Introduction
The question for leaders in organizations today is how do we go about unleashing motivation, facilitating idea creation, promoting information flow and go beyond being Number One? How do we distance ourselves from our competitors? We cannot relax and take our success for granted. Our competitors are fierce and anxious to take back market share, produce the next blockbuster product, or invent some new technology to better serve customers.
One of our greatest competitive advantages is our people and culture. If we can continue to teach, inspire, and select the best, we can continue to be a premier organization in the world. We will continue to be first in bringing value added and quality enhancing products to people around the world. We will also continue to be the employer of choice.
In order to achieve this goal, managers can subscribe to many leadership theories and concepts. Some of these theories provide only a general awareness of successful leadership techniques. Some are too complex and academic to be useful in the real world. Today’s manager needs tools that are specific, detailed, and practical that will enable managers to:
help team members achieve their highest potential
motivate team members to contribute their best effort
maintain core values and standards of conduct
manage performance and results
promote innovation and help others think “outside the box”
create a culture of continuous improvement
build productive and valued relationships with customers
tap into each employee’s reservoir of experience, talent, and creativity
achieve maximum teamwork, inclusion, and communication across functions
Leaders today want practical and uncomplicated solutions that they can apply immediately. The Coaching program was designed by Dr. Steven J. Stowell and his team at the Center For Management and Organization Effectiveness (CMOE) for this purpose. Research over the past two decades revealed a lack of effective coaching skills by many leaders. As a result of field research and hands on interaction with 325 organizations in 13 different countries, Dr. Stowell has defined a set of coaching skills used by effective leaders. This road map is not a checklist or a “quick fix.” Although the steps are easy to learn, effective coaching skills are only developed when managers decide to apply them and tackle the real issues that drive business forward.
A Road Map
Coaching Skills training provides leaders with powerful, proven, and practical skills that help you define direction, shows you the sharp turns mileposts in a coaching discussion. But just like driving, the weather and road conditions change each time you set out on a coaching journey. Good judgment, common sense, along with an understanding of the person is needed to be successful. This will allow managers to gain maximum effectiveness from each interaction.
What is Coaching?
Coaching is a skill that leaders practice as they manage performance, mentor, problem solve, teach, and guide others. Coaching requires:
effective two-way communication and dialogue
observation of performance, followed by constructive feedback
an investment in helping others succeed
a focus on performance and achieving results
courage to address difficult issues, and engage others in growth opportunities
time to help people improve as jobs, technology, and markets change
Coaching is a process, not an event. It is the ongoing and consistent way in which we present ourselves, and through which we build and maintain relationships with others. Coaching is not a top-down weapon you use on a subordinate. Coaching is a partnership designed to tap into the knowledge, information, synergy, and talents people bring to the problem solving process.
Coaching Behaviors
A good coach:
- promotes open and constructive discussion
- is comfortable with differences
- uses authority and power sparingly
- is not demeaning or disrespectful of others
- creates a safe environment for interaction, disclosure, and information flow
- shares views, facts, and information in a non-threatening manner
- is open to new ideas, and to the possibility that he/she has an incomplete understanding of the situation
- focuses on learning and change
- strengthens and empowers others
- maintains high expectations and performance standards
- unleashes motivation and creativity
Conclusion
Coaching skills are not “found,” they are actively “developed” by people who want to lead and be an influence in their organization. Coaching takes some time (but not a lot of time). Time is an important ingredient and you will need discipline to manage all the priorities and business demands leaders face today. Extra time isn’t going to come looking for you. You have to think of coaching is an investment.
Coaching also takes energy. You will need to pick your battles and decide what is important and what isn’t. Your coaching effort is an asset that must be deployed wisely.
Coaching takes courage. There is always a risk that someone could feel hurt or take offense when you put the microscope on some element of his or her performance. Don’t take reactions personally. You should be more concerned if people don’t react, if they seem indifferent. If you inadvertently touch a nerve, or if people are extremely sensitive, you will need to draw on your support account.
Finally, be patient and persistent. Change frequently happens slowly for people. If you encounter someone who wants to make a quantum leap, it’s a real bonus. Enjoy it, but remember that the real work of a leader is helping those who don’t immediately recognize the need or opportunity to improve. Keep in mind that when you coach you won’t be receiving accolades and embraced as a hero. Most people need time to process and grasp the magnitude of what you are conveying to them.
Learning to be a good coach is a life long journey. The learning you are about to engage in represents a solid step along that journey. Enjoy the trip, participate and ask questions in the workshop, trust yourself in the practice sessions, and learn from your colleagues.
To learn more about CMOE’s Coaching Skills model please contact a Regional Manager at (801)569-3444 and discover what 100,000 managers have learned around the world.
Terms like Postpartum, Post Traumatic and Post Gulf War are all well-known Syndromes - mysteries no longer to the medical community or even those of us who count ourselves among the great unwashed. We hear and read everyday about the negative outcomes from life-threatening trauma. The 9/11 attacks in New York City demonstrate all too clearly the psychological devastation left behind long after upsetting occurrences.
