Coach Training Alliance has one of the best coach training programs in the industry and has been named one of the “50 most admired companies of 2020” by Silicon Review. Read the full article here: https://thesiliconreview.com/magazine/profile/coach-training-alliance-best-in-house-coaching-platform/
Congratulations Coach Training Alliance. We are so proud of the great work you do and the wonderful coaches who come out of your programs.
Coaching helps to create a framework in which individuals can explore their own freedoms- freedom to, freedom from and everything in between.
When we become architects of our own future, coaches can help us navigate the nuanced landscape of change. At its core, coaching is about helping others move towards the change they see for themselves. A big part of that process is working with clients to explore the difference between a ‘limiting belief’ and a circumstance. An example of a limiting belief might be, “I can’t leave my job.” An example of a circumstance is “Gravity is a force that pulls us to the earth”.
Limiting beliefs may feel true, but they might not be true.
Circumstances are true. They may not change, they may not go away, but they can be addressed and possibly worked around.
Coaches create a safe space for clients to explore their limiting beliefs and imagine new possibilities given their circumstances.
What happens when a person no longer has a limiting belief about their future; but a circumstance prevents them from achieving it?
Freedom! Equality! Justice! The freedom to do something, such as the freedom to practice a religion, freedom to peacefully assemble or the freedom to say or write your opinion, inherently connects with a persons’ autonomy. It suggests a person has the capacity to exercise this right if they so choose. A person with a limiting belief may not recognize they are in such a position. Alternatively, there may be circumstances that prevent them from being able to exercise this right.
“Your freedom to swing your arm ends just where my nose begins.” Various individuals have been quoted as the source of this popular saying. In today’s mask wearing protocol, swap the words ‘swing your arm’ with ‘spray respiratory droplets’ and you’ve got an interesting discussion on your hands. When we believe we have the freedom (or right) to do something, and a circumstance prevents us from exercising it, we rebel. We peacefully protest the circumstance. We battle the circumstance. We push back against the circumstance. We disobey the circumstance. We march against the circumstance. We light the circumstance on fire.
Regardless of what we do, the circumstance remains. Typically, we dig our heels in even further and try to muscle our way through the situation with the misguided idea that our belief can somehow overcome the circumstance (gravity, rain, illness). And we go nowhere.
Coaches help us to think broadly about a situation. They ask open ended questions to explore possibilities. Where are the opportunities for improvement? How has this been successful in the past? What about this can be addressed? Are there components of the circumstance that are not as fixed as we initially believed? Is this a circumstance or are there beliefs influencing the situation? What can be accomplished? Where is the most likely place for change to take hold?
Still we have our belief and still the circumstance remains, but the path forward begins to take shape. We are no longer stuck; we begin to see new possibilities.
About the author: Holly Hutchinson Osborn is a Certified Human Capital Coach a who has been practicing since 2008. Holly’s passion is positive growth and lifelong learning. Her experience includes international trade and marketing as well as system sales into the Fortune 500. Holly’s focus at Coach Training Alliance is organizational coaching programs, leader-as-coach training and enterprise solutions. In addition to her work at CTA, Holly serves on the Board at Colorado Youth Outdoors and Young Men Service League – Fort Collins Chapter. Holly is married with 2 children and a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley.
Coach Training Alliance is an intimate, passion driven business that was built at a social distance. We measure that distance across the globe rather than in feet. The Company, and now our community of over 10,000 graduates and clients, was built in an environment that has quickly been forced on many. Rapid change causes stress, anxiety, and in some cases, personal or corporate petrification. This does not have to be the case. Businesses and practices can be built at a distance.
Here are some simple observations and accompanying practices that can benefit you as you meld social distance into your daily life.
Relationships Can Flourish and New Stories Are Created
Times like these create the strongest of bonds. People with shared significant events have shared experience and thus shared story. From both a personal and professional perspective, now is the time to invest in these relationships. New tools of outreach and touch are available relative to large events like war and pandemic in the past, but fundamental connection thru discussion and exploration is where bonds and opportunities are to be found. Coaching and the co-creative approach afford the opportunity to write new stories into our lives when faced with the suddenly apparent unknown. Exploration of new paths can be achieved while tackling limiting beliefs, the result being a great first new step down a new path. All this can be done through a shared experience that yields a strong relationship with the characters tied to that new story.
Distance is Not the Barrier
In twenty years, the Coach Training Alliance faculty has met in person only once yet their connectivity and relationships far surpass those I have seen in other organizations in which I have worked where people interface every day. Why? Because as coaches, they do two things exceptionally well. They listen deeply and value one another’s time.
Listen deeply and ask open-ended questions. This approach, a fundamental one to coaching’s co-creative process, can bridge any physical distance and afford both parties a great understanding of not only what is being discussed but also the context in which it is being explored.
Value one another’s time. Be Prompt. Be present. Make an effort to eliminate distraction and avoid multitasking when with your client, colleague or co-worker. Take some time on the front end of any agenda to check in and see where you both are in terms of both well-being and process relative to your topic. Acknowledge progress and success before tackling what is next.
Find Ways to Provide Value at a Distance
Favors and thoughtfulness
can be accomplished from a distance. Pay
it forward in relationship building by offering help to others seeking to grow
during this time. As a coach, you can be
a critical resource for family, friends, coworkers and even potential clients
(remember there is value in a sample session of coaching). A thank you note or a thoughtful e-mail or
text with real meaning can add value as well as create the perception by those
you contact that you are ready, willing and able to provide value. Acknowledging the value provided by others in
simple ways (a testimonial, offering a reference or a simple public thank you)
is a great way to set the example and ask for the same in return. These are basic business building habits that
are also fantastic feel good behaviors.
Structure Matters
Finally, the distance environment can take away the familiar structure we have known. Those businesses and coaches who operate successfully and thrive in a distance model do apply a discipline of structure. They plan their days and weeks to tasks and times like they would under a traditional circumstance. They calendar meetings and communication. They map schedule to projects and write plans for both their business and finding balance in their lives. Structured time that feeds your body, your mind and your soul is as important as ever. Two decades of this model at Coach Training Alliance has also taught us that planning time for some fun is critical too. Find some time for that and allow yourself fun as one of life’s great fuels.
Now more than ever the skills taught to coaches are needed to address the unknown, forge new paths and build bonds…even at a social distance.
About the Author- CHRIS OSBORN, is the Chief Executive Officer of Coach Training Alliance. Chris is a serial entrepreneur, executive and executive coach. His passion lies in growing businesses that aid in personal growth or business expansion of others. He has been widely recognized for his ability to lead change through organizational growth and strategic planning.
Chris currently serves as both a board member and in executive capacities of numerous organizations in the corporate and not-for-profit worlds. His experience varies widely from distance education and healthcare to e-commerce and financial services. He periodically authors material for the Coaching Compass and is the visionary and co-author behind the Human Capital Accelerator™. In addition to his work at CTA, Chris is licensed both as an Opposite Strengths® Executive Coach as well as a New Money Story Coach. Chris is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and the University of California at Berkeley
Have you ever wondered how to become an executive coach? When it comes to coaching, many coaches look longingly at the niche of Executive Coaching and wish they could find a way to break into that market. After all, executives need coaching, are easy to locate and most of all, have the money and desire for coaching. Executive coaching is a desirable and attractive niche but many coaches believe that they are not qualified to be an executive coach. After all they say, the highest I ever rose in an organization is mid-level management, so the potential clients won’t relate to me. Or they’ll say, I’ve never even worked in a big company so I don’t know anything about coaching executives.
There are more excuses, but you get the idea.
The first flaw in this argument is that Executive Coaching is not a niche. Executive Coaching is a specialty and a very broad specialty at that. It’s actually far removed from a niche. In simple terms a niche is where the “who” you serve intersects with the “what” you help them with. Misunderstanding the concept of Executive Coaching as a niche is the first of several mistakes that new coaches make and therefore rule out a potentially very lucrative niche.
Can you be an executive coach?
To answer that question let’s start with the basics of why people, including executives hire a coach, or more correctly what coaching brings to a client.
Anyone who hires a coach has certain expectations of that coach. One major item on their list is a safe environment that will allow them to say what they are really thinking without having to filter their thoughts. They don’t want to have to measure their words. They want to say what they are thinking without having to use a “corporate filter”.
An executive coach allows them to do that.
They also want honest feedback. Too often they find themselves surrounded by people who can’t or won’t tell them the truth. Their latest idea may have some major flaws in it but those around them won’t point out the truth. They need someone who will speak their mind and ask questions and challenge their ideas.
An executive coach will do that for them.
Sometimes they want the opportunity to think through their ideas out loud. To talk about an idea of situation freely without worrying about the end result because they know that verbally processing their thoughts can lead to new thoughts, new ideas and help uncover holes in their thinking. And they don’t want to be judged while doing it. They want a sounding board to hear and reflect their thoughts so they can hear them themselves.
An executive coach won’t judge them.
And sometimes a client wants to talk through a technical or complex business issue. This is one area where the client may want to tap into a coach’s background and expertise. But this is not the most common reason for executive coaching. When executives need to work through complex business issues they tend to hire a consultant with expertise in this area.
There are more reasons of course, but you get the idea.
There are a lot of reasons why an executive might hire a coach and many of them have absolutely nothing to do with the coach’s business acumen.
When people wonder about how to become an executive coach, they often think that you must have an in-depth knowledge of business, understand profit and loss statements, corporate strategy or mission and vision statements. The concepts of sales strategies, market penetration, and complex Human Resource issues need to be second nature to you. They assume that executives and executive coaching are only focused around complex business issues that can only be solved by a coach who has been there themselves. Coaching can help address many of the challenges an organizations faces, but it not because the executive coach has an abundance of expertise or knowledge to share.
Reality is quite different than this. There are any number of reasons why an executive might hire a coach and many of those reasons have nothing to do with executive or business experience at all. Contrary to popular belief, executives are people too and have all the same problems that everyone else has. Sometimes they spend too much time at work, sacrificing their personal lives in the process. Or they have grown tired of the constant travel and pressure of their executive position and want something with less stress. Maybe they are looking to change their lifestyle and do something entirely different. Or maybe they are simply trying to figure out what is next for them in life.
Executive coaching will grow in the future. Taking the Executive Coaching specialty, you can break it down into even more specialties before you even get to a formal niche.
Common specialties in the Executive Coaching space:
New Leader Coaching: This specialty is designed for those not yet in high level leadership positions in their organization. It tends to mix coaching with consulting and training to prepare people for future leadership roles. It is sometimes paid for by the organization, often as part of a training grounds for future leaders, but is sometimes paid for by the individuals themselves who want to get a leg up on their competition. This type of coaching and training is often done by coaches with a leadership or training background themselves. But most of these coaches were not high level executives but trainers or mid-level managers in their pre-coaching lives,
Life Balance Coaching: It’s not surprising that executives have a problem balancing their work with their personal lives. In order to get ahead at work many executives begin sacrificing their personal lives when they reach middle management. They put in a lot of hours, sacrifice their health, their family and in many cases their futures. The smart ones figure this out before their divorce, before their health issues, and before their children are grown. This coaching provides focus on the client’s real priorities and helps them set healthy boundaries. No prior executive or management experience is required.
