Set Up Your Private Coaching Record
Where you are: Module 1 · Lesson 6 of 30 · about 32 minutes (reading 12, practice 14, checkpoint 6). This last lesson of Module 1 sets up the private record you will use for the rest of the course, with a storage choice, a privacy checklist and a rule for outside tools. It ends with the Module 1 checkpoint.
What you'll be able to do
- Set up a private record with ten fields, and choose where to keep it.
- Apply a privacy checklist, including the rule for any outside tool.
- Write a first full entry about a work event, using the fields you have already practised.
Why keep a record?
One moment tells you little. The same kind of moment written down on several days can show whether something repeats, and the record lets you keep or drop an idea based on what you saw, not on what you remember.
What the research does and does not say. Three kinds of research sit near this habit. None of them tests this course.
- Coaching. A meta-analysis of 20 studies of workplace coaching found better goal achievement and more self-efficacy (belief that you can do a task). It studied coaches working with people, not a self-paced course.
- If-then plans. A large meta-analysis found a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals when people decided in advance "if this happens, I will do that". The experiments you design later use this kind of plan, by analogy.
- Writing. A review of 13 studies of "expressive writing" (writing about thoughts and feelings on a stressful topic) about work stress found benefit in nine. It did not test journalling for self-leadership.
This course uses the record because it is a practical way to keep your observations. It does not claim a result.
What the authors teach. Chestnut and Paes ask readers not to judge themselves, to cultivate self-compassion, and to learn from setbacks. The record is this course's tool, not theirs.
The ten fields
The ten-field record is this course's design. Copy the fields into a notebook or a private file. You do not need to fill them all every time.
| # | Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Date and setting | A date and a few private words. No names. |
| 2 | Fact | What happened, who did what, and when. Observable only. |
| 3 | Body, feeling, thought | The three fields from Lesson 4. |
| 4 | First reaction | What you did, or wanted to do, first. |
| 5 | A possible motive | What your reaction might be protecting, written as a possibility. |
| 6 | An alternative reading | Another way to read the same event (from Module 2). |
| 7 | Optional pull tag | A short tag you may add in Module 4. Leave it blank for now. |
| 8 | One small experiment | One small thing to try next time (later in the course). |
| 9 | What happened | What you saw afterwards. "No change" and "worse" are valid results. |
| 10 | Review without self-blame | Keep, narrow or drop your idea, with a reason. |
For now, fill fields 1 to 5 and write "not yet" in fields 6 to 10. An empty field is not a failure.
Choose where to keep it
Use paper or a notes app on a device only you can open. A work laptop, a shared drive, work chat and a shared photo backup are not private. A passcode helps, but check whether the app saves a copy online, and who could reach it; this course cannot say that any app is secure. Keep employer data and health details out, so the record is safe even if found. If unsure, use paper.
Privacy checklist
Check each line before your first entry.
| Line | Why |
|---|---|
| I use initials, roles or invented names for other people, never full names. | A name turns the note into a note about a person, not about your reaction. |
| I leave out confidential facts: figures, customers, patients, systems, personal data. | The record should still be safe if it is found. |
| I write what people said and did, never what kind of person I think they are. | This keeps the course rule: never label another person. |
| I keep the record out of this platform, shared drives and work chat. | The platform is not a journal, and nothing is graded. |
| I know where I store it and who else could open it. | You choose the place on purpose. |
| I know I can write less, skip an entry or stop at any time. | Not disclosing is your right. Nobody checks. |
| If I share a part, I choose it and remove details first. | Sharing is optional and on your terms. |
Outside tools, including AI assistants
- Never paste names, employer details or confidential facts into any outside tool, including AI chat assistants, translation sites or online note services.
- Assume that anything you paste may be stored by the provider.
- Check your workplace rules before you use any outside tool for work-related reflection.
- Never let a tool type you or anyone else, score anyone, assign a Level to anyone, or diagnose anyone.
- Nothing in this course requires any outside tool. Paper is enough.
Missed commitments belong in the record too. When you spoke sharply or rushed, write it plainly, and write what you did to repair it. That is a normal entry, not a failure. A good reason explains a missed commitment; it does not erase it.