Depression [for some, chronic] is often the most obvious symptom that denotes residual damage from ‘post psychic-scare’ and one need not be an expert to know that if left untreated, depression can deepen or intensify other more extraordinary forms of psychological discomfort.
Depression, however, is not the only indicator that establishes the presence of psychic-unbalance especially in the setting where we spend most of our time - the business workplace.
New and atypical phraseology now permeating boardroom conversations by the ‘once undaunted’ young vice presidents as well as the impromptu get-togethers, at corporate water coolers, should serve as warning signs for problems that will systemically affect corporate infrastructures.
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Legitimate Questions - Pertinent Executive Concerns
Given the unrest in the global economy and the uncertain business climate, is it unnatural for young senior executives to reevaluate their long-term personal strategies, which may or may not include their long-term commitments to you or your company?
Is it possible employees from all levels of business are extremely nervous and uncomfortable about the future - more specifically - “How they’ll play a part in it?”
Is it safe to assume that due to the current challenges we face today, most people are feeling disenfranchised - disenfranchised with the present and especially the future both personally and corporately?
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The fact is, they are! And they are suffering from something else. The “What’s Next” Syndrome.
The tendency for companies to cut back on budgets that govern things like motivation, advertising and sales training is not uncommon, particularly in down turned economies. It may be self-serving for me - a professional Sales Trainer and Motivational Speaker - to cast aspersions on the merits of such logic, nonetheless, there are too many well-documented studies over the last few decades that clearly demonstrate the importance of strong leadership and motivation expressly in times like these.
There is no argument anymore that most people are not natural leaders, preferring rather to buy into the visions of others and work for them. That said; we, as leaders, have a tremendous responsibility to do what needs to be done in these extenuating times - MOTIVATE and LEAD! It may be necessary to reduce headcount but that should serve to emphasize the importance of the remaining team - what are you doing proactively to influence [in a positive way] the thinking of your team today?
An example of what I mean took place in England during the WWII Blitz in a small factory that manufactured parachutes for the British war effort. To say the war at the time was not going well for the British people what with the nightly German bombing raids, was an understatement. The resulting fallout at the factory was missed deadlines and shoddy workmanship due mainly to demoralized and uncertain factory workers.
Still faced with the daunting task of motivating his workers, the factory owner was successful in the end, but due only to his ability to inspire employees to refocus their activities on a higher purpose and clear goal.
“You may work in a factory,” he said, ” but you are not factory workers. What you do for a living is Save Lives! The quality by which you affix every buckle, every cord, every stitch - when put to use on the front lines - can mean the difference between life or death for your sons, your fathers, your neighbors, your friends… YOUR COUNTRY!”
With a renewed sense of purpose, a clear vision and a belief that with their efforts, positive outcomes could be achieved, morale went up in lockstep with the quality of workmanship and the ultimate success of the factory.
The point not to be lost here is; if we are to focus ourselves, our employees and our country on a higher purpose and away from the fallout of negative thinking from down turned economies, NOW is the time we must step forward with Motivation and Leadership.
Workers can only be galvanized for success through strong motivation and leadership principles that are made clear thereby circumventing the inevitable outcomes from uncertain thinking,
We would do well to remember the wisdom of Sir Winston Churchill who said, “Never, Never, NEVER GIVE UP!” and the omniscience of the Chinese who say; “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago… and right now.”
Sage advice indeed for answers to the “What’s Next” Syndrome.
About The Author
Paul Shearstone aka The ‘Pragmatic Persuasionist’ is one of North America’s foremost experts on Sales and Persuasion. An International Keynote Speaker, Author, Writer, Motivation, Corporate Ethics, / Time & Stress Management Specialist, Paul enlightens and challenges audiences as he informs, motivates and entertains. To comment on this article or to book the Pragmatic Persuasionist for your next successful event we invite to contact Paul Shearstone directly @ 416-728-5556 or 1-866-855-4590
www.success150.com or paul@success150.com.
“I can’t seem to discover why I’m on the planet.”
“What is my purpose here? I know there’s something I’m supposed to be doing, but I don’t know how to find out what it is.”
“I don’t seem to be passionate about anything.”
I’ve heard these complaints over and over from my clients.
Discovering our passion and purpose is vital to our joy and well-being. The problem is that many people have lost touch with any sense of their passion and purpose and have no idea how to access this information.
The blueprint for this information lies within our core Self, our essence, the true Self that is often buried during our early years. If our true Self was not seen and validated by our parents, teachers, or other caregivers, it is likely to have gone underground. The self many of know as our “self” is generally our wounded self, our ego, the self we created to get love and avoid pain. Our wounded self has within it all of our fears and false beliefs, and does not have access to what is true for us.
How, then, do we discover our passion and purpose if the blueprint for this information is long buried? The good news is that while it is buried, it is not lost. Anyone can reclaim this information if you are willing to do the inner work of healing your wounded self.
