Tag: coaching

The Confident Coach 3: Levels of Listening

What makes a new coach confident about their coaching approach? How does this translate into their ultimate success as business coaches?

This is the third in a series of five articles about The Confident Coach. I thought it would be interesting to discover the factors new coaches starting out on their coaching journey report they are confident about; and how this is a predictor of their ultimate success. To do this we must track their progress over the first 18 weeks of the Coaching Master Class programme. Here’s how the programme works. After the initial training I run three coach-the-coach sessions at six week intervals. Session one focusses on the new coach’s confidence in the five key elements of the training. Session two on the business results being achieved with coaching. And session three to assess coaching capability. A couple of years ago I ran a worldwide Coaching Master Class programme for 100 top leaders. I’ve looked at my notes from coach-the-coach follow up sessions with the top 20 from this group to see what makes them ‘Confident Coaches’.

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The Confident Coach 2: Purposeful Questions

What makes a new coach confident about their coaching approach? How does this translate into their ultimate success as business coaches?

This is the second in a series of five articles about The Confident Coach. I thought it would be interesting to discover the factors new coaches starting out on their coaching journey report they are confident about; and how this is a predictor of their ultimate success. To do this we must track their progress over the first 18 weeks of the Coaching Master Class programme. Here’s how the programme works. After the initial training I run three coach-the-coach sessions at six week intervals. Session one focusses on the new coach’s confidence in the five key elements of the training. Session two on the business results being achieved with coaching. And session three to assess coaching capability. A couple of years ago I ran a worldwide Coaching Master Class programme for 100 top leaders. I’ve looked at my notes from coach-the-coach follow up sessions with the top 20 from this group to see what makes them ‘Confident Coaches’.

Continue reading “The Confident Coach 2: Purposeful Questions”

The Confident Coach 1: The GROW Coaching Model

What makes a new coach confident about their coaching approach? How does this translate into their ultimate success as business coaches?

This is the first in a series of five articles about The Confident Coach. I thought it would be interesting to discover the factors new coaches starting out on their coaching journey report they are confident about; and how this is a predictor of their ultimate success. To do this we must track their progress over the first 18 weeks of the Coaching Master Class programme. Here’s how the programme works. After the initial training I run three coach-the-coach sessions at six week intervals. Session one focusses on the new coach’s confidence in the five key elements of the training. Session two on the business results being achieved with coaching. And session three to assess coaching capability. A couple of years ago I ran a worldwide Coaching Master Class programme for 100 top leaders. I’ve looked at my notes from coach-the-coach follow up sessions with the top 20 from this group to see what makes them ‘Confident Coaches’.

Continue reading “The Confident Coach 1: The GROW Coaching Model”

Vive La Difference

Great leaders aren’t afraid to embrace peoples differences – and my grandma has a genius way of remembering why!

My Grandmother, may she rest in peace, had a saying: “If everybody liked the same thing, everybody would have fancied your Grandad!”

I mention this only because I’m struck by the continuing belief that in order to be a great leader you must treat all your people the same – and a fear that if you don’t you’ll be castigated in the name of equality.

This was brought sharply into focus for me recently whilst watching a training session where the group was asked if it was ever acceptable to discriminate in the workplace. After a slightly awkward silence the group responded dutifully that it was not – only to be told by (the fantastic) Chrissi McCarthy, of Constructing Equality, who was leading the session that, not only is it okay, but that they’re already doing it…

The shock was palpable…clearly this was some kind of mistake. This was a group of seasoned professionals with many years’ experience and a great deal of success under their belts. We wouldn’t – we couldn’t – possibly discriminate…except that we do. As professionals we are paid to make discernements and differentiations all the time.

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Leadership Interview: Tracy Zhi ‘My Experience as a Coachee’

What does the coachee’s experience look like? We see how a Key Account Sales Manager responds to being coached by her experienced Leader and raises her sales performance within a very short period of time.

This article is a first for me and for the Leadership Coach Blog. It’s also another chapter in an ongoing story about how coaching is Blooming in Shanghai. Exactly one month ago I published the article about Sales Manager Samson Zhou and the coaching he had been completing with his direct report Tracy Zhi. Now it’s Tracy’s turn to tell her story. For the first time we hear from the person being coached. So listen up Leadership Coaches; see what you can learn from Tracy’s experience as a Coachee.

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Laser Coaching

When you decide to turn a question from a direct report into a coaching opportunity it’s time for some Laser Coaching.

Laser coaching sessions are short, to the point and get right to the heart of the matter. They focus on the blockage or opportunity to get the coachee moving ahead quickly. Laser coaching sessions can be 20 minutes or less. They are often called ‘Coaching in a Hurry’ or ‘Coaching on Demand’. They may be initiated by the Coachee asking a question or by the Coach making an observation. Either way, there is no time to prepare so I thought a couple of models might be helpful to guide you on your way.

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‘Sense of being’ in Coaching and Leadership.

Coaching is a trusting relationship, and not exclusive to the coaching journey it is also applicable to leadership relationships between leaders and their followers.

In the midst of own research with learners in formal educational settings and those coached through virtual reality technologies, I discovered what formed the bedrock to my coaching and leadership interactions – Five Levers. The associations between one’s Identity, Presence, Co-Presence, Emotional Intelligence and Immersion produce an effective sense of being in those experiences.

According to Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development ([CIPD] 2017) coaching supports individuals become high-performers in their workplace activities. The coaching relationship is targeted at the specific skills, behaviour and goals identified by the individual and their employer. The duration of the relationship is variable and has no fixed timescale; it is proportional to the individual’s development and Mastery of practice (Pink 2011). From the onset, a coaching relationship has a purpose of aligning human abilities to organisational leadership. The Coachee has a goal to unlock and fulfil their potential; they may wish to become better furnished with know-how in dealing with complex and challenging organisational situations.

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Preparing Yourself Mentally for Coaching – Part 2

What are the concepts of ‘good’ coaching? I ask leaders to read about the concepts of good coaching before they attend my Coaching Master Class training.

Preparing yourself mentally for coaching is about coming to a shared understanding with your boss and your peers on what ‘good’ coaching looks like. This is the second of two short articles on the concepts of good coaching. It is based on the pre-reading assignment I set for leaders attending my Coaching Master Class training.

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RADA in Business and The Apprentice Final 2016

Charlie Walker-Wise of RADA in Business lifts the lid on their role in coaching Courtney Wood, a finalist on The Apprentice 2016.

Calling all Apprentice fans. I’ve decided to lift the lid on that ‘exercise’ and explain how it helped finalist Courtney Wood shine in his final pitch.

We were asked to be part of ‘The Apprentice’ final but ended up with more airtime on the ‘You’re Hired’ programme following it. If you saw it you’ll know that one exercise in particular became a running theme with Rhod Gilbert, the ‘You’re Hired’ presenter, who even made it part of his opening segment.

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Preparing Yourself Mentally for Coaching – Part 1

What are the concepts of ‘good’ coaching? I ask leaders to read about the concepts of good coaching before they attend my Coaching Master Class training.

Preparing yourself mentally for coaching is about coming to a shared understanding with your boss and your peers on what ‘good’ coaching looks like. This is the first of two short articles on the concepts of good coaching. It is based on the pre-reading assignment I set for leaders attending my Coaching Master Class training.

Continue reading “Preparing Yourself Mentally for Coaching – Part 1”