Perspective Shifting and Psychology within Effectiveness Coaching

Sukjae Lee Ph.D.

Creator of the Effectiveness Coaching Methodology

2025. 12. 7.

 

The Perspective Transformation process involves several key psychological concepts that define how we process information, relate to others, and ultimately change our meaning systems. Here is a look at the core psychological terms involved in the two stages:

 

🧠 Core Psychological Terms

---

Terms in Perspective Exploration

The initial stage deals with the natural human tendency toward self-focus and immediate emotional reaction.

• Egocentricity (or Egocentrism): This is the psychological state of being focused solely on one's own perspective, experiences, and needs, often to the exclusion of understanding or considering those of others. In this context, it prevents you from seeing that a coworker's or partner's actions might be about them and not a slight against you.
• Defense Mechanism: An unconscious psychological strategy used to protect a person from anxiety, unacceptable thoughts, or conflicts. For example, assuming someone is rejecting you (as in the Distant Partner example) can be a defense mechanism to preemptively manage the pain of perceived rejection.
• Shallow Information Processing: This refers to the cognitive approach where we focus only on the surface features, emotional tone, or immediate personal impact of information, rather than deeply analyzing the context, complexity, or system involved. It is characterized by short-term influence.
• Expansion of Awareness: The process of broadening one's perception beyond the immediate self-centered view. In the 6-step process, this happens when you shift to a systemic perspective (Step 3).

---

Terms in Perspective Realization

The second stage involves moving past initial resistance to achieve profound and lasting change in one's core beliefs.

• Deep Information Processing: This is the cognitive approach where information is actively analyzed, related to existing knowledge, and integrated into a meaningful system. It is necessary for achieving long-term and sustained influence.
• Overcoming Egocentricity: The successful shift from self-focus (Step 2) to genuine consideration of others' perspectives and systemic factors (Step 3), allowing the individual to define a life purpose (direction) that extends beyond personal needs.
• Mental Model (Meaning System) Change: A mental model is a deeply held set of assumptions, images, and generalizations that influence how we understand the world and take action. Perspective Transformation fundamentally seeks a change in this mental model to internalize a New Perspective.
• Internalization of the New Perspective: The final step where the chosen Decisive Perspective (Step 5) is fully adopted and applied to daily life and work (Step 6), resulting in a lasting change in thought and behavior and allowing for the realization of creativity and innovation.

 

And these specific terms are relate to the Effectiveness Coaching framework mentioned in the article. 

Here is an explanation of how the psychological terms relate to the Effectiveness Coaching framework mentioned in the provided text.

 

🤝 Psychology and Effectiveness Coaching

The 6-step process was developed by reinterpreting established psychological concepts—like perspective-taking and perspective transformation—within the framework of Effectiveness Coaching (Lee, Sukjae, 2014; 2020a).

 

Effectiveness Coaching is an approach focused on changing people's thoughts and behaviors to increase the probability of achieving desired results. The psychological terms involved in the 6-step process describe the mechanisms of this transformation:

---

1. From Resistance to Acceptance (Exploration Stage)

The first three steps of the model are designed to overcome the natural human tendency toward internal resistance and subjective perception, which are counterproductive to effectiveness.

• Egocentricity and Defense Mechanisms: In terms of Effectiveness Coaching, these are seen as the primary obstacles to self-improvement and effective problem-solving. The process forces the individual to recognize and bypass these internal roadblocks (Step 2) before they can find an effective solution.
• Shallow vs. Deep Information Processing: A shallow approach leads to temporary, short-term influence, which is not effective or sustainable. Effectiveness Coaching specifically requires a structured process that moves the individual toward deep information processing to ensure the new perspective has a long-term, sustained impact.
• Expansion of Awareness: This systemic shift (Step 3) is critical because effectiveness in life or work is rarely based on a single, isolated factor. By broadening awareness, the individual gains a balanced view to grasp and respond to the situation, rather than being swayed by automatic negative thoughts.

---

2. From Internal Insight to External Action (Realization Stage)

The realization stage focuses on turning the cognitive shift into concrete, observable actions that drive success.

• Mental Model Change: The goal of this coaching is not just temporary behavior modification but a change in the deep-level meaning system. This is essential for long-term effectiveness, as a changed mental model ensures the new behavior is internalized.
• Overcoming Egocentricity and Life Purpose (Direction): Overcoming egocentricity in this stage allows the individual to define a direction that is more constructive and effective for their relationships and goals. This shift aligns with the coaching goal of seeking results rather than simply validating one's feelings.
• Decisive Perspective: This is the core outcome of the process (Step 5). In the coaching context, the Decisive Perspective is the single viewpoint chosen because it is the one most likely to increase the possibility of achieving desired results.
• Creativity and Innovation: The final payoff of the process (Step 6) is the ability to exert creativity and innovation in work and life. By adopting an effective, new perspective, the individual unlocks new ways of thinking and problem-solving.

In essence, the 6-step process(Lee, S., & Lee, J., 2025) uses psychological knowledge to structure a path that transforms temporary mental shifts into a profound and effective change in one's mental model and life direction.

 

References

 

Lee, Sukjae (2006). Develop 18 Core Leadership Competencies. Seoul: Kim & Kim Books.

Lee, Sukjae (2014). Effectiveness Coaching by a Business Psychologist. Seoul: Kim & Kim Books.

Lee, Sukjae (2019). Thought Revolution That Changes My Life. Seoul: Wildbooks.

Lee, Sukjae (2020). Coaching Methodology. Seoul: Korea Coaching Supervision.

Lee, Sukjae (2020). How to Use a Wandering Mind. Seoul: Plan B Design.

Lee, Sukjae (2023). Field-Focused Coaching Psychology. Seoul: Hakjisa.

Lee, Sukjae (2024). Coaching Psychology Class for Boosting Execution. Seoul: Hakjisa.

Lee, Sukjae (2024). Thinking Partner. Gyeonggi: Moa Books.

Lee, Sukjae & Lee, Jongseo (2025). Perspective Shifting. Seoul: Parkyoungstory.