Introduction
Inspiration can come from any place. (even Dr. Seuss.) Some people find their inspiration in a beautiful painting or in a sunset. Others might find inspiration in a moving speech or a quiet room. No matter where the inspiration is found one thing is certain; for something to be an inspiration it has to speak to you and you have to hear it.
When I began studying to become a coach everything was new and exciting. I spent time reading a vast variety of material looking for inspiration on becoming the best coach I could be. One morning I received an email from Quote of the Day. It was a quote from Theodore Seuss Geisel, aka, Dr. Seuss. I read the quote several times and I thought to myself that Dr. Seuss was a coach ahead of his time. I tucked that inspiration away and drew it out for use now.
Theodore Seuss Geisel is the author of more than 60 children’s books. He illustrated successful advertising campaigns and hundreds of political cartoons. He won three academy awards and a Pulitzer Prize for a “Lifetime of Contribution to Children’s Literature. “ Theodore Geisel introduced a new genre in children’s literature. “Children gravitated to the playful, humorous characters and stories while adults appreciated the serious morals and messages.” (Lange, 2009, p1) His books are powerful calls to action and the coaching inspiration is there for the taking.
My goal for this paper is to explore coaching inspirational messages within various children’s books of Theodore Seuss Geisel (hereafter referred to as Dr. Seuss.) I use humor every day in my day to day living and I believe that humor has a place in coaching as well. I try to bring a little fun into almost every coaching conversation. Taking the humorous, insightful, messages that Dr. Seuss has to offer and connecting them to coaching will make me a better coach and I hope allow my clients to have a little fun along the way.
(Dr. Seuss books are rarely paginated. Quotes within this text that are taken from the books will be identified with the first word(s) of the title)
The Coaching Inspiration of Theodore (Dr. Seuss) Geisel
Dr. Seuss wrote books that help children learn to read, count, recognize letters and imagine a whole new world. Entertaining reading “is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the social, political, and moral messages, and the inspiration expressed in Dr. Seuss stories”. (Sailsbury, 2012, p1) He spoke with voice “of compassion and empathy about the world in which we live; and a viewpoint that seeks a common ground.” (Nerburn, 1996, Introduction pX) Dr. Seuss began writing for children as a way to inspire them but he also inspired countless adults and he has served as a coaching inspiration to me.
Inspiration is the process of being stimulated mentally to do something or feel something. It could be inspiration to take action, write the next great love sonnet, paint the next Mona Lisa or take a step toward a goal.
Coaching is defined as, “providing an ongoing partnership designed to help clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Coaches help people improve their performance and enhance the quality of their lives.” (icoachacademy, [ICA], “What is Coaching?”p1) Coaching inspiration is inspiration that helps coaches to be better coaches or helps coaching clients to take a step toward a goal. Dr. Seuss was and is a coach for children and adults alike.
Dr. Seuss used his books to entertain and also to impart a lesson. One of the lessons prevalent in several books was that at some time all people can use a helping hand. This brings me to my first Seuss principal.
Why Get Coaching
International Coach Federation defines coaching “as partnering with clients in a thought provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” (International Coach Federation, [ICF] “Coaching FAQs” p1) Professional coaching is a partnership that is part collaboration and considering other viewpoints; plus setting goals and making changes.
One of the reasons a person might need a coach is a lack of clarity when they have choices to make. In the book Hunches in Bunches Dr. Seuss makes an argument for why a coach could help.
“I was following a Nowhere Hunch, a real dumb thing to do! Everybody does it. Even me. And even you. Oh you get so many hunches that you don’t know ever quite if the right hunch is the wrong hunch! Then the wrong hunch might be right.” (Seuss, Hunches)
The sentiment here is clearly a lack of clarity and a feeling that many of us have had at one time or another.
The very best coaching is a partnership. Having a partner can often make the difference between success and failure. Much of coaching instruction is aimed at creating a trusting partnership. Dr. Seuss acknowledges the importance of this partnership in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.
“It is good I have someone to help me, he said. Right here in my hat on the top of my head! It is good that I have him here with me today. He helps me a lot. I keep him about, and when I need help then I let him come out.” (Seuss, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back)
The International Coaching Federation has listed reasons someone might work with a coach. One of them is, “Something urgent, compelling or exciting is at stake. A challenge, stretch, goal or an opportunity.” (ICF, “Coaching FAQs” p1) Many of Dr. Seuss’s books deal with things of an urgent nature or a challenge. In Scrambled Eggs Super he acknowledges the need for stepping out of your comfort zone to meet a challenge. “The places I hiked to! The roads that I rambled to the find the best eggs that have ever been scrambled! If you want to get eggs you can’t buy at a store, you have to do things never thought of before.” (Seuss, Scrambled) Think out of the box, let go of the old, look at things from a new angle, all things we aim to help our clients do as coaches. Dr. Seuss said it first!
