The OAR Model:
Ways of Being for
Expanded Possibility
The OAR Model (Observer-Action-Results)
Coaching enables a change in the way we interpret and make meaning of the world around us. When the current “way” you fit into and understand your worldview becomes an unreliable frame for getting the results you’re looking for, it may be time to explore possibilities for “being” a different observer of the world. This will enable you to shift perspective and see alternatives for making different sense of what your options are for getting to the future you want. Coaching in this setting can help you see your world differently, find openings to reframe what’s going on, and open pathways to a bigger horizon of possibility.* (Sieler, 2003)
Observer
Our “way of being” is the observer we are in any given moment, predisposing us to interpret our world through the lens of our current state (body, emotion, & language).
We also judge what we observe based on our current way of being. Such judgment helps us “recognize” and make sense of our world as a perceived reality. Our judgment allows us to both “get” the world as we’ve observed it and through judgment, have an action plan for what we want to do about it. While a given mindset enables us to see these possibilities for our future, the observer we are may also lock us out of seeing alternatives to that future. We humans can get stuck in familiar ways of seeing things.
The OAR Model helps us understand that, while being an observer with a particular perspective allows us to interpret the world as we see it, this is just our “take on things.” Believing our observations to be “True,” it’s easy to forget that sometimes, instead of us having a story about what’s happening, the story we’re telling may “have us.”
Action
Our process of observation is the beginning of our desire to take action. Based on what we’ve observed, we get in the mood to do something about it (the meaning we’ve made, held as Truth, allows us to make plans).
The way that we’ve made sense of that moment makes such action feel like the right thing to do, how we should respond to our observation.
If the action we take doesn’t get us the result we want, we will experiment with different actions until we get the outcome we’ve hoped for. Note that our alternatives for taking action are limited to what our current perspective allows.
If our way of being remains the same, this is known as “first-order learning.” We continue to see (and problem solve) from the same perspective. It’s worth saying that this works quite well most of the time!
Results
When first-order learning fails us (we don’t get desired results, despite repeated efforts), it may be because the perspective from which we frame our problem solving is the problem. The story has us. Enter the possibility of “second order learning.” We can choose to shift the observer that we “are,” make different meaning, and “see” new possibilities for taking action.
This is easier said than done because our observer is anchored in familiarity: a functional narrative based on well-worn assumptions, emotional states that usually get us where we want to go, and familiar physical dispositions we’re comfortable feeling. The observer that we '“are” makes sense and unless we stop and think about it, our take on reality feels… True! When first order learning fails us, it can take a while for disappointment and frustration to become painful enough to consider that there’s another way to see things.
When we shift our story, dwell in a different emotion, or embody a new physical disposition we become a different observer of the world. We are able to consider alternatives to the way we see things. Becoming a different observer shifts our perspective and helps us make different meaning of the world we see.
Second order learning is a powerful way to reach for results that have remained elusive. This is a premise of all coaching: a coach can help their clients shift perspective and in doing so, open new horizons of possibility.
Body, Emotion, and Language: Three Domains of Being
In the diagram above, we can see that the observer we are at any given moment has three domains.
Body. We show up in the world with a physical body, the posture and “disposition” of which open up (or closes down) pathways to receive information about the world as is comes to us
Emotion. We have an emotional state that helps us make sense of the moment we’re observing
Language. We use language to tell the story that we’re living in, in that moment
Philosophers call this Ontology, the study of our way of being in the world. Ontological coaches know that these three domains of being are where clients may explore alternatives for seeing the world differently, making different sense of it, and creating openings for perception that leads to a different future.
Change one part of the observer you are and the two other parts move with it. When you change how you hold your body, emotions and language (the story we’re always telling about ourselves) shift too. Similarly, choosing to be in a different emotional state shows up with a change of posture (body) and in a narrative arc that bends to a future that the emotion holds. And if you change the story you’re telling about yourself, it entrains your physical disposition and emotional state to reflect that story.
Coaching for these three, interdependent “domains” of the observer gives you three different entry points for a shift in perspective. This is transformative because a new way of being is the opening for second order learning, seeing possibilities for taking action that were previously beyond knowing.
For more on ontological coaching, see the companion piece on this site’s resource library:
Reference List: Sieler, A. (2003). Coaching to the human soul: Ontological coaching and deep change, Volume I. Blackburn, Victoria: Newfield Australia