Behavioral Coaching/Emotional Intelligence: One common thread in the executive suite is the highly intelligent executive who is able to see and solve complex issues. They may even have tremendous forward vision into the business that has served them well in the past. But these executives may not play well with others. The phrase that is sometimes used is “Too much college and not enough kindergarten”. Helping executives identify their blind spots and build action plans to overcome behavioral issues does not involve business expertise. It’s about human beings and being able to build bridges.
Retirement Coaching: Some executives are workaholics and will work until they are kicked out the door. Others have a desire to move on and enjoy the fruits of their labor. But what’s next? How do they go from being an executive where every utterance may result in 1000 people moving into action to a retiree with no real authority or responsibility? How do they go from their highly structured life to an unstructured one? What are they going to do with their time? What is their purpose? These are all questions that executives need to find answers to and they don’t involve any prior business experience.
Nutritional Coaching: Executives often work long hours and find themselves on the road eating in restaurants or ordering room service. This leads to unhealthy eating habits, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and more. How can they put together some type of nutritional plan that won’t make them feel like they are limiting every choice they make but still allow them to eat healthy? And how will they handle the guilt when the inevitable slips happen.
These are just a few examples or possibilities. As you can see, there are lots of things that executives want and need that have nothing to do with business knowledge or executive experience.
Before you rule out executives as part of your target market, think about your special skills and talents and how you can really help them become more complete and more effective as an executive. If you are serious about learning how to become an executive coach, consider taking a Coach Training Program to develop your ability to help clients move towards the future they see for themselves.
About the author: DAVID R. MEYER, is a CTA Certified Coach (CTACC), Mentor Coach, and Certified Behavioral Consultant. As a coach Dave has many tools at his disposal. He is a Wiley authorized partner in the use of DISC and has been certified in Social and Emotional Intelligence through the Institute for Social and Emotional Intelligence (ISEI). Dave is a full time coach, trainer, and speaker who specializes in leaders and leadership teams. His mantra is “Great Teams Are Built On The Foundation Of Great Leadership. Great Leadership Is Built On The Foundation Of Great Trust.” He is the author of the Amazon best seller “The Engaged Manager” and also co-authored the DiSC Coaching Catalyst for training coaches in the use of DiSC with their clients. Dave has also had numerous articles appearing in publications across the US. Dave is a graduate of the CTA Certified Coach program in 2002and has been coaching ever since. He is very active in his local community giving back through his church and through his affiliation with Kiwanis International.
Storytelling is one of the most powerful life coaching tools when working with clients. Popular among all the coaching techniques available, storytelling provides value from both sides and illustrates what matters to a client in a way they understand. Sharing anecdotal experience is often frowned upon by life coaches, but when used correctly, storytelling is an effective means of communication. Trained life coaches understand the need for clients to relate to them as well as articulate values on their own. Whether a story is used by the coach to illustrate a concept or by the client to share insight, storytelling has an incredible variety of uses in a coaching relationship.
Storytelling by the Coach
Stories are often used as one of the best life coaching tools to illustrate specific concepts that are more “educational” than is appropriate for a session. Rather than walk a client through technical coaching methods, a coach can illustrate how a concept applies to a real life experience. For example, a client may struggle seeing the “bigger picture” of her career journey while currently in a job she hates. Instead of explaining the SMART goal-setting technique, a coach might tell a story of a past client with the same challenge who began setting SMART short-term goals and eventually created a 5 year career plan she could stick to. If this past client landed a new job she loved, the current client may find more inspiration and technique from the story than by simply learning a goal-setting method.
Another powerful storytelling method used by life coaches is reframing the client experience. Self-narrative is crucial to a client’s progress and a client may see her journey more negatively than it is actually unfolding. When this occurs, a coach can tell the client’s story thus far in their own words, shedding light on the more positive “wins” of the client to encourage her. An illustrative example of this is with a client who (despite making great lifestyle changes) has only lost 7 lbs of her 15 lb weight loss goal. She may feel discouraged and unmotivated to keep going. Her coach can reflect on the client’s progress by summarizing the most positive changes she has made. After hearing her coach emphasize the kitchen makeover, new fitness routine, and growing sense of self-love the client has created for herself told from the coach’s perspective, the client is inspired and proud.
Storytelling by the Client
A lesser known utilization of storytelling is by eliciting information from the client’s perspective. Stories and personal narratives illuminate how the client views their progress and desires so the coach can dig deeper and ask questions. The most valuable knowledge gained from asking a client to share their story is to uncover their “unspoken” motivations. When asked directly, clients are less likely to share desires or fears they are embarrassed to share. This can be overcome by the coach in a more subtle way to learn about client behavior and motives. For example, a client may report to the coach that she struggles receiving affection from her husband. The coach may prompt the client to describe a few instances where the client felt this way in the past. Perhaps the client reveals times where her husband may have simply been tired or preoccupied, and the coach can point out that this is an opportunity to communicate needs instead of simply expecting affection.
Client storytelling is also necessary to build self-awareness. Humans often hold memories in a way that skews positively or negatively, and life coaches are here to help keep the narrative in a realistic light. Some clients need help reframing their experiences more positively to remain encouraged. A coach may help a discouraged working dad reflect on his progress and effort he’s recently given to spending more time with his family. Some clients need to take accountability for their past mistakes and tell their stories honestly. A coach may ask a teenager failing college to take a step back and describe her role in missing classes and studying. Either way, coaching around clients’ narratives is a powerful use of storytelling to build self-awareness.
Of all the life coaching tools, storytelling is a powerful tool because it elicits honest narrations and uncovers client motivations, while also building self-awareness and shedding light on personal accountability. Coaches can take advantage of storytelling from their end to share techniques in the context of the client’s world or to inspire them. Clients allow the coach to understand their worldview and understanding of their own progress. Each of these scenarios prove that used correctly, storytelling holds weight as an effective life coaching tool.
Lupe Colangelo is a certified holistic health coach, life coach, and writer for Life Coach Path. She specializes in behavioral psychology and her background includes coaching for various startups as well as in her private practice. From career coaching to helping people maximize their potential in life and health, Lupe uses motivational interviewing and proven behavior change techniques to empower people to find their own success.
Don’t look now, but 2020 is upon us! Can you believe it? What an exciting time to be alive and to be in business!! Are you excited? You sure should be! Things are changing, and opportunities are everywhere.
Now is the time to take stock of what you did in 2019 and where you want to go in 2020. You may be asking yourself: “I have no idea where to start; I think I will just pull the covers up and stay right here where it is warm and cozy.” Wrong Answer! Jump out and wake up and let’s get going with the promise of 2020.
In the holiday edition of the online version of Inc., this magazine put out an excellent article on evaluating the year past and planning for the new year ahead. I suggest you go here and read this article: https://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/heres-your-guide-to-a-smart-year-end-businessreview.html . I am sure this year they will do another article, please check it out. You never have to do anything alone. Someone has already put a plan together or a guideline that you can use to get a jump start.
Every year I write the same thing, and these are the tips to make your year-end transition easier.
May your New Year be full of Focus, Planning, & Prosperity!
Author Janice Bastani, Master Mentor Coach is a certified executive leadership coach and holds many credentials in the coaching arena.
Her credentials include the following certifications:
Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, Energy Leadership Coach, Emotional Intelligence Coach, Global Group Coaching Coach, NeuroLeadership Coach, Certified John Maxwell Coach, Speaker, Mentor & Trainer.
Janice holds certifications to give and debrief Energy Leadership Assessments, Level One DISC assessment as well as being a Trainer with the DISC Personality Profile, Emotional Intelligence Assessments, Personality Profiling, along with several others in her faith ministry for Spiritual Gifts, and Strengths Profile. She is a founding member of the John Maxwell Team. Janice holds a BA in Journalism.
Think about all the leaders you know, who among that group is a leader who can and does change their world, change their businesses, change their communities, and families? Have you come up with a name or two or three?
John Maxwell is quoted as saying this: “If your actions inspire people to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you are a transformational leader.” [from his latest book “Leadershift.”]
Early on in our careers, who are we most focused on? Of course, ourselves. We want to get in there, to do a good job, get a pay raise, a good yearly review, and a promotion at some point. We rarely think about what we can do to grow our peers, to be accountability partners, how to grow the business, and so on. We also feel that we already know all we need to know, after all, we earned a degree, and we are not ready to do any more learning.
Today, what is your top priority in your career?
No one climbs the ladder of success alone. As we climb, there will be times when we find out that we do not know it all. There is always someone who has traveled more, experienced more, been in the presence of very successful people and instead of taking a selfie with the person you might learn to step back and observe what abilities they have that makes them successful. We also will find out that there will be knowledge we have not learned or been exposed to and it is indeed time to go back to school [so to speak] and get educated in the skills, processes and emotional intelligence we did not have in college.
Leadership can be trained, but to be truly transformational one must go to another level. Here are some of the basics of becoming a transformational leader.
I Have a clear picture of what a transformational leader looks like and what they do. What does this mean exactly? Transformational Leaders see things before others, they are willing to say things that others are not willing to say, they believe things others do not believe, they also feel things differently than others do, and because of the previously mentioned items, they do things others are unwilling or unable to do.
II A transformational leader must first focus on their own transformation before they can transform others. What does this mean? It is pretty simple, in order to go up you must give up. This is about pride and ego and admits there are things you do not know, and then you have to be willing to get out there and learn what you do not know. It is all about leading from “positive change.”
III We change inside first, and then we change on the outside. What does this mean? Have you ever heard the word “incongruent?” This is a state of being when a person puts on a false mask or narrative and wears on the outside, when in reality they are someone completely different inside, at home, and outside of work. If you want to be a transformational leader, you must change your inside first. When you do this, it will naturally show up externally, and everyone can see the change in you.
IV Create an environment around you, which promotes transformation! How do I do this? Who will change a negative, non-creative environment from dull to an environment where people can’t wait to show up to work in the morning? Only a very transformational leader. This positive energy seems to walk through the door and fill the office when they walk in. Their persona demands your attention, and you feel good about who you are and where you work and what you do at work. This just doesn’t happen by accident. There is a purpose to it. This focused purpose revolves around key values which are good. Good values include attitude, commitment, competence, forgiveness, initiative, integrity, personal growth, priorities, relationships, and work ethic. How would rate yourself on each of these?
V It’s not only at the office it has to happen and spread outside the office. What do you mean? If you make a difference inside the office, it only goes to the reason you would do so outside the office as well. Making a positive difference doesn’t stop as you exit the office. We also need to invite those we are transforming inside our business to join us outside in our communities. All boats rise when we do this.
Transformation follows a specific pattern. I would like to this pattern below:
Top-Down Leadership influence filters down, not up!
