Coachwise

This afternoon I read another report showing that people’s need for effective coaching outstrips what they have available to them. According to the report, 40% of front-line leaders said they received inadequate coaching from their managers and that leaders identified coaching as the most identified skill area in which they wanted to improve. 85% of the HR professionals surveyed believe it will be critical for leaders to develop coaching skills within the next three years. Over the past few years, there has been a drop in the percentage of companies that rely heavily on coaching to develop their leaders. However, those that do develop leaders’ coaching skills see significant returns. For people who run organisations, the message is clear: make sure your leaders learn how to coach. https://lnkd.in/d8m_KESs #coaching #coachtraining #coachingskills #coachingtechniques #CoachingSkills #CoachingSkillsDevelopment

Here in the UK, it is nearly two weeks since the general election and the best of new government’s plans, in my mind, are where they are applying common sense. By that I mean doing things how someone with lots of experience in the relevant sphere would naturally do it — the way a skilled plumber would tackle a leaky pipe, for instance, or how a skilled mechanic would fix a problem with a car’s electrics. Our new government has put someone who knows the ins and outs of prison reform in charge of the prisons and they’ve appointed a highly respected lawyer as attorney general to keep them straight on legal matters. They seem to be valuing know-how over posturing. I was thinking about this over breakfast and came to the conclusion that this is similar to what good coaching does. The coach doesn’t provide any special advice — it is the coaching that's the expert in their own life — but we can help them apply their expertise and, though thinking things through and putting their insights into practice, become more expert still. We don’t help them apply any particular theory. We help them apply common sense. #coaching #coachtraining #coachingskills #coachingtechniques #CoachingSkills #CoachingSkillsDevelopment

Earlier this week, I drove my Dad to the Eye Centre in Clydebank so that he could have one of the 18,000 cataract replacement operations they carry out each year. Many big themes ran through my head that day — the importance of health, of family, the great work a slick team can carry out, the power of advancements in many fields, … — and the next day I connected all this with coaching. The better we understand how things work in the world, the better we are able to understand our coachees’ situations and dilemmas, and the more able we are to serve them well. #coaching #coachtraining #coachingskills #coachingtechniques #CoachingSkills #CoachingSkillsDevelopment

Some coachees are very impressive. Yesterday I checked in to see if one coachee had followed through on their commitments to themself and found that they’d had several useful insights while implementing the plan they came up with during the coaching session. They’d come up with a revised plan. And they were committed to implementing this new plan. It is great when the coaching process keeps working without the coach needing to be there. #coaching #coachtraining #coachingskills #coachingtechniques #CoachingSkills #CoachingSkillsDevelopment

One thing I love about coaching is when I check in to see if a coachee has followed through on their commitments to themself and I find out that they’ve done really well. This sometimes gives me a feeling of pride that I know is ridiculous, for it’s them that has followed through and not me. Sometimes I also have an urge to tell someone how well they have done and how proud I am. I can’t of course. Confidentiality has to be complete. So I’m left with a smile upon my face that I only I can understand. #coaching #coachtraining #coachingskills #coachingtechniques #CoachingSkills #CoachingSkillsDevelopment

After a coaching session yesterday, the coachee said how great it was to exteriorise the thoughts in her head. I loved her use of the word. (Its Spanish equivalent, exteriorizar, is apparently used more commonly.) It captures an important part of the coaching process — how the thoughts that circle at the back of our minds can be given clear expression during the coaching session and used as the starting point for strategic thinking and commitment making. I’m going to try to start using the word myself. #coaching #coachtraining #coachingskills #coachingtechniques #CoachingSkills #CoachingSkillsDevelopment

Thinking productively about the future isn’t easy. It’s hard to imagine what might happen. It’s hard to plan out what we will do. And it can be hard to commit to seeing our plans through. This is why coaching can be so helpful. A coach can guide you through the thinking process, leaving you clear and determined. #coaching #coachtraining #coachingskills #coachingtechniques #CoachingSkills #CoachingSkillsDevelopment

We’ve just published our June blog, Coaching and the Human Condition. Like our May blog, it casts a philosophical light upon what coaching can do for people. https://lnkd.in/e7NEJtec #coaching #coachtraining #coachingskills #coachingtechniques #CoachingSkills #CoachingSkillsDevelopment

#coaching #coachtraining #lifecoaching #businesscoaching #executivecoaching #coachingskills #coachingtips

Here in Scotland, there’s an election coming up (as there is in many places in the world) and it’s easier than ever to see what a bad method we’ve ended up for making society’s most important decisions. There’s nothing but slogans and empty promises. The focus is on the short term and all difficult topics are avoided. I’d love to see a way of making political decisions that works the way coaching works. It would start with building up a shared picture of how things are just now, then move to setting agreed ambitions. Next, people would strategise together about the best way to realise those ambitions. Finally, people would commit to their part in the plan. Would that not work much better? #coaching #coachtraining #coachingskills #coachingtechniques #CoachingSkills #CoachingSkillsDevelopment