Tag Archive for: coaching
To don’t list!
Asking Questions
What will you do differently because of what you learned today?
Asked any good questions lately?
Questions can be extremely powerful. They help us to think, feel and do things differently.
We all need to learn how to ask great questions!
Some professionals like doctors, lawyers and journalists are taught how to ask great questions as part of their training.
In my own professional career through sales and coaching, I have found it equally important to be able to formulate and ask the right question.
Questions aid performance, close sales, help provide inspiration and direction, they even help to build trust and rapport.
“Management teams aren’t good at asking questions. In business school, we train them to be good at giving answers.” – Clayton Christensen.
It’s time to be a little more curious. Asking questions is an important part of life and learning.
As a coach, I am constantly asking questions to help clients move forward.
– What do you really want?
– What do you need most right now?
– So what?
– Why now?
– How can you be truer to yourself?
– Can you tell me more?
What question can you use today to unlock your own potential?
Deep Change
“What is your favourite book on change?” asked a course participant.
I’ve spent the last week talking and facilitating workshops all about change (again).
It is likely you are aware of a few change models, including the Kubler Ross Change Curve, Kotter’s 8 stage model, Bridges Transition model, Prosci’s ADKAR model (lots of models) et cetera.
But if you want to really change in your personal life or in your organisation, consider this thought from Deep Change – Discovering the Leader Within from Robert E.Quinn – “Deep change differs from incremental change in that it requires new ways of thinking and behaving. It is change that is major in scope, discontinuous with the past and generally irreversible. The deep change effort distorts existing patterns of action and involves taking risks. Deep change means surrendering control.”……
This is an introspective journey that will challenge your thinking, you’ll need a reflective journal, in Bob’s words it’ll be like “walking naked into the land of uncertainty”.
You will be introduced to new ideas, new ways of thinking, new ways of behaving and can put an end to the slow death dilemma forever.
Consider this book a masterpiece!
Deep Change reveals the remarkable capacity each of us holds to change ourselves and ultimately our organisations.
Do you think I enjoyed it!?
You will too.
Don’t just do something, sit there!
“Don’t just do something, sit there!”- is a phrase I have stumbled across several times recently.
It’s extremely difficult NOT to do something these days. In the frenetic pace of life, whether it is a work task, an urgent assignment, homework, something needs fixing, the school run – taking time to “sit there” and think, rarely (if ever) tops the list of things to do.
We think far too seldomly. Conversely, we tell ourselves not to think, by saying “don’t just sit there, do something!” In several coaching sessions and workshops recently, this theme has been a topic of some healthy conversation. Ultimately, our discussion peaks at the realisation that we need to think, before we act. The lesson is that we need to put the thinking in before the doing.
In my own life, there have been many times that I have felt a bit harried, time poor and harassed. Then, some years ago, I decided and chose to change. I realised that I needed to simply “sit there” for a while every day and declutter my noisy mind. As an early riser, the first hour of every day is my precious contemplation time. Those 60 minutes of thought and study are a daily gift to myself.
A little time set aside daily to think about what really matters makes all the difference.
When will you “sit there?”
Mind the Gap
Are you FITT?
Are you FITT?
The FITT principle is a smart acronym that gives athletes a workout plan to help them achieve their goals – yet, in a very similar manner it applies to our learning and development habits too.
Ask any athlete and they’ll tell you what FITT stands for – as follows;
F-Frequency: refers to how often you exercise.
I-Intensity: refers to how hard you exercise.
T-Time: refers to how long you exercise for.
T-Type: refers to what kind of exercise you do.
The FITT Principle can help you create your own powerful learning & development plan.
For example – let’s consider studying for a new skill or learning requirement:
Frequency – how often you study
Intensity – how hard you study
Time – how long you study
Type – what type of different study tools you use
If you want to improve your learning & development ‘fitness’ – then apply the FITT principle to your plan and routine. It won’t be long before you witness a difference and your learning will be a winner!
New beginnings
I know I can’t turn back time, but this I do know…… it’s never too early and it’s never too late for a new beginning.
“Four young men sit by the bedside of their dying father. The old man, with his last breath, tells them there is a huge treasure buried in the family fields. The sons crowd around him crying, “Where, where?” but it is too late. The day after the funeral and for many days to come, the young men go out with their picks and shovels and turn the soil, digging deeply into the ground from one end of each field to the other. They find nothing and bitterly disappointed, abandon the search……
…𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿.”
– As told by Benjamin Zander in “The Art of Possibility”
Perhaps now is a good time to refine your plans for future harvests.
Is it time to start and dig a little deeper perhaps?
What new beginnings lie ahead for you?