Small To Big Mass movements begins with a few people.
Inside Out Inner values determine outward behavior.
Look up at the five bold headings, place the number beside each pattern below, and then evaluate where you might want to focus on your own leadership journey.
Author Janice Bastani, Master Mentor Coach is a certified executive leadership coach and holds many credentials in the coaching arena.
Her credentials include the following certifications:
Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, Energy Leadership Coach, Emotional Intelligence Coach, Global Group Coaching Coach, NeuroLeadership Coach, Certified John Maxwell Coach, Speaker, Mentor & Trainer.
Janice holds certifications to give and debrief Energy Leadership Assessments, Level One DISC assessment as well as being a Trainer with the DISC Personality Profile, Emotional Intelligence Assessments, Personality Profiling, along with several others in her faith ministry for Spiritual Gifts, and Strengths Profile. She is a founding member of the John Maxwell Team. Janice holds a BA in Journalism.
Coaching supervision offers coaches an opportunity to access continuous professional development through reflection and dialogue in a safe, supportive and confidential space. If we look closer at the word itself: super-vision meaning over-sight, the practice of supervision is for the coach and their supervisor to reflect together and have over-sight of the coach’s practice in service of them being the very best coach they can be.
In this way, the function and scope of supervision cover three main areas.
In this domain, the focus is on the continuous growth and development of the coach towards increasingly advanced competence. This aspect of the dialogue might focus on the ICF Core Competencies as well as other related theories, models and concepts that could be introduced into the discussion by either party. The focus is on the coach as a coach and their ongoing skill development as a practitioner. Mentor Coaching for Credentialing could be seen as sitting somewhere within this domain with regards to the specific focus on the ICF Core Competencies, however, the roles of Mentor Coach and Coach Supervisor are not always the same and the focus and training for each discipline is different.
Coaching Supervision also provides support for the coach in terms of them feeling resourced, supported and nurtured. As such, the focus is on the person or the who of the coach; the coach as a person. In this domain, topics such as confidence, inner dialogue, helpful or limiting beliefs held by the coach might feature in the discussion.
This domain is centered around quality and professionalism. Here, the dialogue may reflect upon how the coach is managing their overall coaching practice, ethical considerations and the safety of the coach and their client, as well as having consideration for the system within which the coaching work is being undertaken. Here, the ICF’s gold standard and the core values of excellence, integrity, collaboration and respect are at the forefront of the reflective dialogue and the focus is on the coach as a professional.
Within the context of these three areas, coaching supervision is sometimes described as working with “where the personal intrudes on the professional” in that the focus is on ensuring that the coach does not get in the way of their client’s learning and development but is instead an enabling tool or vehicle for their client.
In practical terms, coaching supervision bears some resemblance to coaching in that the coach and supervisor need to establish that there is chemistry and rapport for them to work effectively together. They will contract with each other around how they will work and how similar boundaries of confidentiality are upheld. The focus of each supervision session will be clearly established and may be related to the above domains in the context of, for example:
Sometimes, it can be helpful to frame the supervision topic as a question which the coach and supervisor then work collectively to answer. Some examples of supervision questions might be:
These are just a few examples of the many, many questions that a coach might bring into supervision and the common feature of all of them is that the conversation is aimed at supporting the coach to be the best they can be in that situation and across their coaching practice.
Coaching supervision can be undertaken on a one-to-one basis or as part of a supervision group. This discipline requires specific training which will most likely cover at least one or more fields of (coaching) psychology as well as specific supervision models. A coaching supervisor is also most likely to be an experienced coach and also be self-aware and mindful of their own part in the coach-supervisor dynamic and relationship. For supervisors working with groups, an understanding of group dynamics and group development is needed as well as knowledge of group supervision processes and practices.
Purchasers of coaching services want to know that they are buying the best and knowing that a coach is in supervision can be a great way of demonstrating quality assurance, professionalism and integrity in one’s coaching practice. Indeed, in some communities, being in coaching supervision is now a prerequisite for being able to provide coaching services within certain organizations.
ICF recommends coaching supervision as a useful form of continuous professional development for coaches and is committed to conducting further research into its efficacy as it continues to build a sizeable body of work on evidenced based approaches that are in service of the best coaching possible.
Author Tracy Sinclair, PCC, is also a trained Coaching Supervisor, Mentor Coach and an ICF Assessor. Tracy trains coaches and works with managers and leaders to develop their coaching capability. She works as an international Corporate Executive and Board Level Coach, a leadership development designer and facilitator working with a wide range of organizations. Tracy also specializes in working with organisations to support them develop coaching culture. She was the President of the UK ICF from 2013-2014. Tracy is a 2019 ICF Global Board Director and Immediate Past Chair. Original post can be found here: https://coachfederation.org/blog/coaching-supervision
As a mentor coach, I often meet new and aspiring coaches. It is wonderful to see our community grow and give access to coaching in wider circles. Through the years, I have had plenty of opportunities to mirror myself in their struggles, and I realize there are a few things I am glad I saw early. It has helped me in building my business and given me a smoother ride along the way.
First thing I am glad I saw clearly is that building a coaching business is building a business. As newly trained coaches, we are overflowing with enthusiasm on coaching itself—the work we can do to contribute. It is then essential to remember that building a business is a different skillset. I differed my two skillset developments by ensuring I had support in both parts: a good mentor coach to support my growth in coaching and good business advisors to help me get my business right. As my business understanding grew, I went from needing the actual advice to having a business coach. I still separate mentor coaching from business coaching because goals are completely different. In mentor coaching, the goals are around developing my coaching skills. In business coaching, they are around developing my company and my skills to run it. Both are highly needed.
I also realized how helpful it is to get inspiration from other industries. Don’t stay in coaching networks only. Listen to other industries and pick your golden ideas. Listening to plumbers and carpenters got me out of “selling myself—taking it personal,” I adopted their mode. A plumber knows he is needed and relaxes in that. He knows his prices are fairly counted to cover salary and expenses, and he doesn’t question himself if someone complains. Using their “I wouldn’t work for someone who won’t pay me, that would ruin my business” got me out of taking things personally. Keeping in mind that if it ruins a plumber’s business, it will for a coach. This helped me charge enough to give my business a chance. Looking at the best in other industries has also given me inspiration in how to use technology, how to develop and market my services and given me a good sense on what trends are influencing my market.
My peeking into other businesses got me to see the power in always thinking one size bigger, and it has saved me from a lot of mistakes. Here is the trick: Always work in a system that can hold your business easily one step bigger. If you are new, create a system that will work when you are fully booked. When you get going, build a system that will hold for growth. When good things happen, you are already mentally and organizationally prepared to take on bigger challenges. If you decide to work your way through it, you have a lean process to support you. If you decide this is where you take in subcontractors or employ individuals, you can easily do so. The systems are already in place. Systems built to manage bigger challenges helps you step up your game when you get the chance.
I am also glad I early realized development requires a budget, in time and money. As a coach, it is essential to have the time and money to continue learning. You are the instrument, and your coaching can never get better than you. Holding that in mind when budgeting helps you set prices to cover time and costs for your own training. It also makes you build your business to have coverage for time to take on the CEO role to develop your own company. Parallel development, you as a coach and your business: Neither can stand still and both parts need their resources.
It can be hard work to build trust and gain respect as a small business owner. I realized you can always look big by adding on to what already is. I joined established networks to gain credibility in business context. Coaching may be new and still a bit suspicious to some. By making myself visible in the networks of established companies, people got used to seeing me as part of business around. Create your own network, become part of your business community, don’t stay lonely.
Author Lena Gustafsson, PCC, holds a Master of Social Sciences, having majored in Psychology. She is past president of ICF Sweden and actively engaged in the development of coaching in her country. She is equally interested in the fields of method development and of building business as a coach; getting the two together is one of her strengths. She is working internationally in all sectors from sole traders to multinational companies to public organizations and NGOs. She is also working as mentor coach for new and experienced coaches. Besides coaching, she serves as an entrepreneurial startup advisor and does leadership consulting. She is the representative of coaches in the Swedish National Council of Branches and in the national board of Swedish Federation of Business Owners. The original blog can be found here https://coachfederation.org/blog/realizations-building-coaching-biz
The headline “Improve Employee Engagement” is everywhere in the business culture. Understandably so, because employee engagement is linked to less turnover, higher productivity and ultimately, to increased profitability. As a coach, providing your clients with the skills and resources to boost employee engagement will be extremely valuable to them. A key way is through authentic appreciation.
Simply said, appreciation is taking a moment to focus upon individuals to show that you value the work they do. This is one of the keys to improving Employee Engagement. People clearly want to be appreciated for their contributions:
It would appear that the most important ways to increase Employee Engagement is to give employees appreciation. But, unfortunately, most people don’t feel appreciated at work.
In fact, while 51 percent of managers surveyed across several companies felt they were doing a good job of recognizing employees for work well done, only 17 percent of the employees who worked for those managers felt appreciated by their supervisor. Thus, a wide discrepancy existed between how the managers perceived they were doing and what their employees experienced.
The first core principle to understand is that not everyone feels appreciated in the same ways. Each person has a specific “language” that, when used, communicates a clear message that they are appreciated. Research and experience have identified five languages of appreciation in the workplace:
Four core conditions need to be present in order for employees to truly feel appreciated. Business leaders need to focus on communicating appreciation in these ways in order to be effective in their efforts. And, coaches need to assist their clients in implementing these steps to help improve their employee engagement.
Team members will feel valued when appreciation is communicated:
With some thoughtfulness and intentionality, creating a culture of appreciation in the workplace is attainable, and an investment that makes good business sense. But many leaders need assistance and a structured process to apply the concepts of communicating authentic appreciation.
About the Author:
Paul White, Ph.D., is a psychologist, author and speaker, who “makes work relationships work.” White is the co-author of three books including, The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, which has sold over 330,000 copies (written with Gary Chapman, Ph.D., author of the #1 NY Times best-seller, The 5 Love Languages). Their online assessment tool, Motivating by Appreciation Inventory, has been taken by over 175,000 employees and their Appreciation at Work training resources are used in over 25 countries.
This Blog post is re-blogged from Coach Federation, and the original post can be found here: https://coachfederation.org/blog/authentic-appreciation
Author: Christina Stathopoulos, PCC. A reblog from ICF.
Millennials are about to make up over half of the world’s workforce. Being able to effectively coach them will become paramount to the sustainability of any coach’s practice. And, overgeneralizing the common issues associated with working with millennials can inhibit a powerful relationship between coach and client. This article is intended to support coaches in navigating their issues with millennial clients and offer new insights on how to distinguish any age biases that may be inhibiting deeper relationships.
As a bonus, this article is being written by a 27-year-old millennial woman, who also happens to be a Professional Certified Coach with a robust practice. So, if you are a coach interested in distinguishing your current age biases, learning how to take responsibility for them, and applying new methods to your coaching, then keep on reading.
