Exploring the Learning Edge
Technique Time:
Here’s a reflective coaching exercise designed to help your clients explore their own learning edge: the place where comfort meets possibility.
Step one: The Learning Edge Map
Purpose: To help clients identify where they are growing, what feels uncomfortable, and how to consciously engage with their developmental edge.
Duration: 60 minutes (can be adapted for shorter sessions)
Materials: Paper or journal, coloured pens, optional card prompts or objects.
How it works:
Setting the Scene – Invite the client to pause and reflect on their current landscape of learning. You might say:
“Let’s look at the places in your life or work where you believe you are learning and growing or where growth might be calling you. Not as a problem to fix, but as an invitation to expand.”Mapping the Territory – Ask your client to draw three overlapping circles labelled: Comfort Zone, Learning Zone, and Overwhelm Zone. Invite them to place current experiences, challenges, or aspirations into these areas.
Exploring the Map – Engage in dialogue using questions like:
What sits in your learning zone right now?
What helps you stay there rather than retreat to comfort or slip into overwhelm?
What learning can you celebrate being on the other side of?What support or mindset helps you grow at your best?
What might it mean to intentionally spend more time here?Integrating Insight – Invite the client to notice themes and name one small next step they want to take to nurture this learning edge.
Closing – Reflect together:
• What feels possible now that didn’t before?
• How will you stay connected to your learning edge in the weeks ahead?
This exercise works beautifully with clients navigating transition, leadership growth, or periods of uncertainty. It invites both courage and compassion, the twin foundations of meaningful learning.