Not therapy, and not an emergency service. If writing distresses you, stop; if it feels much more serious than a work habit, talk to a suitable professional. If you or someone else may be in danger now, use your workplace emergency process or local emergency services.
Worked example
Dana supervises a bank branch. On Monday at 8.30 she saw that the printed shift list put two people at one counter and nobody at the other. A team member had prepared it on Sunday. Dana corrected it by hand before opening and told nobody. Her entry:
- Date and setting: "Mon, branch." (no names)
- Fact: "At 8.30 the printed shift list had two people at one counter and nobody at the other. I corrected it by hand before opening. I told nobody. Unknown: how the error happened."
- Body, feeling, thought: "Stomach tight. Maybe annoyed, maybe worried. Thought: 'If I say something, it will turn into an argument' (a prediction)."
- First reaction: "I fixed it myself and said nothing."
- A possible motive: "Maybe I wanted to avoid an argument before opening. I don't know."
- to 10. "Not yet."
Field 2 is observable only, field 3 marks the thought as a prediction, field 4 names one reaction without calling it a habit, and field 5 is a possibility. Nothing judges whether saying nothing was right.
Your turn
Do all three parts privately, in your own record.
Part 1. Set up. Write the ten fields in your notebook or private file. Write one line saying where you will keep it. Tick the privacy checklist for yourself. Add your Lesson 1 self-assessment ratings if you have not stored them yet.
Part 2. Record Checkpoint 1: a first full entry on a supplied event. Write fields 1 to 5 for Maha's event from Lessons 3 and 4, as if you were Maha. Use "I" for Maha and roles ("a team member") for others, not names.
- Tuesday: a team member's report was due at 12.00 noon and arrived at 16.10. I rewrote it that night.
- Wednesday 9.00 huddle: I said, "Next time, deliver on time or tell me." I spoke sharply.
- My notes: a tight chest; irritated and worried; thought, "He never takes deadlines seriously."
- Unknown: why the report was late, and whether the rewrite was needed.
Part 3. Your own entry (private, optional). Write fields 1 to 5 about one recent work moment of your own, with initials or roles only. If nothing comes to mind, write "not sure yet" and use the next moment you notice.
Check your work
Part 2, one good entry.
- "Tue to Wed, team huddle."
- "Tuesday: a team member's report was due at 12.00 noon and arrived at 16.10. I rewrote it that night. Wednesday 9.00 huddle: I said, 'Next time, deliver on time or tell me.' Unknown: why it was late, and whether the rewrite was needed."
- "Chest tight. Irritated, worried. Thought: 'He never takes deadlines seriously' (a story)."
- "At the huddle I spoke sharply." (One event: a first reaction, not a habit.)
- "Maybe I wanted to protect the deadline. Or maybe I wanted to look reliable. Or this lens does not fit this event."
- to 10. "Not yet."
Criteria, for all your entries: the ten fields are there in any order, and you stated where you keep the record; no names or confidential facts; field 2 holds observable facts only, with unknowns marked and labels removed; field 3 gives body, feeling and thought; field 4 names a first reaction and does not call it a habit; field 5 is a hedged possibility ("this lens does not fit" is a complete answer); no self-attack anywhere.
Common mistakes: writing "The report had to be rewritten" in field 2 (nothing shows it); writing a person's name in field 1; writing "I always do this" in field 4; writing "I'm such a controlling person" in field 5; filling fields 6 to 10 with guesses.
Extra practice (optional)
Write fields 1 to 5 for this supplied event, using "I" and roles, not names.
- Wednesday 7.45: a loader told Omar, a warehouse supervisor, that the 8.00 truck for a supermarket customer had the wrong pallets.
- In front of the crew, Omar said loudly: "Who approved this?" The pallets were swapped, and the truck left at 8.25.
- Omar's notes: hot ears and a fast pulse; angry and worried; thought, "Someone is not checking anything".
- Nobody has yet checked who signed off the load, or why the pallets were wrong.
Key. 1: "Wed, warehouse." 2: "At 7.45 a loader told me the 8.00 truck for a customer had the wrong pallets. In front of the crew I said, 'Who approved this?' The pallets were swapped and the truck left at 8.25. Unknown: who signed off the load, and why." 3: "Hot ears, fast pulse. Angry, worried. Thought: 'Someone is not checking anything' (a story)." 4: "I asked the question loudly before asking which pallets were wrong." 5: "Maybe I wanted to protect the delivery time. I'm not sure." "The loader is careless" in field 2 would be a label, not a fact.