What is a millennial? I encourage you to think about your answer to that question, and possibly even jot it down before you continue reading.
Most simply put, millennials are a demographic cohort born between the years 1981 and 1996.
You might have a lot of questions about how to be a life coach for millennials, but there are a few easy ways to get it going. Coaches crave “how-tos” when it comes to working with millennials.
They believe this will make the coaching more effective.
They believe this will make working with millennials easier.
Ultimately to seek the how-to first will cause coaches to make the mistake of focusing more on their own performance than on “what” and “who” of the clients they work with.
Expertise will always be of value, but the default among coaches is to move forward on expertise and operate on top of the undistinguished biases they bring into their relationships with their millennial clients.
Think about it through the lens of the ICF Core Competencies. To rely on tips tricks, or how-tos to coach a client, means to be unwilling to be flexible during the coaching process. It eliminates the space to not know and take risks. It also then requires the coach to listen through their own agenda of “How is this response reflective of this person being a millennial?” versus any more open-ended or curious lens.
My assertion is that “how” kills the partnership between coach and client.
Consider that the most effective way to work with millennials comes in these three steps:
Skipping straight to #3 will cause that focus on performance previously mentioned.
To start, revisit your answer to the question, “What is a millennial?” Consider that anything you included in your answer beyond the range of birth years points to what your bias is.
Remember that bias doesn’t necessarily mean negative. However, if you want to be a life coach for millennials you must understand and negate your own bias. If you are stuck or unsure, here are some common examples:
“Millennials crave instant gratification.”
“Millennials are great with social media.”
“Millennials rebel against older leadership styles.”
“Millennials need friends and family to give them career advice.”
“The most important goal for a millennial is work/life balance.”
Once you have distinguished the age biases that you have around working with millennial clients, you must practice putting those biases aside. One way to practice this is to listen to your own coaching of millennials through the lens of Coaching Presence. For example, you can check in on:
Applying New Techniques
With your age biases distinguished and out of the space, you can give yourself permission to seek out techniques again. And, you will undeniably notice a difference in how you hold those techniques.
With age bias undistinguished and running rampant, how-to becomes a coach’s beacon for how to fix their coaching or fix their clients.
With awareness and responsibility, how-to is merely a tool to broaden a coach’s skills and abilities. There will be far less pressure to have the correct solutions and answers.
In conclusion, curiosity remains your best tool available to you when coaching millennials. Taking on the practices and techniques that hone your Coaching Presence will ultimately make you a more effective coach for the next generation of global leaders.
©2019 Christina Stathopoulos
Christina Stathopoulos, PCC, is the founder and head coach of Hear Her Roar. She is a Professional Certified Coach (International Coach Federation-credentialed) and an Accomplishment Coaching-Certified Coach. Christina specializes in working with women leaders who are seeking to have a greater impact on their professional and personal communities. She partners with these women to have more confidence, develop their leadership presence, and embolden their voices. Christina’s pursuit for playing powerfully began at Mount Holyoke College, where she earned degrees in English and chemistry. In addition to her private practice, Christina serves the next generation of leaders as a Leader in Training of Accomplishment Coaching’s Coach & Leadership Training Program—the world’s finest accredited program. Christina lives in Hoboken, NJ, where she passionately holds onto her scientific roots through home brewing.
The original blog post can be found at the link above.
Author: Lenka Grackova, reblog from ICF.
The world is changing, and many companies are applying new management techniques that focus on collaboration, collective intelligence and a greater individual autonomy. Companies are making these changes not only to react faster to ongoing transitions, but also to create a better, more fulfilled workplace.
However, creating such changes requires a lot of effort: new processes, new ways of working, new structures, and also a higher degree of self-management from each person.
The leaders’ challenge is to make all these changes happen in a way that creates excitement, rather than chaos and panic.
It requires leaders who have not only a good knowledge of change management principles and great communication skills, but also a high level of self-motivation, a great deal of perseverance, and personal purpose to make things happen.
Leaders need to demonstrate a great level of self-management themselves. Their stability and focus will stabilize the whole system and set a positive example for others.
One way leaders can further develop their self-management is with professional coaching. Professional coaches help leaders take a step back from their challenges and guide them through the process of creating a change. During the process, leaders can develop new positive habits and strategies on how to progress through changes with confidence.
Anyone who wants to grow their own self management skills or who coaches on self-management in times of change should focus on the following six areas.
Change and uncertainty often trigger emotions such as fear or anger. When leaders understand their own emotions and manage their reactions, they become more trusted by others. Leaders with high emotional intelligence bring empathy in their communication and connect better with their audience.
Tip to work on this area: How can you take a step back from emotionally charged situations and start observing yourself instead of reacting?
Some leaders do not set any goals when things keep changing because they want to see how the future will unfold. But as Zig Ziglar said: “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”
Even if the future is uncertain, leaders need to keep setting their own goals. Goals increase personal drive, clarity and focus. They provide directions when leaders need to make decisions.
Tip to work on this area: Even if you don’t know how things will evolve, what would be the ideal outcome in three, six or 12 months?
In a world full of changes, we tend to move away from detailed plans and Gantt charts. But having a high-level plan of five to eight chronological steps on how to get from now to the future is a must. Such a plan decreases complexity, allows for doing things differently, and forces leaders to make decisions on the best way forward.
Tip to work on this area: Make a plan on how you want to drive a specific change: simple, few steps, chronological. A plan is your strategy, not a shopping list of possible actions.
Great leaders and managers create a positive example: They hold high standards for others by holding high standards for themselves.
Leaders who hold themselves accountable find creative ways to find motivation and courage to do difficult things. They deliver on their promises—to themselves and to others.
Tip to work on this area: How can you hold yourself accountable to deliver on promises even if no one else checks on you?
Creating a change is not a sprint, but a marathon. It can be easy to “lose your nerve” and start taking erratic actions when you do not see quick results. Shortcuts can undermine the real progress and can end up wasting time and resources.
Tip to work on this area: How can you validate that you are still moving in the right direction, even if you do not see immediate results?
What is real, and what are just biased perceptions, wishful thinking or wrong interpretations of data? Do leaders perceive the world around them objectively?
In the current world, we need to quickly adapt to new technologies as well as to the new ways of working (remote work, flexible desks, self-managed teams, virtual teams, etc.). Practically, it means that every day we need to flex our habits. We need to unlearn what we used to know and learn new ways of doing things. Do leaders perceive their own behaviors objectively and know how they can adapt them?
Tip to work on this area: How can you stay flexible and keep adapting without losing sight of your big goals?
Focusing on these six areas will increase leaders’ capacity to deal with and progress through change in a more serene way.
© Copyright 2019 by Lenka Grackova
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Lenka Grackova, ACC, will be exploring this topic more in-depth at ICF Converge 2019, which is taking place October 23-26 in Prague, Czech Republic. Join her session “The Rising Power of Self-Management” in the Build content group on Thursday, October 24 at 3:00 p.m. (local time). By attending this session, you can earn 0.25 CC/0.25 RD in Continuing Coach Education units.
This title is a mouthful for sure. However, when you stop to think about it, we all have a “Capacity” limit and a threshold for each of these four items. Just off the top of your head, ask yourself this question of each of these four things: “What is my capacity limit when it comes to; my intention, to my leadership, to my partnering, and with people?” I am betting you have never asked yourself these four questions nor have you thought about these four items in this manner. You are not alone. Most people do not look at these four words and ask much of anything.
I am reminded what a well know leader once remarked on a video that when people are asked about in a job interview, most say: “I am really good with people.” Really? What does that mean exactly? Let’s take a very brief look at each of our four capacities a little deeper.
In order to increase our capacity for intentionality we must be will to do three things:
The key here is to be very intentional and not to let this slide or for us to procrastinate.
When it comes to Leadership what I know from my foray down this lane is the more I learn about being a leader, the more I understand there is so much I do not know, and still have to learn. Leaders are by nature “multipliers,” they are great communicators, they are attentive listeners, they must see before those they lead see, they must connect before they ask others to change, just like someone selling something: those leaders lead must feel understood, liked and cared for. Sounds like a whole lot doesn’t it? Being a leader in any business or as a father or mother prompts two important things: consistency and intensity.
The third Capacity we are going to explore today is the one of Partnership. Have you ever heard this saying: “I can do things you cannot do, you can do things I cannot do, together we can do great things!”? But, how often do we actually partner? Seldom, is the answer. It is almost as if we live and have been brought up in the “Lone Ranger Culture;” we can each figure it out ourselves and do it so much faster and more inventive than anyone else on our team or in our field. Really? In order for “Partnership” to work, each of us has to change our Lone Ranger mindset. When we do not seek out to work with others, we are not close to expanding our Capacity for Partnership.
This one should be easy, and yet it trips people up all the time; our ability to have People Capacity. In other words, developing relationships with other people. Let me state this plainly here: if you do not know how to build healthy growing relationships with your loved ones, your spouse, and in your business environments you will stop growing altogether and be like a bitter old man/woman who has given up on life and is basically waiting to die.
How do we expand our people capacity?
That was a whirlwind of information is a short time span. What did you glean from what you have just read? How might you make four goals in developing your own “capacity” in each of the areas discussed in this blog? When will you act on those goals? How will anyone know you are working on growing your capacity in “Intentionality, Leadership, Partnership, and People?”
Author, Janice Bastani, is a certified executive leadership coach and holds many credentials in the coaching arena: Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, Energy Leadership Coach, Emotional Intelligence Coach, Global Group Coaching Coach, NeuroLeadership Coach, Certified John Maxwell Coach, Speaker, Mentor & Trainer.
Janice holds certifications to give and debrief Energy Leadership Assessments, Level One DISC assessment as well as being a Trainer with the DISC Personality Profile, Emotional Intelligence Assessments, Personality Profiling, along with several others in her faith ministry for Spiritual Gifts, and Strengths Profile. She is a founding member of the John Maxwell Team. Janice holds a BA in Journalism. Learn more about Janice at www.janicebastanicoaching.com
As a coach, have you ever thought “Who am I to…?” Fears like this show up when you take the smart step of focusing on one unique tribe of people — a niche market — and begin to put the word out that you can help them get where they want to go. The underlying thought is: “How can I charge for this if I haven’t accomplished for myself the things my clients want to accomplish!” And then you fall into a spiral of doubt and start back pedaling.
I hear you. But keep moving forward by embracing your beginner’s mind.
In any new job, career or business direction there is the absolute necessity to be new, untried and unproven at first. You are required to be a beginner and learn from doing. There’s no shame in it.
In fact, a fresh perspective is THE POINT of coaching.
Coaching isn’t about knowing. It is about coming to sessions without a plan, “dancing in the moment” with your client. It’s about drawing out their wisdom and facilitating shifts in perspective and new approaches to problems, processes and desired outcomes.
