Extraordinary Leader#3 "Leader As Coach"
The Elite Group.com Pty Ltd
Extraordinary Leadership, Innovative Thought, and Excellence
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The Extraordinary Leader June 2000
Issue #3
http://www.christinemcdougall.com is currently available
for information. ==========================================================
Christine McDougall Margaret Krause
christine@the-elite-group.com margaret@the-elite-group.com
Telephone: +61 7 5538 4948 Telephone: +61 7 5575 1200
========================================================== Welcome to the third edition of The Extraordinary Leader Newsletter. Table Of Contents. 1. An Executive Summary Of The Feature Article.
2. Welcome Notes.
3. Special Announcements.
4. Feature Article. "The Leader As Coach""
5. Monthly Point Of Focus.
6. Resources.
7. Subscription And Contact Information ====================================================== 1. An Executive Summary Of The Feature Article. Imagine the following two scenarios.
1. You are about to have a coaching session with someone who is always late, never completes his or her work and pulls the whole team down constantly.
2. You are about to have a coaching conversation with someone who always goes out of their way to go the extra mile, their work is outstanding, and who is clearly in line for advancement.
How do you show up to these two different conversations? What are you thinking and where are you going to be coming from? To coach powerfully, we need to put aside our own agenda and work with what is often not seen. The ability and skill of the person being coached, or the team being coached, that may not be immediately obvious to the observer, needs to be identified by you, the coach. A leader coach needs to establish trust in order to facilitate a powerful learning experience and to achieve significant results. ======================================================
2. Welcome Notes. This month has been a busy one for The Elite Group.com
We have been working with some wonderful organisations to develop their managers and leaders as coaches. In all cases the feedback form these organisations has been the importance of coaching skills. Most of the participants have committed to developing their skills further. Based on this demand for coaching skills we will continue to write specific coaching skills articles to support you in your own development. Every third issue of this newsletter over the next 12 months will address a specific coaching skill as found in our Elite Coaching Skills Tool Box. In this issue we will look at what coaching is and isn't, and provide an overview of some of these skills.
=========================================================== 3. Special Announcements For the next few months we will be holding free monthly TeleForums in both Australia (for Australasian readers) and the US for Northern Hemishere readers. The TeleForums will be for an hour. The only expense to you will be your time, and the cost of the call into our telephone bridge. Our first TeleForum* will be;
USA- Monday June 19th at 8.p.m.. New York time.
Australia-Tuesday June 20th at 11 a.m. Sydney time. These TeleForums will address "The Leader as Coach". We will discuss what coaching is, what coaching is not, and why leaders will benefit from enhancing their coaching skills. We will also look at the skills within the coaches tool box, and do a live demonstration of coaching. If you would like to participate in our *Leader as Coach" Elite Group TeleForums*:
1. Please zip an E-mail to jodie@the-elite-group.com with "Leader as Coach TeleForum" in the subject line. In the body of your E-mail, please list your: Company Name:
Your Name:
E-mail Address:
Telephone Number:
City/State/Country:
Profession or Position:
Website: Upon receipt of your registration form, we will E-mail you a confirmation and the specific telephone number to join us. 2.. Please reserve your calendar for either:
USA- Monday June 19th at 8.p.m.. New York date and time or,
Australia-Tuesday June 20th at 11 a.m. Sydney date and time. 3. Questions? Send an E-mail to jodie@the-elite-group.com
============================================================ 4. Feature Article. The Leader As Coach. What is this thing called coaching?
Why do leaders need to become skilled coaches?
Is coaching just a fad, or is there something more to coaching?
What are some of the skills you will find in the coaches tool box? Coaching is NOT.
Coaching is not problem solving. When you are wearing your leader coach hat, you do not take the problem from the person being coached (PBC) and have it be your own. This leaves you with more to be responsible for, and the PBC with less. It is also dis-empowering to the PBC. Watch yourself in work situations and observe just how often you take ownership of the problem. Coaching is not consulting. The distinction between coaching and consulting is that a coach forms a collaborative partnership with the PBC, or the team being coached (TBC) and the PBC and TBC come up with the answers and solutions. A great coach can coach an area that he/she is not familiar nor experienced with, as coaching is about evoking answers from the PBC, versus having all the answers yourself. Coaching is not therapy. Coaching is about taking positive action in the present, and is very much directed towards the future. Coaching IS.
