Back in 2010 I presented a Lecture at WSSC called 'The Gift of Empowerment'.
Today's Blog is a taster of this lecture..
The Gift of Change
“Nothing changes unless something changes.”
“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.”
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals”.
As Spinning® instructors, we typically fill the role of “expert” as we guide class after class through powerful training sessions. However, acting in this capacity can put us in a fixing role, which can impede our ability to see the wholeness in our students.
Fixing and helping others can create distance between student and coach, whereas serving promotes a connection. When you regard your students as capable, creative, and complete, you’ve taken the first step toward empowering them to motivate themselves.
When your students feel connected to you and their intentions, they are likely to come back for more and to approach each ride with energy, focus and determination.
Service-orientated instructors get results because they enable their students to set and accomplish their own goals—not because they tell them what to do. This builds intrinsic motivation—a powerful force that leads to success on and off the Spinner® bike.
Here are some examples:
Using an empowerment approach is actually a lot less work for the instructor and both you and your students will leave feeling energised and fulfilled.
The magic of tapping into someone’s empowerment capacity is that it keeps working long after the class has finished.
Don’t be surprised if your students tell you that they applied your questions to other areas of their lives or experienced profound breakthroughs.
The benefits of a Spinning® class should last long after your students have dismounted the bike.
Yours in sport,
Michelle Colvin
International Spinning® Master Instructor (UK)
