There are 5 Freedoms that should always be available to someone working with their Neil’s Wheel. Together, they ensure the conversation is always honouring someone’s thinking, reality, preferences and agenda. The 5 Freedoms are:
- Freedom for people to explore their own interpretation of segment descriptors
- Freedom for people to choose which ‘parts of self’ to bring to the conversation
- Freedom for people to express their thoughts and feelings in their own way (words, scores, pictures etc)
- Freedom for people to choose what they want to put in the ‘Blank’ space
- Freedom for people to choose their journey as they explore their Wheel – where to start, where next, where to finish for the moment
And there is nuance:
- The dotted lines embracing Financial, Human and Environment are a reminder to specifically look ‘beyond self’ for those three segments. The invitation could be for them to consider what is happening from close in to local to regional to national to global, maybe to ‘as seen from space’, and explore what in some way connects with them. This is one of the very, very few places to be in any way directive. Experience says this about a gentle invitation, with the intent to increase self-awareness and self-expression. The client remains in choice. Whatever happens in response to the invitation is fertile territory for further curiosity and conversation if the client wishes.
- If contracted and agreed, it can help to offer other possible interpretations or perspectives on the segments – always as an offer to expand awareness and choice, never as a directive to lead thinking.