Session 3: Logical Levels

Shipley Coaching · Level 1 Certification · Session 3

Logical Levels

Robert Dilts's NLP pyramid, adapted by Shipley, sorts what a client says into seven levels, from Environment up to Vision. Listen for the client's level, then ask from a higher one: change there ripples down.

The Seven Levels: Listen For · Ask

Read bottom-up to build; top-down to see what drives what.

BE

DO

HAVE

7 · VisionFor whom? For what?

Listen forlegacy, purpose, calling, impact

Sample questionWhat difference will this make beyond you?

6 · IdentityWho?

Listen for"I am," true self, who I want to be

Sample questionWho are you becoming as you do this?

5 · ChoiceWhich path?

Listen fordecide, commit, priorities, boundaries, "my word"

Sample questionWhat are you choosing, and saying no to?

4 · ValuesWhy?

Listen forheart, meaning, drivers, beliefs

Sample questionWhat makes this important to you?

3 · CapabilitiesHow?

Listen forskills, strategy, knowledge, habits

Sample questionWhat strengths will you draw on?

2 · ActionsWhat?

Listen forsteps, milestones, results, the doing

Sample questionWhat will you do first?

1 · EnvironmentWhere? When? Who?

Listen forplaces, dates, people, resources, policies

Sample questionWhen and where will this happen?

Ripple effectA change at a higher level reorganizes the levels below it; the reverse is not guaranteed.

Picture-in-Picture with Logical Levels · Process

1. Client brings a real topic (not a role play) and defines the outcome
2. Set the agenda: a tangible goal
3. Create the "Picture": the future Vision
4. Step "In" and explore the levels in this order: Choices→Values→Capabilities→Behaviors→Environment→Identity
5. "How did you achieve this?" First steps; backwards planning
6. Step out and save the "Picture" (Vision)
7. Exit: Most valuable? then appreciation

Practice: 15 minutes per coach, then switch roles. Identity comes last, after the client has lived the other levels.

ICF Core Competency #2 · Embodies a Coaching Mindset

Definition (2025): ongoing personal and professional learning, with supervisors or mentor coaches as needed; a mindset that is open, curious, flexible, client-centered.

1. 2.01Clients are responsible for their own choices
2. 2.02Ongoing learning, incl. best practices and technology
3. 2.03Ongoing reflective practice
4. 2.04Aware of biases, context, culture on self and others
5. 2.05Self-awareness and intuition used for the client
6. 2.06Manages one's emotions 2019: regulates
7. 2.07Well-being before, during, after sessions expanded
8. 2.08Seeks outside help when necessary
9. 2.09Nurtures openness and curiosity new
10. 2.10Aware of own influence on client and others new

Exam Watch · Know These Cold

Order, Bottom to Top

• Environment, Actions, Capabilities, Values, Choice, Identity, Vision
• Glossary: 7 categories in a pyramid

Be / Do / Have

• Be: Vision, Identity, Choice, Values
• Do: Capabilities, Actions · Have: Environment

Shipley vs. Dilts

• Dilts: 6 levels; "Behavior," "Beliefs & Values," "Spiritual/Purpose"
• Shipley adds Choice; names the top Vision

Two Versions of ICF #2

• Slides: 2019 wording, 8 items
• Manual and ICF 2025: 10 items, new definition

Key Insight

Clients usually open at Environment or Actions. Listen for the level, then ask one level up: a Why or Who question often unlocks what more steps cannot.

Sources: Shipley Coaching Certification Training, Level 1, Session 3 slides "Logical Levels" (Cohort 17) and Student Manual (v. 2026-06-01), incl. glossary. Robert Dilts, Neurological (Logical) Levels, mid-1980s, adapted from Gregory Bateson's logical levels of learning; first in book form in Changing Beliefs with NLP (1990). ICF Core Competencies, 2019 and 2025 (released Sept. 2025), coachingfederation.org.

Version shown: Shipley's seven-level adaptation. "Listen for" cues condensed from class brainstorm slides; sample questions are illustrative. Competency wording paraphrased; memorize the official ICF text.