Another reason listed by the International Coach Federation as to why someone might like to work with a coach is, “A gap exists in knowledge, skills, confidence or resources.” (ICF, “Coaching FAQs”, p1) The reason Dr. Seuss originally started writing children’s books was to get kids interested in reading and learning. “He (Seuss) believed knowledge helps us to navigate the world.” (Pierlott, 2011, p 41) The world of Dr. Seuss was strange but exciting. Many of the Dr. Seuss books contain passages about learning and knowledge. In I Can Read with My Eyes Shut he discusses why learning and knowledge can change your life. “You can learn about ice. You can learn about mice. You can learn about the price of rice. You might learn a way to earn a few dollars. Or how to make doughnuts or kangaroo collars.” (Seuss, I Can Read)
One of the techniques that Dr. Seuss used to make his audience a part of the story was to ask questions. “Do you like green eggs and ham? Would you like them here or there?” (Seuss, Green Eggs) “What more do you want? What else do you want?” (Seuss, The First) These kinds of powerful questions are riddled through Dr. Seuss books.
One of the most important tools a coach can have in their tool box is the ability to ask powerful and sometimes difficult questions. “Dr. Seuss’s books often feature characters whose unexamined and false beliefs prevent them from being happy or satisfied with their lives.” (Rider, 2011, p2)
Powerful Questions
Giving people information does not always work, but powerful questions can inspire people to think on their own. Powerful questions can enable the client to put a halt to confusion and gain some clarity. “A great question has the capacity to stop the receiver of the question in their tracks and get them to stop to think in a different way.”(ICA, “Powerful Questions,” p1)
In his books Seuss asked the questions that most people ignore, he challenged conventional wisdom and forced people to think about what they would do with their lives. In the book Oh the Places You’ll Go Seuss poses questions aimed to encourage the protagonist to face problems courageously.
“You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted, but mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?”(Seuss, Oh the Places)
If the questions were not asked and the protagonist was not made aware of his choices and he failed to “go in” he would have missed out on opportunities. Much as our clients will miss out on opportunities if they are not challenged or focused.
How do we begin to ask the powerful questions? Where do they come from? They come from knowing our client and we do that by building a trusting relationship. Building a relationship is crucial to successful coaching.
Building a relationship with his reader was also crucial to Dr. Seuss.
“He believed that children possess a sense of fairness and justice as well as a hunger to belong and to participate. When empowered to make their own choices in their own space, children can open up new possibilities. Dr. Seuss spelled out his philosophy, “In these days of tension and confusion writers are beginning to realize that Books for Children have a greater potential for good, or evil, than any other form of literature on earth.” He challenged other writers to …foster a greater commitment to trust, equality and justice’.” (Pease, 2010, 78)
Many Seuss books are about building successful relationships by building trust. In Horton Hears a Who when Horton risks capture to protect others; by being responsible in The Cat in the Hat when cat goes back to clean up his mess so the children do not get in trouble; and by honoring your promises in Horton Hatches an Egg as Horton sits on a nest and doesn’t leave despite being captured and put in a circus. In each of these books Seuss demonstrates building relationships and fostering trust.
Dr. Seuss books all have a successful end and he often uses acknowledgement to move his characters forward. “You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself, any direction you choose.” (Seuss, Oh the Places) Acknowledgement is an excellent tool for coaches. Honest acknowledgement can help coaches build a relationship with clients.
Acknowledgement
Acknowledgement can be a very effective tool in helping to build the client/coach relationship. It is not just a compliment, it is the recognition of something your client does that helps them complete an action or take a step toward a goal. “Acknowledgement is the capacity to recognize something wonderful about a person and to let them know about it. By wonderful, it could be a skill, a competency, a strength an attitude, a value, an act of goodwill.” (ICA, “Acknowledgement”, p1) In the Seuss book Mr. Brown can Moo can You? Seuss spends time discussing the things Mr. Brown can do and he uses words like wonder, smart, wonderful. “Mr. Brown is smart as smart as they come. Oh the wonderful things Mr. Brown can do.” (Seuss, Mr. Brown)
Another example of acknowledgement in the Dr. Seuss books comes from Oh the Places You’ll go. “The magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winningest winner of all.” The joy of the books infuses them with an attitude of success and achievement.
Acknowledgement comes after an action. In the Seuss book Horton Hears a Who, Horton is encouraging the people in Whoville to holler and make themselves heard. As he is encouraging them to try again he says, “Don’t give up. I believe in you all, a person’s a person no matter how small.” (Seuss, Horton hears a Who) The acknowledgement encouraged the town to try harder.
