How Co-Founder of The Coaching Master Liam James Collins Uses the 5 Neurological Levels of Change
If you are hoping to fulfill your dream of becoming a life coach, then chances are you are hoping to effect change in others' lives. To achieve this change, it is crucial to understand how change works and how it can be created. As a coach, Liam James Collins is in the business of change. And since he trains other people to become coaches, they must understand and be willing to change.
"If a person doesn't want to change, then a coach is useless to them. People only need the help from a coach when there is something in their life and business that has become too unbearable in its current state."
But how do people create long-lasting, sustainable change?
Liam takes people through a process called the 5 Neurological Levels of Change. According to Collins, the 5 Neurological Levels of Change include Identity, Values and Beliefs, Capabilities, Behavior and Environment. The top-level is the most substantial level of change & the bottom level is the weakest level of change.
Identity
Identity is about 'who you are' and could also be considered as the sense of self. At this level, people are often concerned about personal self-actualization and may consider thoughts such as "What do I like?" or "What is my passion?" As a Coaching Master, Liam focuses on this top level of identity. "When people that work with me want to make a change in their life, I focus my attention on changing the way they see themselves as opposed to what they are doing."
Values & Beliefs
Belief is known as the level of 'why' and is sometimes also described as values. This level helps us to figure out the reasons behind our behavior, including any underlying values. Beliefs and values can either reinforce or weaken capabilities. Liam takes people through a process of changing their values or what's important to them and their beliefs to create change.
Capabilities
Capability might be considered the 'how' level—our capabilities fuel behavior through a personal strategy involving skills and development. A person operating at this level is talking and thinking about how to achieve something, including what skills they might need to develop to do so.
Behavior
Behavior refers to our actions and reactions within our environment. An individual operating at this level is likely to describe what they thought and did and what effect that had on them. It also includes what they might have done and what impact that would have had.
Environment
In the 5 Neurological Levels of Change, the environment is about the external conditions in which behavior takes place and in which we operate. A person working at this level will probably be explaining what happened and who was there. This may also involve complaining.
According to Liam James Collins, most people, when they want to change their lives, will try to change their environment, behavior, or capabilities. But this is not strong enough. According to Liam, "When someone changes their identity, all the lower levels - values, beliefs, capabilities, behavior, and environment - will change automatically."
You have to adopt a new identity if you want to create a genuine, long-lasting change in someone's life, and Liam does this at Master Level.