These are the true skills of masterful coaching:
In fact, coming in with a lot of knowledge can actually override the most sacred thing about coaching – the client’s agenda. The paradox is that there is no one right way to do anything and it’s best if the solution is your client’s idea, not yours. There’s no need to know what your client knows. And there’s no need to know what your client doesn’t know either.
So ease up on yourself here and trust that YOU CAN DO IT!
It is true that over time you do become an expert on your niche market – the unique group of people you serve – because you’ve coached individuals in that “tribe” long enough to witness the patterns. But it’s so important to stay open minded for diversity, for surprises. That’s why staying fully present is much more valuable in coaching than coming loaded with the answers as a consultant.
Here’s a secret… personal and professional developmental growth is facilitated by the same set of things no matter what the territory or topic. Coaching is about helping clients to:
Rely on the “Sacred Six” and you’ll realize you are primed to help people on any topic.
Author: Rhonda Hess co-authored the Coach Training AcceleratorTM and designed the CTA Certified Coach Program. She has a super power for helping coaches choose and champion a profitable niche they’ll love. Learn more at Prosperous Coach.
One of the very first things I learned as a brand-new Air Force Academy cadet on day 1 was that in basic training, I was expected to spend more time listening than talking. I couldn’t talk to my fellow basic cadets at all unless we happened to be in one of a handful of places in which talking was specifically allowed. When addressing a member of the cadet cadre, unless otherwise asked or directed, I was to use one of the seven basic responses:
1. Yes, sir! (or Ma’am, of course)
2. No, sir!
3. Sir, may I ask a question!?
4. Sir, may I make a statement!?
5. Sir, I do not know!
6. Sir, I do not understand!
7. No excuse, sir!
Out of all of the basic responses, “No excuse, sir” presented the most opportunities for failure. The other six were completely straightforward. If someone asked me a question to which I didn’t know the answer, I said “sir, I do not know.” If someone asked me a question and I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about, I said “sir, I do not understand.” And so on.
“No excuse, sir,” on the other hand, was reserved only to be used as a reply to a question that began with the word “why.” It was tough to remember to use it because the natural inclination when someone asks a question is to provide an answer.
Cadre: Orr, why do your boots look as though you polished them with a chocolate bar?
Me: Sir, I didn’t have time to…
Cadre: [cutting off my reply] I SAID WHY!
Me: NO EXCUSE, SIR!
The cadre may not have cared about the shine on my boots at that moment, and I might even have had a perfectly valid reason for them to look the way they did. The “why” of his question was never about getting to the root cause of the situation. It was about getting me to understand that in the military, excuses wouldn’t be tolerated. If I were going to assimilate into this culture, I had to find a way to unemotionally deal with a no-win situation in which someone was going to yell at me for not being able to fit a 10-minute task into the 5 minutes I had available to me. It wasn’t about teaching me to shine boots. It was about testing my resilience.
The cadre’s “why” was really a stipulation, not a question. My boots looked awful and that I was solely to blame regardless of the conditions leading up to that moment. “No excuse, sir” represented acceptance of my sub-standard performance and a willingness to press on in the face of impossible time constraints.
When you preface a question to one of the people on your team with the word “why” you’re probably making a similar stipulation. “Why isn’t this task finished?” isn’t so much a question as an accusation. You probably don’t even want to know the actual reason it’s not done. What you really want to hear is “No excuse, sir!” followed by actions to rectify the situation.
Here’s the problem; unless you’re testing this person’s ability to suck it up and soldier on like in basic training, you really do care about his impediments to success. If he truly has 5 minutes to do a 10-minute task, you need to do one of three things: remove 5 minutes of task, add 5 minutes of time or teach him how to be more efficient.
Starting with an accusatory tone through the use of the word “why” torpedoes this process from the beginning because it puts him on the defensive and makes him more likely to create lame excuses in an attempt to make the pain go away. Lame excuses make you angrier which in turn makes him more defensive which in turn creates more lame excuses, ad infinitum.
Step one for you as the leader is to get him to talk about the task unemotionally. The way to do that is to ask open-ended questions to get to the “what” and “how” of the situation.
“How goes the progress on your task?”
“What’s your plan for completing this task on time?”
The bonus is that “what” and “how” put you in a mindset in which you’re more open to receiving the information that comes back. It starts a conversation in which you’re genuinely receptive to finding a solution versus a one-way “conversation” in which you’ve already made up your mind and now you’re simply issuing punishment in the form of accusatory language.
Unless you want to hear “No excuse, sir!” –and maybe you have a perfectly understandable reason to do just that–leave “why” behind and start the conversation with “what” and “how.” You’re more likely to find solutions to the problems that are besetting your people, and they’ll be more open in their communications with you.
Author Jeff Orr is a highly-respected CTA Graduate and a Certified Human Capital Coach who helps organizations achieve their peak performance by blending business coaching skills with 24 years experience as a USAF fighter pilot. Jeff has trained over 300 F-16 pilots from 5 continents. He also currently works as a pilot for a major commercial airline. Learn more about Jeff at www.JeffOrr.com
For many of us, our ultimate goal is to become a masterful coach so that when we are working with our clients (employees, colleagues, team members), we feel capable, confident and connected not just to the person we are coaching but to our intuition. So, what are the 5 habits that create that confidence? And how can you start bringing those 5 habits into your practice?
#1 ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR VALUE.
Number one is to acknowledge your value. It doesn’t come naturally to recognize your worth, but it is something that you can grow into, consciously. When I first started coaching, I used coaching to help individuals figure out how they were going to get a project done or better manage their time. Initially, I used coaching as just another tool in my tool kit to help people figure out how to solve a particular challenge. While I thought it was great that I could help my clients come up with their own solutions, I didn’t fully understand the impact it had. But as I started to experience coaching more (as a client and a coach), I discovered there was more value in these coaching sessions than I realized.
Fast forward to today…..
I absolutely stand by the value of coaching and my value as a coach. We serve to hold space for others, to allow them to become fully thinking and emotional human beings, to bring what is lurking in the subconscious forward and once it’s there, we support our clients to take action. I have witnessed the personal and professional growth that has come about because of coaching sessions. Finding solutions, solving challenges and creating opportunities is great; but to me, the biggest value is the personal development that happens. Coaching helps human beings develop their capability and trained coaches help people grow. So, to be a confident coach, know your value and know the value of your coaching sessions.
#2 TRUST YOUR EXPERTISE.
Number two, trust your expertise. Like many new coaches, when I first started coaching my team, I would come away from my coaching conversations feeling disappointed that I didn’t come up with the absolute best question to ask or perhaps wondering if I missed some clue during the session that might have held the opportunity for a mind-shifting Ah-ha moment. While the people I coached would let me know how helpful each session was, I knew that the sessions were not as good as they could be. At times, I even doubted if I was good enough.
During this initial phase of self-doubt, I was so focused on the skills and capabilities I lacked that I lost sight of my own unique expertise that I could bring to my sessions. How could I fully show up for my client when I was internally focused on my own short comings? Eventually, I realized that there’s something special and unique about each and every one of us and that we are at our best when we draw upon those strengths and talents. Some coaches like to integrate their background in psychology or behavior sciences. I like to integrate what I know about business and career transitions. I also love drawing upon my experience in sports and using symbolism and analogies as I communicate. I show up with an enthusiastic and optimistic energy. I bring all of that into my coaching sessions, and those are my natural talents.
Now, you might be someone who easily distinguishes speech patterns, pitch or cadence. You might be someone who is really good at picking up on shifting energy, so your natural talent is seizing the coachable moment around those shifting emotions. Or maybe your natural talent is that you create short powerful questions that help your clients gain crystal clarity.
So, to be a confident coach, you need to know and trust your own expertise. Don’t think, “I’m not good enough because I’m not great at reflecting back to the client,” or “I’m not intuitive enough.” Know that your talents are enough and draw upon them naturally. Doing this will allow you to show up fully for your client. Confident coaches focus on what they are great at and what makes a coaching session with “them” special and unique. Number two is trust your expertise.
#3 GET CENTERED.
Now, I’m going to be honest with you. Not all confident coaches meditate. But the third habit of a confident coach is honing their ability to clear the mind, tune into their client and be fully present. In order for you to really connect with your clients every time you coach and respond intuitively, it’s incredibly important that you know how to turn shut down your brain-chatter and hold space for your client. For some, this comes naturally. Others may find they need a bit of practice. Getting centered is a tried-and-true way that coaches can show up blank to a client session. For me, I like to do a few cycles of square breathing (inhale 4 counts, hold 4 counts, exhale 4 counts and hold the exhale 4 counts, repeating the cycle 2 or 3 times). This simple exercise helps me quiet my mind and set my focus. You may prefer to stare at a photo, gaze at a candle or simply close your eyes and let your thoughts move through your mind like a smooth flowing river. Regardless of what method you choose, create a daily practice of clearing the mind. If you begin a coaching session with background noise in your mind (email, reports, judgements, your own ideas, to do list) and you haven’t taken the time to pause and clear out first, then your coaching session is not going to be as good as it could be. Employ the practice of getting centered each day, however that works best for you, so that skill comes to you easily when you’re about to do a coaching session. Habit #3: get centered.
#4 GET RID OF THE TIP SHEET.
I know, it’s ironic that one of the items on the tip sheet is ‘Get rid of the Tip Sheet’. When I was first starting out, I kept a list of Powerful Questions right next to me during every coaching sessions. If I wasn’t sure what to ask, I would look down at my list and pick one that seemed most appropriate. Looking back, I can see how these questions were a bit like training wheels giving me a sense of security and providing the opportunity to try out a few variations until I found my own voice. In some ways they helped me get started and in other ways they held me back.
It’s a wonderful thing if you can ditch the tips/tools during the coaching session and learn to trust your intuition. Even though you might build a clumsy version of a question, what you gain is the ability to connect much more deeply with your client. You will see it come out in your coaching sessions in really beautiful ways. You will also learn to improvise and respond intuitively which will make your sessions more powerful and develop your skills more quickly. Not quite ready to fly without a net? If you still use tips and cheat sheets during your coaching session, be willing to coach without relying on them for one or two sessions. You will quickly realize you have the skills to do it on your own. You might also quickly realize any gaps in your training. Have you forgotten a specific technique? Is there a skill you need to polish? When you refer back to your training materials, try and do what confident coaches do and reference these tips outside of the coaching session. The only exception to this rule would be using a coaching model (at Coach Training Alliance we use The Simple Coaching Model). The coaching model provides a framework for your coaching conversations; we use the same model with every single coaching session. Having the Simple Coaching Model front and center is a great way to ensure your coaching conversations are productive and stay on track. So, the next time you have a coaching conversation- ditch the Tip Sheet, show up authentically and respond intuitively to your client.
#5 BE CURIOUS.
