Home | Business
Coaching questions are powerful things and I always tell the managers I train as coaches to respect that power. They must also recognize that what starts as clearly business related conversation, may lead to uncovering a significant problem outside of work. The most effective coaching managers are always keen to develop at least a little psychological awareness. Consider for example, society's changing attitudes and practices with regard to sexual activity. Let's firstly consider the pioneering work of some of the early writers and researchers in the field. Havelock Ellis, working in the Victorian era, wrote mainly concerning the need to understand the sex lives of 'normal' people, as opposed to so called deviants. Also writing at this time was Sigmund Freud, perhaps the most well known of all psychoanalysts, whose albeit controversial theories of human sexuality are still prevalent today. Alfred Kinsey is credited with bringing scientific research methods and objectivity to the field, whilst the groundbreaking work of Masters and Johnston in the 1970's precipitated the birth of the sex therapy industry. Let's now consider some of the more common sexual practices that are often labelled 'abnormal': Transsexualism It is important to note that transsexuals do not simply seek gratification by dressing like the opposite sex (transvestism); they truly believe that they are, in fact, members of this opposite sex quite literally trapped in the wrong body. Paedophilia Predominantly male, and generally attracted to the opposite sex, paedophiles desire sexual gratification with a prepubescent child. Of all the sexual deviancies, paedophilia is understandably the most widely condemned because the 'between consenting adults' argument can never be made. Sadism & Masochism Sadists enjoy domination and achieve sexual arousal through inflicting real pain on their partner, who may or may not submit willingly to it, whereas masochists enjoy submissiveness and often enjoy being humiliated and hurt by their sexual partners. Fetishism A fetish is a sexual obsession with inanimate objects, typically female clothing, and fetishists can become aroused by the seemingly bizarre. Consider the real-life case of a man arrested after being discovered trying to make love to a paving stone. There is also: Transvestism, i.e. cross dressing, Exhibitionism, commonly known as 'flashing' and Voyeurism, i.e. being a peeping tom With the obvious exception of Paedophilia, society's attitudes towards these practices are softening as long as no real harm comes to people who would prefer not to be involved. As I write, there is a television programme featuring a team of dating experts trying to assist a gay man in finding a relationship. Perhaps as little as 5 years ago such a programme would not have been made. What then of the coaching manager who uncovers signs that these considerations may be causing problems at work? Best advice would seem to be to keep to good coaching principles. Ask questions that will provoke awareness, responsibility and trust and be sure tio listen attentively to the answers. This won't do any harm and, in fact, might prove quite helpful. Thereafter, it would be best to refer the coachee for appropraite professional support. For this reason I recommend that all coaching managers familiarize themselves with their organization's welfare procedure.
Article Source: http://www.articleviral.com
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
