Befriending Existential Anxiety in Coaching – A Relational Approach
Masterclass: Simon Cavicchia
Date: Wednesday 25th November 2020
Venue: Online Zoom Platform
Timings: 14.00 to 17.00
Booking: Online Booking
Masterclass Outline
Leaders are increasingly being called to adapt to complex situations characterised by volatility and uncertainty. Good practice, which can only ever be “yesterday’s practice” is not always suited to the challenges that leaders face. As a result of increasing levels of uncertainty, leaders can experience disorientation and overwhelm as their existing knowledge base and repertoire for acting in role prove to be limited in effectiveness and impact. This in turn can lead to a loss of self-esteem, confidence and agency as those ways of being and working that have conferred a sense of identity for a leader are experienced as less reliable or effective
Masterclass Content, Aims and Objectives
In this Masterclass I shall explore the impact of increased complexity, volatility and uncertainty on the lived experience of leaders and ways in which a relational orientation to coaching can support leaders to understand and adjust creatively to the demands of extraordinary times.
This will include:
- The particular pressures “extraordinary times” can place on leaders and how they challenge often unconscious archetypes and assumptions about what it means to lead.
- Anxiety in the face of the unknown.
- Neurotic anxiety and how this limits creativity, experimentation and adaptability in leaders and coaches alike.
- Existential anxiety and how learning to befriend this fundamental human experience can support greater perspective taking and adaptation.
- How a relational approach to coaching can support leaders to move from being in the grip of neurotic anxiety to befriending existential anxiety in service of making new meaning and acting in innovative ways for complex times.
The Masterclass will introduce a number of perspectives on anxiety and how to work with it along with inquiry exercises and discussion to bring theoretical perspectives to life.
Simon Cavicchia is an Executive Coach, OD Practitioner, Coach and OD Supervisor and UKCP Registered Gestalt Psychotherapist. He is currently a member of faculty on the Ashridge Masters in Executive Coaching and for eight years led the Masters Programme in Coaching Psychology at the Metanoia Institute in London. He was also a faculty member on the Masters in Organisational Development – A Gestalt Approach, also at the Metanoia Institute, and taught on the Change Agent Skills and Strategies MSc at the University of Surrey School of Management for a number of years.
He works in Financial Services, the NHS, Higher Education, Oil and Gas, Media, Retail and a number of Charities and Public Sector organisations such as the Probation Service.
Simon has published a number of papers on the application of Gestalt to coaching and consulting, updated the 4th edition of “Gestalt Counselling in Action” by Petruska Clarkson and in 2018, published “The Theory and Practice of Relational Coaching – Complexity, Paradox and Integration” with Maria Gilbert.