An ideas exchange about what makes leadership at all levels in an organisation really work.
“Breath, breath …. enjoy life” Say good morning to Jessica Applewhaite-Walters, life coach from Panama.
I had the pleasure of working with Jessica in Panama when she was in the corporate world. Now she is working on her own account as a life coach for women. Take a look at her new website Jessica Coach.
As soon as you click the link you will smile. Guaranteed. Her smile, the uplifting music and her cheerful persona are infectious. Good luck Jessica. I expect you to change the lives of women around the world.
As Jessica says on her video welcome: “Breath, breath …. enjoy life!“
If asking purposeful questions is the front end of coaching then active listening is the tail end where the real work gets done. But who is really listening?
A lot has been written about listening skills. I list some good further reading from eminent sources below. There is also ‘Levels of Listening’ in the Coaches Toolkit on this website. I recently decided to do my own research into the subject. OK, my research methods were a bit wonky and my sample sizes tiny …. however I thought I would share my findings and see what you think. Five things to avoid and five ideas to inspire.
Receiving feedback is a great opportunity to understand the origins of the emotional storms it causes within us.
In my recent professional years, I have concentrated on receiving feedback to continue improving. My personal theory is centered on the fact that when a specific situation of my life put me in an uncomfortable place, at the end, the whole situation resulted in personal improvement. There was during an improvised coaching session with a friend when I started referring to these uncomfortable situations as “personal storms”. And it is during this so-called storms that I experienced all kinds of emotions inside of me. This is a unique opportunity that life give us to embrace these emotions and start asking us the “why’s” and understand more about us and the origin of the storm.
Are you a Leader of Leaders? If you have the responsibility for coaching leaders then you will appreciate that part of your role is coaching them to be better coaches. What are your coaching goals? When might you intervene? Why is this important? Who will you focus your discretionary coaching time on? Questions, questions, questions!
I was recently asked by one of our Blog Subscribers how I provide follow up coach-the-coach support to participants in my Coaching Master Class Program (CMC). He is aware of the CMC program but has not participated in it himself. Good question I thought. I know what I do, but I have never written it down for the benefit of others. So here we go. Let’s put that right and summarise coaching the coaches in two distinct phases: Phase 1 is immediately after the CMC training; Phase 2 is the ongoing workplace coach-the-coach support.
Continue reading “Coaching the Coach – Who, Why, When & What?”
How wiser can one become by talking. How about (really) listening and reflecting?
The other day I was reflecting and I think I became a better leader after becoming the head of family and father. There might obviously be many influencing factors like maturity, additional responsibility, and lifetime plans but, deliberating about key aspects, I realised that it has a lot to do with my ability to empathize and listen to them – something I have developed.
Last summer I decided to do some activity with my younger son (Murilo) – who was 10year-old at that time. The plan I envisioned had twofold objectives. I wanted to do some sport and longed to spend valuable time with him, who is growing very fast. The agreed activity was running and I named us the “Silva-runners” to make fun of it. Continue reading “Are you (REALLY) listening to me?”
Meraki means putting love and passion into everything you do.
Everywhere I read I see articles about success and how to be successful. The truth is that we all are capable of being successful, however that will not be meaningful until we put love and passion into everything we do. Then, and only then, we will “feel” successful. That is when you reach the “Meraki” stage. Meraki is a Greek word that can be translated to the action of putting love and passion into everything you do.
The Coach (Leader) deserves no medal! How much are you (as a leader, coach, peer, individual-contributor, etc.) doing for your team to earn a GOLD MEDAL?
The Olympics in Rio closing ceremony took place last week and it is now history! I know you must have read hundreds of articles, stories and analogies linked to leadership but Olympics being a great example of the outcomes of good coaching and dedication to practice, I would like to bring another one and relate it to the ‘coach’ itself.
Did you know that the coaches deserve no medals? They don’t! (I concede didn’t know that!)
This is the third of three Posts on the subject of Performance Management and how the leader can drive for results with coaching. Post #3 – Reviewing Performance. The other two are Planning Performance and Supporting Performance.
What does reviewing performance involve a leader doing? What options does the leader have for the way they invest their time? How does the leader add value? What are typical coaching goals? What resource material does the leader need as a platform for the coaching? What tools does the leader need from the Coaches Toolkit? I start with an overview of coaching for reviewing performance. I then draw on the experience of two senior leaders I have worked with and observed in action.
This is the second of three Posts on the subject of Performance Management and how the leader can drive for results with coaching. Post #2 – Supporting Performance. The other two are Planning Performance and Reviewing Performance.
What does supporting performance involve a leader doing? What options does the leader have for the way they invest their time? How does the leader add value? What are typical coaching goals? What resource material does the leader need as a platform for the coaching? What tools does the leader need from the Coaches Toolkit? I start with an overview of supporting for performance. I then draw on the experience of two senior leaders I have worked with and observed in action.
Como aumentar as suas chances de sucesso? Esse foi um dos tópicos discutido com estudantes de duas universidades do Brasil.
Na minha estada no Brasil, tive a honra e o privilégio de ter sido convidado para conversar com os acadêmicos de duas renomadas entidades de Ensino Superior na Região Sul do Brasil, Univille e o Instituto Federal Catarinense.
Nessas sessões, tive a oportunidade de conhecer grandes mestres/professores e acadêmicos extremamente interessados, preparados e focados em seu desenvolvimento – uma inspiração para mim!
No convite, a expectativa inicial era para que eu falasse sobre minha profissão. Porém, devido ao termo de confidencialidade que mantenho com o projeto do qual hoje faço parte, busquei outro tópico.