The final habit of a confident coach is being curious. We have people coming into our Coach Training Programs – some of them have been coaching informally for 10-15 years-and they bring with them a learning mindset where they are open to new possibilities, willing to explore new perspectives and are able to go even deeper in their training. As coaches, we can always go deeper in our training and integrate this new capability or perspective in our coaching sessions. However, lifelong learning isn’t only about acquiring knowledge, skills or polishing techniques (although those will certainly help you become a more capable coach), we are constantly presented with informal learning opportunities. For me it is both enlightening and rewarding to ask, “What did you find most valuable today?” I love this question because it serves to reinforce for the client what they got out of the session and helps me gain a better understanding of how the session (and which parts) impacted my client the most. More to the point, confident coaches are curious. They continually learn about themselves, learn about their value, appreciate the wisdom of their clients and because of this are able to sponge up an abundance of thoughts, perspectives, ideas, and discoveries as they co-create and collaborate. Learning is about being genuinely interested, curious, and willing to explore something new. “How would this training make me a better coach?” “What would happen if I tried this approach?” “Where does this client really want to go?” Being curious opens the possibility for coaches to develop through the many formal and informal learning opportunities around them.
So, number 5: Be Curious.
WRAP-UP
In summary, those are the 5 habits of Confident Coaches. Hopefully these habits will serve you well as you forge ahead helping your clients:
Do those 5 things, and you will quickly become a confident coach. Amazing things will happen for you because you’ll be putting yourself out there in such a powerful way and helping and serving so many people while trusting your intuition and giving value.
About the Author: Holly Hutchinson is a Certified Human Capital Coach and Wellness Coach who has been practicing since 2008. Holly’s passion is positive growth and lifelong learning. Her experience includes international trade and marketing as well as system sales into the Fortune 500. Holly’s focus at CTA is the growth of emerging programs for trade associations, organizational coaching deployment and CTA’s yoga programs. In addition to her work at CTA, Holly is a competitive athlete and serves on several non-profit boards. Holly is married with 2 children and is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley.
Excerpt from “Why Employee Performance Reviews Are Getting Sacked”
What have you done this year to justify your salary?
The employee quakes and mumbles something, hoping at best to boost their pay, at worst to avoid getting sacked.
It’s the annual appraisal.
What were his strengths? “Accounts”. Weaknesses? “Eczema”. And the training he received to use his computer? He didn’t know.
Perhaps none too soon, this clumsy method of evaluation, which ranks, grades and irritates employees across the world, is being re-appraised – and found wanting, by some firms, at least.
Re-posted from BBC. Full article can be found here – https://www.bbc.com/news/business-33984961
Excerpt from “The Coach in the Operating Room” by Atul Gawande, a surgeon and public-health researcher, and a New Yorker staff writer since 1998.
“I’ve been a surgeon for eight years. For the past couple of them, my performance in the operating room has reached a plateau. I’d like to think it’s a good thing—I’ve arrived at my professional peak. But mainly it seems as if I’ve just stopped getting better.”
No matter how well trained people are, few can sustain their best performance on their own. That’s where coaching comes in.
“Get them to think. It’s the only way people learn.” – Robert Osteen, retired general surgeon
Re-posted from The New Yorker magazine. Full article can be found here – https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/10/03/personal-best
It’s inevitable. It’s part of the human experience. It arouses strong emotions. We’re talking about conflict coaching, of course. As coaches we are good at managing and coaching our clients through conflict (aren’t we??).
There are many ways of dealing with conflict, of course, and we all have our preferences. Some tend to avoid it at all costs, often at their own expense. Others become quite aggressive and can damage relationships in the process. Still others tend to roll over and accommodate, failing to get their own needs met in life. It is important that you understand where your clients are coming from so you can give them the proper conflict coaching that suits their needs.
First, conflict is not bad. It is a natural occurrence. As noted earlier, it is part of the human experience. It’s how it’s managed that makes the difference.
When it comes to conflict coaching, selecting the best approach to managing conflict depends on the situation, and the capabilities and awareness of the individual. There are times when it is best temporarily avoided, at least until emotions calm down. Other times we need to step up to an aggressive approach. And sometimes it’s best to compromise (give a little, get a little), or accommodate (if we know we are wrong or it really doesn’t matter much). And then, of course, there’s the win-win, Getting-to-Yes, collaborative approach to resolving conflict.
The best among us flex, stretch themselves out of their comfort zone, and adapt the approach to the unique circumstances of the situation. Conflict is addressed effectively, in a healthy balanced manner without damaging relationships and without giving up on our own needs.
Handling the inevitable issues that arise in life is a topic that frequently surfaces in conflict coaching. Proactively and consciously identifying a path to managing conflict is a powerful first step, an authentic one. Supporting our clients as they sift through the various ways of dealing with conflict themselves is just one of the key coaching skills so worthy of exploration and growth in your coaching journey. Think you have what it takes to be a conflict coach? Take the quiz here.
Dr. Laura Belsten, is Dean of the Graduate School of Coaching, a Master Certified Coach (MCC), and a national leader in the field of Emotional Intelligence. Personal Power is one of the twenty-four key competencies of the Social + Emotional Intelligence Profile ™.
It’s time to put the biggest obstacle to coaching your team to rest. During a study to determine how — or even IF — managers matter, Google’s people analytics team identified eight key behaviors demonstrated by the company’s most effective managers. Can you guess which leadership skill is right at the top of the list?
“A good manager is a good COACH.” (Project Oxygen)
(See “An Open Letter to All Leaders” for the rest of the eight key behaviors)
In fact, many more businesses are getting the message that coaching skills can boost both a manager’s effectiveness and their employees’ engagement, and are including ‘coaching’ in managerial and supervisory job descriptions.
That’s a giant step in the right direction because coaching is a unique set of communication skills that, when mastered, deliver a double benefit: these powerful skills both build positive, respectful relationships AND empower teams to get the work done. When employees are coached well, and then feel valued and inspired, they’re much more likely to show up every day willing to do their best work.
If you oversee the work of others, you’re probably already familiar with coaching as a powerful relationship management skill. And if you’re a busy leader, careening from deadlines to crises and back again, you’re probably thinking one of the most common Yeah, buts:
Yeah, that’s all well and good, but I don’t have time to coach my team members!
It’s a general misconception that coaching a direct report has to be a scheduled, sit-down, lengthy, in-depth meeting. If that were the only way you could coach an employee, of course it would be difficult to work that into your already packed schedule every time an employee had an issue, question, or needed clarification.
The good news is that coaching your team members to be more engaged, self-sufficient, and responsible doesn’t have to take any more time than you spend with them right now — if you do it right.
Here are just a few of the many ways you can get more done in less time — and save your company money — when you integrate powerful coaching skills into the regular conversations you have with your team members every day:
When you model respectful and professional communication skills, your team can bond more quickly as a drama-free, cohesive, co-creative, and collaborative unit.
If you truly want a high performance team that gets along and gets the work done, you don’t have time NOT to coach them!
Author LAURIE CAMERON, founder of WakeUp! Enterprises, is lovingly dedicated to spreading massive amounts of respect, kindness, and compassion as far and wide as she can. Her path to accomplish this is to teach the power of coaching to as many people as possible because it’s a unique communication tool that both builds positive, co-creative relationships AND gets stuff done. http://wakeupenterprises.com/
In her 18+ years of coaching hundreds of clients and training over 1000 professional coaches, she firmly believes that everyone can benefit from learning and mastering coaching skills. She is available for individual and small group coaching skills training, and mentor coaching for leaders who coach their teams.
Laurie is a senior faculty member at Coach Training Alliance, and is a Certified CTA Coach. She is also a Master Certified Opposite Strengths® Executive Coach, a Master Certified Relationship Coach with Relationship Coaching Institute, and a Certified Master Mind Facilitator.
She currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors for Mentor Me, a youth mentoring organization in Northern California, and treasures the time she spends with her 15-year-old mentee. Laurie is very active in the Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce, regularly volunteers her time at numerous non-profit organizations in the community, and she loves living in the Petaluma Gap.
by David Krueger, MD
Leslie consulted me because she wanted to expand her clinical practice but felt stuck. She said she wanted either a Money Coach or a CEO Coach. An acknowledged expert in a niche area, she supervises the clinical practice of some therapists who work for her. Although she has a busy practice, she had income far below her recognized expertise.
We focused on her goals, and what she did uniquely well her primary passions. She completed my Needs, Ideals, and Concessions assessment tool to select the three needs and three ideals that best represented her core self. We immediately recognized a dicotomy between her wish to be taken care of, her need for autonomy and self-enhancement, and her ideals of mastery, creativity, and teaching others. Her needs and ideals conflicted, and were not in synchrony with her goals. She couldn’t get there from here, because all of her wasn’t going in the same direction.
Money resonated with emotional issues throughout most of Leslie’s life. She still held the hope that she would be nurtured in ways she felt she missed in childhood. For Leslie’s busy professional parents, money served as proxy for love and availability tangible evidence that they cared for her. To make substantial money now meant she would give up her wish of being taken care of by someone else: the ghost of the old story, still hungry. Success and money accumulation would mean Leslie was taking care of herself, which she wanted. But then the fantasy dies. The impossible had become accessible, though now by her own efforts.
We examined four arenas of her practice: what she wanted to change, exclude, avoid, and enhance. She refined her vision, established SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. She fashioned three initiatives for each goal. Our collaboration focused on specific strategies to navigate change.
One result of our work was that Leslie happily expanded what she did uniquely well consulting with individuals and families. We also found a way to strategically leverage her time and income by licensing people in her program; she franchised a component of her business to a national group for significant royalty income.
Healthcare professionals or executives encounter issues that require awareness of emotional intelligence, motivation, behavior, and how people succeed. Their navigation of these matters influences many people inside and outside a system.
Certain human needs are universal, and remain present throughout life: emotional connection, effectiveness, and intellectual stimulation. These needs have even more valence with increased demands, at times of change, and with stressful challenges. Professional Coaching addresses these needs with a new delivery system for mentorship, accountability, partnership, and co-creative work.
As a Professional Coach, I help people write the next chapters in their business stories: what’s next, how to get there, and how to succeed at what happens after what happens next. My clients develop their success skills by learning more about themselves, human dynamics, and systems.
At various times with each client I am guide, strategist, empathic listener, Dutch uncle, teacher, and collaborator. And we do many things together: engage visible obstacles to visualize possibilities, align vision with needs and ideals, reframe concerns into possibilities, move fears into intentions, and co-create options.
This confidential collaboration, usually done by weekly telephone appointments, addresses core aspects of growth. Our work usually centers on common themes:
In a Harvard study begun in the mid-1950’s, 10-15% of the Harvard Business School graduates fashioned a specific vision for their life in business. Five decades later, those 10-15% had 90% of the assets of the entire group.
The Lore Institute found that about 80% of large companies use Executive Coaches to develop leadership, enhance emotional intelligence, and ensure success at times of significant transition. Three recent business impact studies demonstrated an average of a six-fold return on investment for money spent on Executive Coaching.
Stories are how we understand and how and how we remember. Our plot–our core beliefs and assumptions—informs what we notice and how we process experience. We then create narratives according to that plot. A story holds together facts, and relates information.
