When I first published The Transformational Coach, I wrote here about my lessons learned from three book launches, finding my writing voice, the different forms of publishing, naming the book, and choosing the cover design (I have included all of the links below if you missed them). Now, twelve months later, I can share what I
Developing People Is our Business
Retaining your top talent in the midst of the “great resignation”
For years, we have been talking about the war for talent. Personally, I don’t like the use of the word war here; we seem to use military and battle metaphors way too much when it comes to people, in my view. These are human beings, whose lives will be affected by the decisions they take
Your role as a (virtual) leader
Whether you lead virtually or face-to-face, your role is simple: To create value through others. Ok, so it’s simple to say, not so simple in practice. Why is it not simple? Because you are so used to doing things yourself. This is the first mindset shift of a leader: I am no longer an individual
What they say they want is not always what they need!
I’ve been tussling with something for a while now. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that I come from an employee experience background. As such, I believe that we should ask employees what they need in order to have a phenomenal career experience, rather than assuming we know what they need and providing that
How is team coaching similar to 1-1 coaching?
I’ve written a lot about 1-1 coaching, whether that is by an external coach, an internal one or a leader as coach. 1-1 coaching has a big impact on the individual, building their thinking muscles and encouraging them to experiment with new behaviours which create a ripple effect on the people around them. But sometimes
Team Coaching
My next series of coaching blogs is going to focus specifically on team coaching. Over the coming weeks I’m going to discuss: What is team coaching? How coaching a team is similar to 1-1 coaching? How coaching a team is different to 1-1 coaching? The team experience. And then I’ll finish this series with some
When to Use a Coach Approach ~ Summary: Leader as Coach
In this series for the Leader as Coach, we’ve looked at multiple conversation points where coaching – or at least a coach approach – will engage your employees more than telling them. In brief, whenever you have any of these conversations, structure them by: contracting at the start for what you each want to take
Using a Coach Approach Before and After Training ~ Leader as Coach
Training alone reaps a 20% change in behaviour. Training plus coach leads to an 80% change in behaviour. So, we’ll get a much better return on investment from the training that our people attend if we add that extra element before and after. What does that look like? It’s simple: Before the training, ask them:
Leaving an Organisation ~ Leader as Coach: When to use a Coach Approach
You might think that once a person has handed in their notice and leaving, that’s it. You can’t afford to waste your precious time on them, when you need to look forward to finding their replacement and getting them trained up. But wait. This person might be a great asset to you and your organisation,
Career Change ~ Leader as Coach: When to use a Coach Approach
One of your team members appears to be disengaged and bored with his role. He’s very capable, but his heart just isn’t in it anymore. You’ve been doing what you can to motivate him, but you haven’t managed to find that sweet-spot in your team that would make the most of his strengths, his passions
Coaching a New Joiner ~ Leader as Coach: When to use a Coach Approach
You have a new member on your team, new to the organisation even. How do you support and challenge them? If they don’t know how to do the job, then of course, training is the right intervention, at least to start with. But if they have already done the job somewhere else, and are motivated
Team Meetings ~ Leader as Coach: When to use a Coach Approach
So far, we’ve looked at one-to-ones and feedback that uses a coach approach. Let’s move on to team meetings. As always, contracting is really important, to ensure that everyone knows what they are there for. What’s the purpose of the meeting, what are the desired outcomes and what will success look like by the end
Corridor Conversations ~ Leader as Coach: When to use a Coach Approach
Coaching, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t need to be a one hour conversation hidden behind closed doors away from the work, it can be short and sweet too, ‘corridor conversations’. Tweet This! Afterall, as Teresa Amabile says, any progress is good progress. Here are three scenarios. Great opportunities for a bit
Giving Frequent Feedback ~ Leader as Coach: When to use a Coach Approach
Within your one-to-ones, and as you see things that merit it, you will want to give frequent feedback to keep your employee motivated and on-track. Creating and delivering a specific message based on observed performance is vital to effective feedback. You may have told a fellow manager, a co-worker or even your boss that he
Leader as Coach: Creating Awareness
Creating awareness comes bit by bit, and then all at once. Slowly, slowly, we (the leader as coach) help the other person to get clear on what they want to figure out; we ask questions that get them to a place of new knowing; we listen in a way that allows us to play back
Leader as Coach: Active Listening
Active listening is as much about silence as anything else. Silence is golden. That includes in your role as leader coach. Silence allows the thinker to think. So, get comfortable with silence. And when the thinker does speak, pay attention. Notice what they are saying, but also how they are saying it, and what their