Knowledge check
Which first entry follows the privacy checklist?
Where is it safest to keep your record?
Your entry says: 'I spoke sharply to a team member this morning, and I apologised at lunch.' What should you do with it?
Answers explained
- C uses no name and holds an observable fact. A names a person and labels him. B states a necessity nobody showed. D is self-attack and claims a habit.
- A is the only place others cannot reach. B, C and D are places this lesson tells you to avoid.
- D keeps what you did and the repair, which belongs in the record. A loses the learning. B turns it into the lawyer's version. C makes sharing a duty, when it is always your choice.
Module 1 checkpoint
About 6 minutes. These are new fictional cases. If you get fewer than 5 of 6 right, re-read the lesson named in the answer and try again.
Layla writes four lines about a client call. Which line is a fact?
Taleen writes: 'My shoulders went tight when the director replied to my email.' Where does this line belong?
Osama tells a colleague: 'This course proves the Enneagram works for managers.' Which correction is accurate?
Lubna wants to write in her record: 'Zaid is a typical Eight; he took over the meeting.' What should she write instead?
Rimas wants to paste her entry, with team members' names and a client's figures, into a free chat assistant and ask what type a colleague is. What is the right step?
After one late delivery, Deema writes in field 4: 'I always take over when things are late.' Which rewrite fits the course?
Answers explained
- B is the only line someone else could confirm. A and D claim an attitude or a reason; C is a label. Revisit Lesson 3.
- D: it is real, but only Taleen can confirm it, so it is "my own report", kept apart from the facts of the event. A mixes it into the facts; B and C throw away or misfile a real observation. Revisit Lessons 3 and 4.
- A matches the course: mixed evidence, author teaching, no proof claimed. B and D claim results no source measured; C misreads Riso, who wrote in 1996 that there was no scientific proof. Revisit Lessons 1 and 2.
- C records what was said and done, with an initial and no type. A and D still type him; B is wrong, because other people may appear by role or initials. Revisit Lessons 1 and 6.
- B follows the outside-tools rule: no names or confidential facts in any tool, and no tool types anyone. A still sends the data; C still lets a tool type someone; D is false, because nothing in the course requires a tool. Revisit Lesson 6.
- D names one action at one time. A is self-attack; B claims a necessity; C keeps "always" after one event. Revisit Lessons 3 and 5.
Key takeaways
- The record has ten fields. Your first entries use fields 1 to 5; the others wait.
- Keep it private: no names, no confidential facts, no labels, and not in the platform, shared drives or work chat.
- Never paste names, employer details or confidential facts into any outside tool, and never let a tool type, score, assign a Level to or diagnose anyone.
- Write what you saw and did, including unhelpful responses and repairs. Write motives as possibilities.
- Next module: the motive behind a response, one possibility at a time.
Sources
- Chestnut, B. and Paes, U. (2021) The Enneagram Guide to Waking Up. Hampton Roads Publishing. PDF pages 19 (you must not judge yourself; cultivate self-compassion), 272 (learn from setbacks) and 273 (challenges as opportunities for resilience). The printed page is the PDF page minus 13. Publisher listing: Simon and Schuster (the listing does not show these pages).
- Wang and colleagues (2021) "The effectiveness of workplace coaching: a meta-analysis of contemporary psychologically informed coaching approaches." Journal of Work-Applied Management 14(1). doi.org/10.1108/jwam-04-2021-0030 (abstract only).
- Gollwitzer, P. M. and Sheeran, P. (2006) "Implementation intentions and goal achievement: a meta-analysis of effects and processes." Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 38. doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1 (abstract only).
- Lukenda and colleagues (2023) "Expressive writing as a practice against work stress: a literature review." Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health 39(1). doi.org/10.1080/15555240.2023.2240512 (abstract only).
- The ten-field record, the storage advice, the privacy checklist, the outside-tools rule, the checkpoint and the cases of Dana, Maha, Omar, Layla, Anwar, Taleen, Osama, Lubna, Zaid, Rimas and Deema are this course's own design and fictional examples.