Celebrating is also a form of acknowledgement. “Celebrating provides the opportunity for others to participate in the accomplishment.” (ICA, “Acknowledgement”, p3) Much of the Dr. Seuss book Oh the Places You’ll Go, is a celebration. “Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away “(Seuss, the Oh Places You’ll Go.) Of all the tools at the disposal of the coach, acknowledgement is one of the easiest and most effective. Acknowledging a client for an action taken not only builds the trust you are working on with your client, it also validates and encourages them to continue to bring about the changes that the client is working on.
As mentioned earlier, one very important thing is to acknowledge a client when they have set up a goal or an action and then, when they complete that action, acknowledge their success for being responsible and accountable to carry through with their action.
Accountability
Accountability for something means to be responsible to give an account of your actions. “Doing what you say you are going to do is incredibly powerful. It builds a sense of achievement and builds trust in those around you.” (ICA, “Accountability,” p1) There is a great similarity between the ICA material and the mantra repeated and repeated by Horton the elephant. “I said what I meant and I meant what I said an elephant faithful 100 per cent.” (Seuss, Horton Hatches an Egg) Was there anyone anywhere more accountable for their promise than Horton?
Being accountable has to start with yourself as Horton shows us. A Coach has to do what they say they are going to do and acknowledge themselves when they have done a good job. Coaches often compare what they can do to what others can do, but coaching and achievement and accountability are individual. “An achievement that is simple for one person can be incredibly difficult for another.” (ICA, “Accountability”, p5) Perhaps Dr. Seuss said it best, “Today you are you that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.” (Seuss, Happy Birthday to You)
Recognizing our clients for being accountable can move a client. A coach can remind a client of past accomplishments and give them encouragement to move forward but accountability is a two way street. Coaches have to be aware that if clients are not successful and are not able to do what they have said they will do, they will be accountable for that as well. Sometimes coaches and clients learn as much from a failure as a success. Everyone has a bad day. “Step with care and great tact, and remember that life’s a great balancing act.” {Seuss, Oh the Places)
Everyone has battles, struggles and sorrows, but finding out what is blocking the forward progress of clients can be as helpful as acknowledging successes. ““When you are in a slump, you are not in for much fun, Unslumping yourself is not easily done.”(Seuss, Oh the Places) Helping a client to change their attitude or perspective is important and sometimes not easily done. This calls for not just a tool but a power tool.
Reframing Perspective
Perspective or point of view is personal. It is unlikely that two people will have the same perspective on anything. “Perspective is a way of looking at or interpreting a particular set of events. …Your perspective determines your experience in life, not your circumstances….You can choose to change your perspective at any time.” (ICA, “Reframing Perspectives”, p1)
In the coaching arena reframing perspective is getting a client to look at something in a different way, in helping them to see a way forward instead of seeing a roadblock. “Reframing is not about changing your mind, instead it is about creating a shift in consciousness to help see things in a whole new way. “ (ICA, “Reframing Perspective”, p2) Changing perspective might be seeing a broader range of possibilities or it could be understanding when a door closes a window opens. If a client can reframe a perspective it is possible they can find a solution and move forward.
Perhaps Seuss’s greatest reframing of perspectives is the Grinch. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is Dr. Seuss’s story of the Grinch who lived just north of Whoville and hated Christmas so much he stole it. The next morning he finds
“He hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming! It came! … He puzzled three hours til his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. “Maybe Christmas”, he thought “Doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more!” (Seuss, How the Grinch)
While it is possible for clients to reframe things themselves, it is also a great avenue for a coach to help and support a client identify and reframe the perspectives. Like the Grinch, reframing the perspective can provide immediate understanding and action on the part of the client.
There are many more coaching tools and many more Seuss quotes, but the goal for this paper was to explore coaching inspirational messages within various Theodore Seuss Geisel children’s books. In doing this I found inspiration for coaching. I found something else as well. I found not only coaching inspiration, but inspiration for life. Dr. Seuss wrote about prejudice, and ecology and war. He wrote about failure and success and he wrote about problems and solutions. He wrote about survival and moving on. And he wrote about life, and he always did it in a very interesting and entertaining way. “In addition to educating new readers, he appealed to the adults who read the books to their children. (He was) unable to decide whether he was writing adult books for children or children’s books for adults. “(Peace, 2010, p134)
The journeys that a coach takes with a client are not unlike the journeys that children (and adults) take with Theodore Seuss Geisel. Journeys of discovery or journeys of learning and wonder, you never quite know where you will end up and you certainly have to be prepared for detours along the way. Inspiration can be found anywhere, but Dr. Seuss and his menagerie of books are a coaching inspiration and a positive influence for children and for the child in every adult.
Oh the things you can find, in the books you can read,
Oh the things you can learn to help you succeed.
It’s not always pleasant, and often not easy
In fact, sometimes, you are really quite queasy.
Inspiration is there, take a look and you’ll see;
Dr. Seuss was a coach and his wisdom is free.
Shelley Davis
Read entire paper (including Bibliography)
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