We ignore facts that contradict what we believe. We see only what fits a recognizable pattern on our personal radar. We believe not as much what we want to believe but what we expect to believe. Our brains and emotions are both programmed this way. We believe according to our self-image. Our views are self- statements of our perception. We also use logic and reason after the fact to rationalize emotion-based experiences. Although we see ourselves as principled, logical and objective in sorting through the facts, research demonstrates that we make decisions based on emotion, colored by bias and belief.
We see what we believe.
People see what they look for, and want to make sense of what they see. And what they look for—what appears on the radar screen—is determined by belief and assumption. For example, the most common reason people don’t earn more money and accumulate wealth is that they don’t see themselves capable of it. Once someone genuinely sees himself or herself as capable of doing it, all sorts of thing begin to happen.
The seminar room was packed with marketing executives who came to hear coaching on how to create their hottest market tool: their own book. I stepped to the podium and asked, “Have any of you seen a yellow jeep in the last month?” They registered disbelief, and finally puzzlement as they realized I was waiting for a response to a legitimate question. Finally one person tentatively raised his hand, as though he were still questioning either my seriousness or his memory.
I told them they could see a yellow jeep, now, if they wanted to. I asked them to close their eyes and visualize a yellow jeep, the specific detail of how it looked from different angles, how it felt when they touched it, how the interior smelled.
I asked them to open their eyes, and to call or email me if they happened to spot a yellow jeep. Almost everyone contacted me to report their first sighting in the following week– most in the first two days.
The number of yellow jeeps—or wealth—existing in the world doesn’t change, you just code your radar for possibility. You become what you think and feel. Beliefs become reality.
A farmer and an anthropologist pass through the same terrain of undeveloped land. The farmer sees the soil and envisions growing crops. The anthropologist sees signs of an ancient civilization and reconstructs its history. Both are right. The data viewed validates each individual’s story.
Using beliefs and assumptions, you create your own personal story and the themes of that story. The plot that you create defines and orients you in the present and guides you toward the future. The stories you tell about your life becomes your life.
Similarly, internal beliefs determine perceptions, including how you select, register and process everything you encounter.
Scientists went to a lot of trouble to discover what mothers have always known about banishing closet monsters that a placebo generates the effect of the accompanying story. The inert pill is really a story of expectation, taking the form of a medicine to work its magic. The patient is also prescribed some expectations, and in the majority of cases, they manifest. The effect validates the power of story. The story generates a truth so powerful that it can even reverse the pharmacological effect of a real medicine. The placebo is a white lie, a fiction that creates a truth. This effect shows that someone can create an experience by anticipating it.
Your experiences are always consistent with your assumptions.
Change begins with the recognition that you are the author of your own story. People perceive and remember what fits into their personal plot–an internal model of oneself and the world. Beliefs and assumptions dictate what you look for, and attribute meaning. You always find or create that which validates those beliefs, and ignore, mistrust, disbelieve–or more likely don’t notice–anything that doesn’t fit into that pattern.
The best way to escape an ongoing problem is not to create it.
Recognizing constraint and limitation, coupled with the desire to change, may give rise to the question, “How do I get out of the story?” The question assumes the story is there, a given in the universe. The story (the proverbial “box” of the familiar and accepted) becomes the obstacle, yet it is not there until created. To recognize yourself as the author–the creator of the story–challenges an assumed model, usually your own. The question may then become “How do I create something else instead?”
Creating a plan and plotting a course allows you to stay on track, recognize and avoid detours and tangents, and move more effectively toward goals. Without a plan, you can’t know where you are, and cannot strategize to get to where you want to go. If you don’t know where you want to go (a goal), you can’t figure out how to get there.
People are always free to change their minds, always free to change beliefs and core assumptions.
Change references the past. Transformation creates a new present and future. To stop doing something is not complete change–a new story incorporates new behavior and beliefs. New theory does not supplant old story. You have to embody–actually live–the story you want. Abstaining from an old story–such as symptomatic eating–is a beginning.
You have to have a new story to be in before you can give up an old story.
To become a hero of your own story, to become your own authority, requires establishing an internal ideal and living up to it. Plot is what your hero does; bad writing is making your hero do things to fit into the plot; ghostwriting is fitting into someone else’s plot.
Reprinted from the NeuroMentor® Blog Series by David Krueger, MD at www.MentorPath.com
Complete this sentence: If you want better answers, you have to…
I imagine your answer is the same as every leader in my coaching skills leadership development programs:
…ask better questions!
That’s close.
After the last 16+ years training professional coaches, and now training leaders to integrate coaching skills into their everyday work conversations, I’ve realized that this statement needs to be modified to:
If you want better answers, you have to CRAFT better questions.
We all know how to ask questions. We’ve been asking questions since we started talking. But too often the questions that pop into our heads and come out of our mouths are not all that great, and might ultimately be counterproductive or even outright destructive. And these random, poorly thought out questions waste a lot of everyone’s time, money, and energy.
It’s important for leaders, managers, and supervisors to know how to intentionally and strategically craft powerful questions that both build positive relationships with their team members and focus on tangible results. This is the heart of facilitating efficient and productiveCoaching Conversations*. Lucky for you, knowing how to put words together in a specific and deliberate way to get the desired outcome is a learnable skill that can be practiced and mastered over time.
(* The dual intent of a Coaching Conversation is to (1) create a positive, collaborative connection, and (2) efficiently move the conversation through a concise and focused exploration that leads to a specific plan of action and accountability.)
A great place to begin this new learning process is to add some basic coaching-style questions to your leadership toolbox that you can pull out as needed and tailor to different situations. Here are ten of my favorite “toolbox” coaching questions, along with what makes them so powerful. Not all of them will be appropriate in all situations, and you will likely adjust the wording a bit to fit your own communication style or team’s culture. But this is a solid place to begin.
(To customize the question, fill in the “…” with the specifics of the particular situation.)
This is a “begin with the end in mind” (Stephen Covey) question and gives your team member permission to let their creativity come out and explore. It also tells them you value their opinion, perspective, and expertise. The results may look different in the end, but it gives you both a place to start the exploration and move towards a resolution.
I love this toolbox question because it asks your team member to project forward to the point of success and start creating evaluative parameters up front so they can track their progress. This is a lot better than staying stuck in re-hashing the past, which is a gaping black hole where nothing will ever get created, other than frustration.
This question helps your team member connect the dots between a particular solution and the bigger picture, rather than looking at a situation or challenge in a vacuum — because everything is connected at work. It also helps them anticipate the possible ripple effects of solving a particular challenge.
This is my favorite toolbox question to ask a client who gets stuck in “I can’t” and feels mired in an either/or dilemma: they have to either do everything or nothing. When a team member is feeling restricted by time, resources, or budget, this will help them shift their focus out of the mental dead end and into possibility thinking.
This is one of my all-time favorite toolbox coaching questions. It both assumes success and kicks the problem-solving brain into high gear. Even if a team member’s initial answer is “I don’t know,” trust that their brain is getting engaged. Some options for completing this are:
What will it take to …
… move forward?
… turn this around?
… make this right?
… leverage this so it becomes a benefit?
… do what you need/want to do?
… make this a reality?
This is another strong strategy-focused and creativity-engaging question. You’re asking a team member to anticipate the foundational needs to ensure success, and to begin putting all the pieces together in their mind.
This question brings your team member’s focus back to the here-and-now. It’s important to balance creating and tracking the vision of success with what has to happen today in order to reach that vision; it’s gets them thinking about the next doable step.
I love quantifying commitment for a few reasons. Although I’m sure you want to assume that your team members are fully committed to their work, the team, the project, the company, and the customers, asking them outright in certain situations can set the stage for accountability. If they say “10” (or “100%”), it’s been stated out loud, which makes it more compelling to live up to. This question can also open the path for growth. If you’ve built a trusting relationship where they know they can be honest with you, and it’s less than a 10, this opens the door to more coaching, mentoring, or training to figure out how to move them towards a 10.
This question creates continuity from one action or plan to the next, all building toward the final goal. And once an action step or plan has been identified, this question will also help your team member identify the relevance of their action — WHY doing it matters. This relevance is critical to sustaining employee engagement, motivation, and enthusiasm.
Another important facet of relevance and employee engagement is making sure your team members can connect the dots between their own work and your organization’s larger vision, mission and goals. Nothing will sink the ship faster than team members feeling that what they do all day has no meaning in the big picture.
All the Coaching Conversations in the world won’t move your team member forward without identifying when something will be done – then doing it. Attaching a day and time to the action resulting from a Coaching Conversation with give both you and your team member clear accountability.
Author Laurie Cameron is a senior faculty member at Coach Training Alliance, and is a Certified CTA Coach. She is also a Master Certified Opposite Strengths® Executive Coach, a Master Certified Relationship Coach with Relationship Coaching Institute, and a Certified Master Mind Facilitator. Learn more about Laurie: www.wakeupenterprises.com
It’s no secret that employees who like their jobs and their managers work harder than employees who don’t. While managers once looked for ways to control and even intimidate their employees into working harder, the 21st century manager has discovered the wisdom in the adage “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”. Recent studies have shown significant increases in productivity and reduction in employee turnover when employees have an emotional tie that binds them to the organization.
It almost goes without saying that this same attachment results in a better attitude in the way the employees treat the customers and hence improvement in customer satisfaction.
Employee engagement never happens by accident. Instead employee engagement is the direct result of decisions by management to value their employees, listen to their thoughts and ideas, and actively seek ways to make the average employee a part of the business. My recent book and Amazon Best Seller “The Engaged Manager: Make your team a success and they’ll make you a success” assists managers and leaders at all levels of an organization understand what they have to do to engage their team and get the very best results from their employees.
As you might suspect, coaching also plays a significant role in the success of any highly engaged organization. Coaching Managers fully understand how to get the most of their employees through active listening skills, a strong contextual framework, and questions that encourage employee involvement and participation. How could employee engagement directly benefit your business clients and organizations?
Check out more about Organizational Coaching certification programs here: http://bit.ly/Organizational-Coaching-CTA
Author: Dave Meyer is a Mentor Coach and Trainer for CTA’s Certified Coach Program. He is an experienced veteran of coaching and author of The Sage and Scholar’s Guide to Coaching Assessments.
We often hear “knowledge is power.” While it is true that knowledge can be power, when it comes to change, knowledge alone just doesn’t get it done.
Recently, I was engaged in a conversation with a well-known executive coach whose niche is CEO-only coaching. We were working on leveraging his work and the leadership of his clients through the introduction of coach training to the management teams his clients lead. Seeing coaching skills more extensively and properly deployed into organizations is a particular personal passion. He asked for a seminar and I walked him through why seminars don’t have the effect of changing behavior. The conversation continued and kept circling back to the need for the training to be efficient – “get here and get it done.” Then came the Skittles.