I’ve worked with thousands of clients who, as they practice the Inner Bonding process that I teach (see our FREE course at www.innerbonding.com), gradually heal their fears and false, limiting beliefs to the point where their true Self comes peeking out. This is the vital, alive aspect of ourselves, the aspect of us that just wants to joyfully express ourselves in the world. As you allow this aspect to emerge, you will gradually discover what truly brings you joy.
In our society, we tend to ignore our special talents and choose our careers according to what will give us a sense of security. Too often, however, what makes us feel safe does not fulfill us spiritually. For example, Roger worked for many years as an attorney, but he never enjoyed it. He made lots of money, yet when he consulted with me he was suffering from anxiety and depression. He had become an attorney because his father had been an attorney and wanted Roger to follow in his footsteps. Roger had gone along with what his father wanted for him because he didn’t know what else he wanted and now, in midlife, he was miserable. He yearned to discover his passion.
A few months after starting to practice Inner Bonding, Roger remembered that he had really wanted to be a teacher. He had never seriously considered teaching because he felt he couldn’t make enough money, but now he was willing to make far less money because he was so unhappy with his present work. Roger went back to school and got his teaching credential and is now a high school social studies teacher. The last time I spoke with him he was radiant! He loved working with adolescents, and he felt he was making a real contribution to their lives. For the first time ever, he felt alive and passionate about his life. His wife decided to take up some of the financial slack by doing something she had always wanted to do: design children’s clothing. She started her own mail-order business and is thrilled with it. Their marriage and family life is flourishing because both of them are happy and fulfilled within themselves.
Ricki came to see me because she was so unhappy working as a controller of a big import business. Yet she had no idea what else she wanted to do. It took about a year of practicing Inner Bonding before her true Self told her that she wanted to be a nutritionist. Ricki hadn’t wanted to hear her true Self because she didn’t want to go back to school. Finally she was so unhappy that she decided to listen. She is now back in school enjoying discovering her passion.
While it may not always be possible to change your work immediately to something you love, if you follow your passion, it will often lead you there. And even when you have to earn money in ways that do not express your soul, you can seek volunteer opportunities and hobbies to express who you are. Often these can lead to the work that you will eventually do.
Alfredo worked as a manager of a large supermarket. With his small savings, he decided to start pursuing a hobby that had always fascinated him - restoring old cars. He used all his extra money to buy his first old car and spent many blissful hours restoring it. He was so good at it, he was able to sell his restored cars for a lot of money. Eventually he was able to quit his job at the market and pursue his passion full time. Ultimately he started a project in a prison teaching inmates to restore cars. Alfredo now loves what he does and receives great satisfaction from helping others.
Your soul has a deep desire for you to express yourself in ways that brings you joy. It is your job to discover what that is and to bring it about.
About The Author
Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books, including “Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?” She is the co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding healing process. Learn Inner Bonding now! Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: http://www.innerbonding.com or mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com. Phone sessions available.
Marie was a single mother of two children in a rural Missouri community. She worked full-time during the day and sold handcrafted leather gifts on weekends. She also dedicated much spare time to numerous charities and community projects.
Then one day Marie received some shocking news from her doctor. She had cancer, and it was spreading rapidly. She had barely enough resources to put a dent in the medical treatments she would need.
Soon, Marie witnessed what she had always known: although she was not financially wealthy, she already had the most valuable possessions on earth. Hundreds in her community and surrounding areas teamed up to help her and her family.
Many people she had touched in caring ways demonstrated appreciation for Marie’s life. Marie did not live to see the day when her bills were fully paid. However, she lived long enough to feel the love of those she had cheerfully served.
The spirits of love and gratitude multiply when they are shared. Happiness is the result of sharing love and gratitude. Giving selflessly was a value that Marie displayed all her life, and her spirit of giving lived after her in those who knew and loved her.
All her life, Marie had demonstrated the truth of this simple principle: happiness will not come from worldly possessions or fortune. Rather, it is an attitude that comes from appreciating what we already have. We can find the happiness we seek if we will first share it with others. Thenand only thenwe will have the most valuable possessions on earth: love, happiness, and increasing gratitude.
Here is a great nugget of wisdom that I keep in my e-journal. It is from Lillian Watson’s book, “Light from Many Lamps”.
“True happiness stems from a quality within ourselves, from a way of thinking of life. Of all the millions of words written on happiness, this is the oldest and most enduring truth. If the principles of contentment are not within us, no material success, no pleasures or possessions, can make us happy.”
Give the heart-felt gifts of time, caring and gratitude to someone who needs them today. Their value will increase and return to you many times.
Wishing you success and happiness!
Steve Brunkhorst
© Copyright 2005 by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve is a professional life success coach, motivational author, and the editor of Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, a popular mini-zine bringing great stories, motivational nuggets, and inspiring thoughts to help you achieve more in your career and personal life. Get the next issue by visiting http://www.AchieveEzine.com
