Diary Of A Coach.com

Whose Goal Is It Anyway?

March 28th, 2007 at 11:03 am (Coaching, Coaching Clients, Coach Training, Executive coaching)

Well a week has come and gone already and I have added another layer to the box of chocolates (the one I mentioned last week). My coaching group of 10 – who range from soft centered strawberry crèmes to hard caramel hazlenuts - are all at various places in their 10 week journey. And that dynamic of starting but not finishing is proving interesting.

One of my past keys to success has been to really connect someone with why what they have chosen to work on is important to them. Typically these sorts of people want to get straight in to action. No problem at all with that since coaching is about taking action. However if one is disconnected from what they are doing and why they are doing it, it is very easy to get distracted, lose heart or give up.

So spending a little time early on getting clarity around the real drivers behind a desired goal or outcome is a worthwhile investment. The vision has to become bigger than the challenges one may face on the way. Connecting someone emotionally to their goals is vital because as a coach you can keep re-connecting them with this in times of hardship, boredom or self doubt.

In many cases it has been established early on that the initial goal is something they might like but actually are not committed to having. It may be something they thought they ought to be doing, or even someone else’s goal for them. Again, this is about commitment, although everyone has their own version of what commitment means. I am referring to commitment at its highest level i.e. ‘I am committed means I will do whatever it takes’.

Another new coaching project I started this week is about using the tools of art in a business environment. It’s not about teaching business executives to be artists or musicians. It is more an experience of really connecting the right and left brain to perform and produce results at a significantly higher level. It also puts the human element back in to our technological world. (I for one am all for this, not because I am a technophobe, but because I believe we are in serious danger of becoming de-humanised in this hi tech, fast paced and demanding environment we live in nowadays.)

Anyway, it was a wonderful weekend where participants experienced real power versus force (many think the latter is needed in order to be successful..). The testimonials at the end of the course were of the highest level and I am looking forward to working with the participants to translate their learning back in to their business and personal lives.

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A New Project

March 20th, 2007 at 10:22 am (Coaching, Coaching Clients, Teamwork, Coach Training, Executive coaching)

Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get. Well, according to Forrest Gump anyway. I say coaching is like a box of chocolates too. I never know from one week to the next what or who I am going to get. And this week has been no exception with some really interesting new clients. (I am often so inspired by the goals of my clients that I sometimes wonder whether I should be paying them – but don’t them tell that!)

I am imagining how this new 10 week coaching project will pan out, given that 90% of the people I am coaching are great at starting projects but lose interest after the initial novelty phase has worn off. At least one of them though is very steady and disciplined and takes careful measured steps in pursuit of his goals. What he would like is to get out of his comfort zone and raise the bar. Which given that one of his personal goals is to get fitter (he secretly told me he would like a six pack and he wasn’t referring to lagers), I guess he definitely will be raising the bar literally and metaphorically.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could magically swap some of our traits with others? If I were to take the best of each person I am coaching and create one person with all those attributes, what would that produce? Actually that’s not such a good idea since it would negate the need for any coaching for this perfect individual. That sounded rather mercenary. I don’t coach just for the money. I do take the money, but believe it or not, cliché as it may sound, I really do get pleasure from supporting others to get what they want.

When I first trained as a coach six years ago, my trainer said there was no such joy as being part of someone else’s success. I now experience for myself the truth in that. I am heartened by the very noticeable spirit of support and contribution with this particular group. They each have their own business and personal goals. And in addition to their weekly sessions with me, they have decided to share their goals with each other and look for ways to help and challenge each other. Two of them want to change their careers - bold steps since both are in their forties and have spent years training as a lawyer in one case and a GP in the other. Is it my pattern or theirs that I attract people wanting to get off the corporate treadmill and do something for themselves?

I have witnessed many success stories and it is awesome to be invited to launches of new businesses and to receive news later down the line how successful some of these new ventures have been. I have no doubt that this new group will create some amazing results, and that they will learn heaps, and so will I.

Watch this space for their progress and mine too as their coach.

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Whose Goal Is It Anyway?

A New Project

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