Unscripted problems, Design thinking and coaching -V

“I realized that the beliefs that had held Ranjit back for decades were starting to crumble. Lecturing him about the flaws in his mindset would not have made a difference; he needed to experience it himself. This personal discovery echoed the core principles of design thinking—prototype, test, and learn.”

Prototyping and testing serve as the crucial final stages within the design thinking (DT) framework. In product development, teams create working prototypes and test them with end users to gather feedback. In the context of executive coaching, however, these stages revolve around implementing identified actions as experiments, observing whether behaviours change and transform over time.

Going back to the Coachee Ranjit discussed in part-II, the reason Ranjit would not take up new projects and seemingly challenging assignments was his fear of failure. During the coaching discussions, we discovered that Ranjit believed that he was not good at taking up new challenges. He wanted to play safe by not getting involved in new things, though he had all the capabilities to do so. It was a deep-rooted belief.

Due to the pandemic, my coaching sessions with Ranjit were conducted virtually. During one of the conversations, I noticed that Ranjit’s son, a boy of age about ten, was often disturbing the discussions. Ranjit was apologetic, and I comforted him saying that it was fine, since the home was not meant to be the place of work. Then I asked him what was his son pestering about. Ranjit said that his son wanted to eat Pizza and unfortunately due to pandemic, they were not able to go out to a restaurant or order. That gave me an idea. I asked “Ranjit, I understand your situation, poor boy he wants to eat Pizza, Why don’t you make one at home?”. Ranjit was petrified “I have never made a Pizza; I don’t even know the method “

“Ranjit, I know you enjoy cooking, and you mentioned in our very first session that it’s a passion of yours,” I said. He paused before responding, “Yes, but I have never made a pizza.”

“Why not give it a try for your son’s sake?” I suggested, hoping to spark some enthusiasm.

His scepticism was palpable. “It will not turn out well; pizza making is an art! I have never even baked anything. I only know how to make Indian cuisine.”

In that moment, I could sense the deep-seated belief that was holding him back. I pressed on gently, “What if it does not come out well? Will your son refuse to eat it?”

Ranjit hesitated. “He might eat it, but…”
“But what?” I encouraged him to dig a little deeper.
“What will he think of me?” That was it, his true fear showed up.
I decided to push “ Ranjit, In the current situation where your son cannot get a Pizza, will he appreciate you for making it or think low about you ?”

Ranjit agreed to do an experiment. I asked him to journal his current state of mind, his concerns, his worries, his journey of Pizza making and the result of the experiment with his son. Though our next session was a few weeks away, Ranjit called me two days later. He was excited to share that he had made Pizza at home. I asked him how he had gone about it.

Ranjit had meticulously studied countless recipes and watched numerous videos on “How to Make Authentic Restaurant-Style Pizza at Home.” Finally, he mustered the courage to take the plunge. I inquired, “How did it turn out? What was your son’s reaction?”

Ranjit could not conceal his excitement, “It came out so much better than I expected! My son loved it and is already asking me to make it again.”

In that moment, I realized that the beliefs that had held Ranjit back for decades were starting to crumble. Lecturing him about the flaws in his mindset would not have made a difference; he needed to experience it himself. This personal discovery echoed the core principles of design thinking—prototype, test, and learn.

The success of his pizza experiment and the genuine appreciation from his son instilled in Ranjit a newfound confidence. He felt empowered to explore new possibilities, both in the kitchen and at work.

Design thinking views the entire cycle as an iterative process rather than a linear journey. This perspective resonates deeply within executive coaching, where the coachee is encouraged to prototype new behaviours, experiment, test, and refine their approaches to discover what truly works for them.
As a summary, the mindset of design thinking and the steps are beneficial in the context of executive coaching too. Ultimately, both design thinking and executive coaching equip individuals with the insights and frameworks necessary to tackle multifaceted challenges, whether in a business context or on a personal journey.