Coaching is a collaborative partnership between the coach and the PBC or TBC, where the coach facilitates the PBC and theTBC to improve their performance and learning. Coaching moves the PBC and the TBC strongly and quickly towards their goals while enhancing their quality of life. The word coach is taken from a four-wheel vehicle designed to take you from where you are now, to where you want to go. A coach works in the gap between these two places. If there is no gap, there is no where for the coach to coach. For a list of the Coaching Distinctions as defined by the International Coach Federation (ICF), please send an email to news@the-elite-group.com with Distinctions in the subject line. Why be a Leader Coach?
We all know that there is an acceleration of change occurring and that it is not likely to slow down. Our business and personal success will depend largely on how we are able to listen to and respond to our customers and partners. People are no longer satisfied to be told what to do, or to take advice on blind faith. Look at the medical profession as an example. 40 years ago, you went to the doctor and took his or her word as gospel. If he or she told you to do something, you did it without question. Going to the doctor these days is more for discussion about pros and cons, and to get a prescription. We have become the informed generalists, knowing a little about a lot of things. We want to be included; to be spoken with as informed and intelligent people. We long to be part of a team, a community. Studies have shown time and time again that money is not the primary motivator for work-fulfillment, recognition, and inclusion are.
The coach approach to leadership is an inclusive process. It has as its base some core competencies that we all could do with strengthening, no matter what level of skill we already possess.
Some of those core skills are listening actively, asking powerful questions and communicating clearly. Just having these skills will not make you a coach on their own. The context for coaching is critical. Who you show up as in the coaching conversation will determine how effective you are as coach.
Imagine the following two scenarios.
1. You are about to have a coaching session with someone who is always late, never completes his or her work and pulls the whole team down constantly.
2. You are about to have a coaching conversation with someone who always goes out of their way to go the extra mile, their work is outstanding, and who is clearly in line for advancement.
How do you show up to these two different conversations? What are you thinking and where are you going to be coming from? To coach powerfully, we need to put aside our own agenda and work with what is often not seen. The ability and skill of the person being coached, or the team being coached, that may not be immediately obvious to the observer, needs to be identified by you, the coach. A leader coach needs to establish trust in order to facilitate a powerful learning experience and to achieve significant results.
Bottom line-the coach approach will move either an individual or a team to a higher level. They will experience greater learning, achieve greater results and feel more connected to your team or organisation. Subsequently, the organisation, team and individuals will thrive as a consequence. As a leader coach you will create a powerful team, with team members who are more fulfilled by being personally responsible for their outcomes. Is coaching a Fad?
The Elite Group.com has as our purpose that every one be a coach. If we all have coaching skills, our communication with each other will be much stronger and more effective. Some Skills you will find in the Coaches Tool Box.
We will talk about these skills in future issues of this newsletter. The skills are:
The Five Step Coaching Conversation.
The Coaching Formula.
Active Listening.
Powerful Questioning.
Making Requests.
Transposing.
Mirroring.
Eavesdropping.
Endorsing.
S.T.O.P. (from Timothy Gallwey, author of The Inner Game of Work.) ================================================================== 5. Monthly Point Of Focus. Each month we will have a single point of focus for you to apply in your life. This month our point of focus is on being aware of how you show up in different conversations. Are you present to the conversation? Do you have your own agenda? Does your agenda stop you from really listening and hearing the other person? Are you bringing your previous emotions and stress into the present conversation? How are you listening within the conversation? Are you thinking about other things, or really focusing on what is being said? What do you notice? ====================================================================== 6. Resources. Thomas Leonard."The Portable Coach"
This is a wonderful book that will challenge your thinking on many ways of viewing life. The book is about attraction--having the things you really want come to you, rather than having to go out and chase them. ====================================================================== 7. Subscription And Contact Information Copyright (c) 2000, all rights reserved.
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