The 6 Logical Levels of Bateson & Dilts
The Bateson and Dilts Pyramid distinguishes 6 logical levels. These are often used as a reflection model in coaching. Here, the coach uses questions and exercises to help the coachee think, learn, and change at each level.
How do Dilts' logical levels work? Discover a practical guide with tools such as 30+ accompanying questions and exercises for each level!
- The Bateson Pyramid
- Logical Levels of Bateson & Dilts as a Coaching and Reflection Model
- The 6 Logical Levels
The Bateson Pyramid
The Bateson & Dilts Pyramid distinguishes 6 logical levels of thinking, learning, and changing. These logical levels are hierarchical, meaning that:
- Lower levels influence higher levels
- Change at a higher level automatically leads to change at lower levels
- Problems are usually identified at the lower, more visible levels
- The bottom of the Bateson Pyramid deals with more concrete issues, while the top remains more abstract
The Bateson model serves various purposes. Primarily, it enhances personal awareness. Additionally, it provides coaches with a useful reflection model to discuss and facilitate change.
Typically, problems are identified at a lower level. For example, if you experience procrastination at work, and it is not an issue with your environment or competencies, look higher up the pyramid. Eventually, you may find that the procrastination stems from limiting beliefs.
Logical Levels of Bateson & Dilts as a Coaching and Reflection Model
The logical levels of Bateson facilitate thinking, learning, and change. In coaching, you can use the Bateson Pyramid as a reflection model through the right questions and exercises. The coachee creates a vision of the desired situation and compares it with their current reality across the logical levels. The goal is to create harmony between your own values, identity, and actions.
Too often, people identify themselves with their beliefs, skills, environment, etc. However, these are factors we can somewhat control. Each of these lower levels contributes to the higher levels. When you act contrary to your own values, it leads to cognitive dissonance.
Leadership Begins with Yourself: Shift from Management by Fear to Heart-Centered Leadership!
The 6 Logical Levels
There are 6 logical levels in Bateson's pyramid. At each level, you can apply the reflection model to yourself. By using the right coaching questions and exercises in combination, you can learn to understand and reinvent yourself to support your goals.
- Environment and Results
- Behavior and Actions
- Competencies and Skills
- Beliefs and Values
- Identity and Personality
- Mission and Purpose
1) Environment and Results
At the bottom of the Bateson Pyramid are our environment and context. In other words, WHO, WHERE, and WHEN? The goal here is to explore patterns and connections between your behavior and environment.
A supportive environment can significantly aid your thinking, learning, and changing.
Coach Questions
- Where are you most/least happy?
- When something goes well or poorly, where, when, and with whom does this occur?
- What triggers negative reactions in you? What triggers positive reactions?
- What results do you want to achieve? What is holding you back in your current environment?
Coaching Exercises
Surround yourself with people you admire. You'll quickly discover the power and impact of mentors, communities, and like-minded individuals on your behavior, beliefs, and self-confidence!
2) Behavior and Actions
WHAT AM I DOING? Your actions in the present shape your future reality. Therefore, behavior is often one of the most visible factors in the Bateson logical levels.
People often claim to uphold certain values highly, but in reality, they do not act according to their own vision. Behavior that conflicts with your higher levels can sometimes be self-sabotaging, leading to procrastination, delays, or loss of motivation.
Coach Questions
- Does this behavior support your goals?
- Do you find satisfaction in this behavior?
- Do your actions align with your identity or who you want to be?
- What behavior does support all your goals? How can you learn from it?
Coaching Exercises
Keep a log or journal where you track all your daily actions. Then review which actions support your goals and which do not. Actions such as relaxation can also indirectly contribute to your goals, as you can't always be on high alert!
It’s crucial to uncover habits that unconsciously and undesirably maintain your current reality. This way, you can work on a renewed and improved approach that supports both your goals and your happiness!
3) Competencies and Skills
WHAT CAN I DO? Simply doing is not always straightforward. In some cases, you might benefit from further developing or learning new competencies. The Bateson reflection model helps you gain insight into which skills you can maximize and where further development is needed.
Coach Questions
- What can I already do? What can I not do yet?
- Who or what can help me develop the desired competencies?
- What are my talents/strengths?
- What are my pitfalls/areas for improvement?
Coaching Exercises
Conduct a SWOT analysis of your own skills within the context of your goals. Then, seek out resources or people who can help you develop these skills.
4) Beliefs and Values
WHAT DO I BELIEVE IN? Beliefs are a crucial part of our being. They often stem from past experiences. Based on these experiences, we form a worldview and decide to believe in certain things.
These beliefs always come from a lower level. For example, when you learn a new skill, you can produce better work and achieve better results. This, in turn, affects your self-confidence, and so on! Subsequently, you determine your values, or what you find most important, based on what you believe.
Coach Questions
- What do you believe in?
- What are your core values?
- Which beliefs are currently holding back your goals?
- What mindset do you need to achieve your goal?
Coaching Exercises
Beliefs can be either EMPOWERING or LIMITING. List all your limiting beliefs and ask yourself if they are grounded in reality. Then, replace or shift them with empowering beliefs.
For example:
Limiting belief: “I can’t do this, I will never succeed.”
Empowering belief: “I can’t do this yet, but no one is as motivated as I am to learn!”
The second belief supports your goals and generally leads to more optimism, self-confidence, and happiness.
5) Identity and Personality
WHO AM I? Your identity determines your personality and attitude, including how you come across to others. Often, we unconsciously form a unique identity through our environment and experiences. By actively focusing on the way we do things, we can make a significant impact.
This is again a result of both the underlying and higher levels of Bateson.
Coach Questions
- What gives you energy?
- How do you want to be?
- If you could go through life without fears or limits, what would you do differently?
- How were you as a child? What did you enjoy doing?
- Who are your role models?
- How is your self-image? What would improve it?
- How would your best friends describe you?
- What do you want people to say about you?
Coaching Exercises
Create your own metaphorical superhero. Then, imagine what the ideal, renewed version of yourself looks like. What are your superpowers? What values do you stand for? How does this differ from your current reality?
6) Mission and Purpose
Finally, there is the WHY question. What are your driving forces and motivations? What sense of purpose drives your actions, beliefs, impact, etc.? Feeling connected to a goal larger than ourselves provides greater fulfillment and happiness.
Coach Questions
- Why do you do what you do? What brings you meaning and fulfillment?
- What do you want to achieve that is bigger than yourself?
- What is your calling? What do you feel connected to?
- What impact do you want to leave?
- How can you make a difference for someone else?
- What unique talents do you have that can support a greater goal?
- Is there a common factor in everything you do?
Coaching Exercises
Develop your personal mission statement in 1 to 2 sentences: What do you want to do? For whom? How or in what way? What impact do you want to make?
For example:
“We aim to accelerate the collective shift from 'I' to 'we' by empowering individuals, teams, and organizations through coaching to help them realize their fullest potential.”
Download now the '6 Logical Levels Playbook' with accompanying coaching questions and exercises!
