Achievement with Well Formed Outcomes

Wow, 50 years of NLP and what a difference it has made to so many lives.

Neuro Linguistic Programming as a field is broad in both theory and application, and many of the models created jointly by Grinder and Bandler and/or individually, since their parting company, have been adapted, renamed and used across a whole spectrum of applications.

Bostic and Grinder in Whispering in the Wind (2002), predicted the assimilation of NLP patterning into other fields, and attributed this to the effectiveness and adaptability of NLP patterning. Bostic and Grinder, also in Whispering, cited the importance of the continuous development of new NLP patterning for the field to continue to grow, and retain its place at the forefront as an application of change in the human development. Bostic and Grinder’s New Code NLP patterning and more recently, Emergent New Code NLP patterning are excellent examples of how our field has evolved with up to date models for NLP Practitioners and Coaches to utilise in their work with their clients.

Well Formed Outcomes from Classic NLP, provided early NLP Practitioners with a formula for coaching their clients to achieve outcomes in life. The Well Formed Outcome Protocol was radically different from the systems of change present in the 1970s, putting attention on what the client wants (rather than what they don’t want) and included sensory-based descriptions of the goal in the multiple representational systems.

Whilst the shift in attention to positive outcome in multiple representational systems, and also the components of behavioural flexibility in the achieving process backed by a strong ecology check, was a significant contribution in the human development world, there are flaws in the process, particularly if the coach lacks calibration and does not have a good understanding of what we refer to in NLP as the Unconscious Mind.

One major issue in coaching and NLP courses that have adapted or adopted the ‘Well Formed Outcome Process’ is that the student coaches are taught to coach their clients to set a Well Formed Outcome in the initial stage of the coaching session.

My challenge with the above, is when a client visits a coach, they do so. They need help structuring their thinking, feelings,  language, and behaviours to bring change to their lives because their current model of the world is lacking the resources and thus they are stuck with repetitive patterns that hold them back. By setting an Outcome at this early stage in the coaching process, the outcome is contaminated with the filters of present state, and in this case something better than the immediate problems is considered effective. When I coach clients, initially I am looking to support them in changing their current mindset, which is inherent in the present context.

An outcome is a mental construct of an experience an individual seeks to attain, which is mentally programmed for a specific date in the future, where the individual is the catalyst and protagonist in the sequence of events which lead to the achievement of the outcome.

A high outcome is an outcome as defined above, but where the individual sets and commits to an outcome that pushes them beyond their current comfort zone.

What prevents people from setting and achieving high outcomes is their current mindset, which is influenced by filters formed from past experiences, which form our perception of what we believe we can achieve.

 

Before we set an outcome or series of outcomes in a given context, it’s important to explore the present state, which has the perceptual filters that we have unconsciously formed. By exploring and rearranging our perceptual filters we initiate the process of opening our minds for achieving high outcomes.

By opening one’s mind by rearranging perpetual filters, there is a much larger scope of possibility, the client with different linguistic structures and internal representations to support the behaviours of achieving high outcomes.

Opening the mind, is the first stage, the next stage is to enable the client to have access to their deeper resources, which have often been buried deep in the archives of their unconscious. I refer to this stage as ‘clearing the slate, to create the right state.

Clearing the slate is a British metaphor that means a fresh start, without the baggage of the past. In New Code NLP, we have several models designed to enable clients to naturally access an optimised state for high achievement. Then optimised states, are highly focussed, free of negative internal dialogue, and highly resourceful for dealing with challenges and achieving high outcomes

With the mind open, (stage 1) and working from the right state (stage 2), the client is now ready to set a High come, using the Well Formed Outcome Process, and they will be doing so from a completely different mindset from what they began the coaching session with.

This week, I will be running three High Outcome Coaching Training sessions on Zoom, from 7.00 to 8.30 pm, each session focuses on one stage of the High Outcome Process:

• 4 March 2025 – Working with the Present State – Opening the Mind


• 5 March 2025 – Clearing the Slate to Create the Right State


• 6 March 2025 – Setting and Achieving High Outcomes

P.

He is the Founder and Course Director of the NLP Academy. Michael creates a collaborative learning environment where the interplay of conscious and unconscious learning processes fully harness the potential of each learner on a course. He has a unique style using metaphor, humour, questioning, and elicitation of altered states. This makes a course with Michael a profound learning experience flowing into every outlet of your life. In the words of his clients he is a “training genius”

Michael Carroll is a fascinating character, who makes an impact on all those he meets, and has certainly made an impact on the field of NLP. When he entered the field, Michael found the general quality of NLP and the depth of learning experiences available disappointing. As part of his mission to reset the standard, he sought out John Grinder and Carmen Bostic St Clair and has worked closely with them ever since.