Throughout the conversation, I had been eating from a bag of Skittles (one of the big bags). Reaching in again, it dawned on me. It’s not about knowledge. Results come from change of behavior, not from simply knowing what’s right. I pointed out that I am fitness focused, married to an athlete and wellness coach, studied Nutritional Science in college and am pretty focused on maintaining a healthy diet. I know about empty calories, the pitfalls of blood sugar spikes. I have knowledge, yet I reach for Skittles (a few times).
It’s not about knowledge transfer. Proper and effective training is about the behavioral adoption of knowledge. Power comes not from the knowledge but from the shift and resulting change. We call it “walking the talk” at CTA. But to walk the talk you need not recognize and describe the act or art of walking. You need to move your legs often enough in a regular pattern to insure the motion of walking becomes second nature. Therein lies the power of extended coach training – regular, effective, guided testing of knowledge-based skills until the knowledge becomes a proficient, natural and powerful skill.
In coaching, it’s not about knowledge, it’s about shift and resulting changes in behavior.
Author: Chris Osborn is the President of Coach Training Alliance. His lifelong learning includes experience as CEO of a large financial services company and founder of several growth oriented service companies.
It’s that time again …have you made your New Year’s Resolutions? Or are you like many well-intentioned people who have decided it’s a losing battle and not worth the aggravation?
New Year’s Resolutions are always filled with good intentions and hope for a better life this year than we had last year. But what happens when February rolls around and our good intentions have become a source of frustration and self-recrimination? There are many reasons why resolutions don’t stick. See if any of these feel familiar:
If you want to create positive change in your life, here are some strategies to help you increase your chances for success:
Author: Laurie Cameron, CTA Mentor Coach and Trainer. Author of The Sage and Scholar’s Guide to Coaching Singles and The Journey from Fear to Love.
I invite you to take my Challenge, and eliminate three words from your vocabulary.
Should is a very demeaning word.
When using should with someone or with yourself, it is an aggressive tactic. When you tell someone they should or should not have said or done something, they immediately feel defensive, forced to explain their actions or decisions.Try substituting could for should. By asking what could have been done differently, feedback turns the focus from a judgmental, negative past to a cooperative, positive future.
Why is a confrontational word.
usually delivered in an accusatory, negative tone of voice. Why did you do that? Why didn’t you do this instead? Again, the person on the receiving end feels defensive, and compelled to explain their choices. Instead, substitute what for why. By asking what happened, coming from a place of curiosity, judgment is suspended and conversation, rather than argument, ensues.
But is a condescending word.
It negates whatever was said before it. If someone speaks, and you respond with but, you imply that what they said was wrong, and that you know better. Often, a but is anticipated because of the tone of voice preceding it. Have you ever thought or said, “I hear a but coming on?” I prefer and as a connecting word. It acknowledges what the other person has said, and allows a different perspective to be expressed, without any sense of competition or judgment.
Finally, I challenge you to ask only open-ended questions. Closed-ended (yes/no) questions have a place when seeking clarity. Otherwise, all other questions become open-ended when starting with who, what, when, where, how, or tell me about.
Apply the Challenge in all of your conversations, not just in your coaching. Apply it with your family members (including children), friends, colleagues, strangers, and especially, teens. You might find it difficult at first, and you may slip many times. Once you utilize the Challenge in all of your communications, it will eventually become habit. Notice the difference in how people react to your changed communication style.
You will be surprised at how much easier it is to deal with difficult situations, once you eliminate confrontational words and ask open, non-judgmental questions.
You may also be surprised at how much information people share with you when they are not threatened by your words or tone of voice.
Nan Einarson is a Mentor Coach and Trainer for CTA’s Certified Coach Program. She is an experienced veteran of coaching and author of the Do It Yourself Relationship Repair Guide.
As a coach you have many tools at your disposal.
Armed with a Coaching Model; well-honed listening skills; the ability to ask direct, open-ended, insightful questions; and a natural curiosity you are able to help your clients by getting to the heart of their concerns.
You’ve also developed a number of techniques designed to help your client shift perspective; by looking at the problem as a disinterested third party; reversing roles; or even by shifting time. All of these tools and techniques are helpful in moving your clients forward, but there is another tool that many coaches are starting to add to their repertoire… assessments.
Many people think assessments are best suited for Career Coaches, and while it’s true that there are a number of assessments that help with people searching for the right career, the right assessment can also be helpful in coaching executives, businesses, people in relationships, or any individual who is looking to understand themselves better.
Key Benefits
The real key to assessments is not in what they tell you about an individual but in the common language they provide for working through an issue. The Client and Coach are able to hone in, much more quickly, on the challenges the client is facing in a way that is non-judgmental and safe. The common language created can then also be used in determining the desired behaviors and in planning successful next steps.
If you are looking for a great tool that enables you to breakdown barriers and move your clients forward more quickly, it may be time to consider adding assessments to your practice.
Author – Dave Meyer is a Business & Leadership Coach and a Coach Training Alliance Mentor Coach. He is also the author of The Sage and Scholar’s Guide to Coaching Assessments.
Do you have clients who are struggling with their careers?
There are times in all of our careers when we are at a crossroads. Some of us actively seek our next step, while others wait for the next step to come to them. If you believe you can have a career that brings you excitement and fulfillment, then you will have that. Coach your clients to a career they love by walking them through these five simple steps:
1. Describe What You Want
You cannot get what you want until you can describe what it is. What do you see yourself doing if there were no perceived obstacles in your way? Give yourself the freedom to brainstorm and the answers you are seeking will come.
2. Explore Your Options
What did you learn from Step 1? Take your realizations and turn them into real career choices. Begin researching and using contacts you know today, or people you haven’t met yet, to help you.
3. Create Your Game Plan
Take what you gathered from the exploratory process and put these steps into your calendar.
a) What I want.
b) When I will get what I want.
c) The actions I will take to get there.
4. Implement Your Plan
Keep the momentum going. Set daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Persistence and forward movement is what will help you reach your goal.
5. Reach Your Goal
You made it! Applaud yourself for your hard work and effort. Congratulations on discovering you can handle anything that comes your way.
Author – Deborah Brown-Volkman is is the creator of the Career Escape Program™ and author of The Sage and Scholar’s Guide to Coaching Career Transitions.
There are things we don’t want to happen, but have to accept; things we don’t want to know, but have to learn; people we can’t live without, but have to let go. And some things we can get ready for only after they’ve already happened.
The change is the event. The situation. You move to a new city, divorce, retire, experience a significant loss, take a new job, lose an old one, or change careers. As we focus on change, we address the rituals of change, the work tools, the strategic goals. And every ending begins something new. The transition is the process. It’s the internal story of change: a shift in orientation, even in definition. In transition, we let go of the old story, the outlived chapter, and evolve into a new story. A new identity internalizes the changes to sustain and enhance them. Otherwise, this most powerful organizer of the human psyche, our identity, is what we return to no matter what new behaviors we engage in – unless we evolve our identity along with the new experiences. We can develop a transition story that provides the coherence to reassure in the present and foreshadow the future.
The ability to understand the dynamics of both change and transition, and to craft a meaningful story is essential to the success of dealing with significant life change. The strategically informed bridge between past and present creates a successful passage to the uncertain future. There is both an art and science of coaching transitions: understanding the dynamics, developmental stages, and strategic steps. It’s the ending that makes the beginning possible.
Author – Dr. David Krueger, M.D., is a Trainer/Mentor Coach and Dean of Curriculum at Coach Training Alliance. His latest book, The Secret Language of Money (McGraw Hill) is a Business Bestseller translated into 10 languages.
“Maybe, if it’s the boss who is becoming the weak link when trying to figure out critical issues.”
Three years after launching his Denver-based business, Transcription Outsourcing, in 2010, CEO Ben Walker wanted to add employees and move to a larger space. But there was a big obstacle: him. “I needed a sounding board, someone with a lot of experience I could talk through my challenges, and who had helped other companies,” he says.
In 2014, through friends’ recommendations, he met Bill Treadwell, a local business coach in his mid-70s. The two communicated easily, and Walker hired him. Soon, Walker was huddling for a couple of hours once a month with Treadwell for a flat fee. What ensued were assignments of books to read, heavy scrutinizing of financial statements, analysis of expenses and elimination of unnecessary ones, and advice on how to better interact with his team. By early 2015, Walker had reduced expenses 35 percent and improved the employee retention rate. “My coach has had an incredible effect on the bottom line and overall office morale,” he says.
Transcription Outsourcing’s 2015 revenue beat the previous year’s by 30 percent. Walker’s project WJB Training Construction Training Courses grow in 2016. “What’s even better than his still being my coach”–they now work more by phone and email–“is that he’s become a friend and a mentor,” he says. That won’t happen with every business coach. And you’ll need to vet candidates carefully–there are varying certifications. But the first question is: What are you trying to fix? Follow this guide. Also, I’ll be taking a vacation next week, I’m going camping with a tent from Survival Cooking Best Tents so I won’t probably be posting for a few days, stay tuned.
by Dave Krueger M.D.
Coaching is only beginning to be discovered by professionals in legal, financial, medical, and architectural arenas. These practicing professionals tend to be highly and specifically trained at what they do, think rigorously and want active collaboration.
They have in common a career dedicated to a body of knowledge, with clients or patients who come to them for the sole purpose of purchasing their expertise. Their precise training solves specialized problems of medical illness, emotional struggles, legal issues or tax matters.
Coaching professionals offers unique opportunities and challenges. They can benefit from coaching to:
Coaching this unique brand of client requires an in-depth look at the coaching theory and application that is useful for professionals. Get inside your client’s head to catalyze change and discover the most powerful and effective secret we have as coaches.
DAVID KRUEGER, M.D., Dean of Curriculum and Mentor Coach at Coach Training Alliance, is an Executive Mentor Coach who works with executives and professionals to develop and sustain success strategies. A former Professor, Psychiatrist, and Psychoanalyst, his coaching and writing focus on the art and science of success strategies: mind over matters.
Dave is author of 17 books on success, money, wellness and self-development. His latest book, The Secret Language of Money(McGraw Hill), is a Business Bestseller translated into 10 languages.
Chris Osborn, president and chief executive of Coach Training Alliance discusses coaching and how he “got into it” with Maggie Shafer of the Northern Colorado Business Report.
Take a moment to read this Coaching Q&A learn a bit about our CEO.
http://www.ncbr.com/article/20131101/EDITION02/131039983/-1/EDITION
In addition to our programs for individuals who want to go out on their own as a professional coach, we also have programs for companies. Explore how CTA can create customized workshops, provide basic training for front line managers, train internal coaches and prepare emerging leaders to meet the demands of the modern day workplace.
Discover how organizational coaching can contribute significantly to your corporate goals. When employees are coached internally – they thrive, find more satisfaction and are empowered to advance their knowledge, becoming more valuable to the organization.
Imagine what a coaching culture can bring to your organization.
Coach Training Alliance is a leading global coaching organization. Our International Coaching Federation certified programs, courses and workshops create positive change that delivers long-lasting impact.