resonant Leadership also shows us that “leaders who can create resonance are people who either intuitively understand or have worked hard to develop emotional intelligence—namely the competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. They act with mental clarity, not simply following a whim or an impulse” (p4). In my own work, I have defined Resonance as a moment of awakening that deeply connects us to identity and purpose as a pivotal moment of positive shift towards transformative learning.

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