Virtual Program - Monthly Meeting
The Brain is Not Enough:
Helping Our Clients Extend Their Minds
Date: April 10, 2025
Time: 6:00 - 8:30pm MT (Formal program starts at 6:30)
Location: Zoom
6:00 - 6:30pm: An opportunity to chat socially with other members
and/or join a board member for discussion on Chapter Shapers
6:30 - 8:30pm: Chapter Meeting
CCEs: 1.5 in Core Competencies and 0.5 in Resource Development
Speaker: Ann Betz
Listen below as Stan Ajemian, ICF Colorado Education Director,
talks with Ann Betz about her topic.
Description:
In the ever-increasing complexity of the world today, some researchers are saying that we may well have pushed our cognitive capacities as far as we can. In other words, the brain alone is not enough for our clients to process, manage, and work with the mental challenges of modern life. So what do we do, and where does coaching fit?
The answer may be found in what neuroscience and philosophy refer to as "the extended mind," which points us as coaches to engage aspects of the client and client’s life that broaden their cognitive capacity.
For example:
1. Using techniques that tap into internal sensations is a way to extend the mind into the whole physical system of the client;
2. Externalizing the issue or topic through metaphor, visual work and moving in space extends the mind outside the closed loop of the brain;
3. The coaching relationship itself brings in a sort of extended "collaborative mind" that is created through the safe space, the coach’s presence and even the intuition of the coach; and lastly
4. The appropriate use of technology to track commitments, automate reminders, etc., can help keep coaching alive between sessions in a way that extends the client’s capacity for both memory and focus.
In this lively, provocative, and experiential session, neuroscience and coaching expert Ann Betz will take you through the science and the practicalities of extending the mind – what we are already doing as coaches and where we can stretch to help our clients be even more effective in this complex world.
Participants will:
1. Learn the four factors of the extended mind and where they fit in the coaching relationship.
2. Explore simple strategies for expanding their ability to help their clients "extend their minds."
3. Learn a new coaching tool to help the client think outside their brain.
About Our Speaker:
Ann Betz, CPCC, PCC, MNTC, is the co-founder of BEabove Leadership and an international speaker and trainer on the intersection of neuroscience, coaching and human transformation.
A certified professional coach for 20 years, Ann was a faculty member and served as the neuroscience consultant to The Coaches Training Institute (CTI) for many years. Ann is the lead author of Integration, the power of being Co-Active in work and life, an exploration of consciousness and the future (John Hunt Publishing, 2015), as well as a ground-breaking white paper on the neuroscience of the International Coach Federation coaching competencies.
She is also a published poet, using her understanding of the brain and consciousness to bring to life the wonders of the human soul. Ann speaks internationally on neuroscience, leadership and coaching (and occasionally poetry as well), and she excels at making the complexities of the brain come to life with depth, humor and simplicity.
Ann lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her five (yes five!) highly entertaining cats.