IF YOU WANT TO CATAPULT YOURSELF AND OTHERS to a new level of effectiveness, then you’re in the right place. This program is aimed at incorporating psychological theory and practice, to provide you with skills, tools, tips and strategies, for making the process of coaching, a powerful agent of change for you and those you influence.
Coaching can be a game changer. Guaranteed. When it’s done right.
So the question is, how can we make coaching more powerful? How do we increase motivation and transform culture? How can we learn to become catalysts of change for the people we lead and support?
TRACK YOUR PROGRESS
LET’s START TO THINKing…
THIS SESSION ORIENTATES YOU TO THE CONCEPTS OF COACHING.
Head to the thinking bites below. Dedicate some thinking time to why you’d bother learning to a coach, what coaching is, what it’s not, is it for you and some myths around coaching. Let’s get clear on what we’re really going for here.
CLICK ANY OF THE BELOW LINKS OR HEAD STRAIGHT TO BITE 1…
5 MINS
To be really blunt, our time is our most precious asset. It’s completely unrenewable and the further we go in our career or life, the less we have of it.
So above all else, we don’t want to waste our time, or the time of others. So before you engage in this, let’s first establish why would you’d bother.
5 MINS
If you start to look into coaching literature, you’ll find there’s no one single definition of what coaching is.
Damn it.
What we can say though, is all definitions emphasise coaching as a focus on developing a relationship.
5 MINS
Unpacking myths is a great way to quickly hack into common misperceptions around topics. We love hacking, so let’s uncover some myths about coaching, blow them outta the water with some truths and in so doing, deepen our understanding of what you are signing up for.
HOW ARE YOU PROGRESSING?
HAVE YOU FINISHED THE THREE BITES AND ARE READY TO MOVE ON?…
TIME TO DO SOMETHING…
NOW THAT YOU’VE COVERED THREE THINKING BITES AROUND COACHING, LET’S LOOK AT HOW THIS RELATES DIRECTLY TO YOU.
Below are three activities designed to enforce and apply your learning. Each will take you 5-10 mins to complete. As learners, we must be able to link theory to practice if we want to retain information and integrate learning. So do yourself a favour; put yourself in the place of most potential to succeed as a coach by taking the time to integrate your learning.
CLICK ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO START DOING…
DURING BITE #1, you absorbed three good reasons why you should bother being a coach.
Good stuff. However, getting clear on why coaching will benefit YOU personally, is a crucial first step.
Head to ACTION ITEM #1, to work out why, or even if, this journey of learning to be a coach is for you…
DO YOU ASK, TELL OR SHOW? Knowing what’s expected of you as a coach and demonstrating self awareness about your mode of operation is a great start.
Head now to ACTION ITEM #2, to consider your usual mode of communication. I wonder what you will discover there? If you don’t operate as a coach much, now is the time to learn how…
HAS THINKING ABOUT THE MYTHS & TRUTHS AROUND COACHING challenged what you understand coaching to be?
As we wrap up to this session, check out ACTION ITEM #3. Spend some time considering if this journey is one you are ready to commit to…
HOW COACHING MAKES ME BETTER…
Bec gives an honest account of how learning to coach has made her a better leader and ultimately, a better person. As you consider if coaching is for you, you may find you can relate. CLICK HERE TO WATCH.
IS THAT A WRAP?
UP TO YOU.
If you’re loving the concepts check out the dig section and go deeper. Alternatively, head to the reflection questions on your ‘Progress Tracker’ to wrap this up and move on to session two.
…TAKE YOUR LEARNINGS DEEPER
THIS NEXT SECTION IS COMPLETELY OPTIONAL, BUT YOU WILL FIND A WEALTH OF GREAT RESOURCES.
We have books for a really deep dive but also videos and podcasts to get you content in different forums. At pragmatic thinking, we love videos and podcasts. It can make a commute an adventure.
CLICK ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO START DIGGING…
THREE BOOKS TO DEEPEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF COACHING…
#1: Coaching: Evoking Excellent in Others by James Flaherty.
If you don’t have time to read this right now here is the cheat sheet version.
#2: Co-Active Coaching, Fourth Edition: The proven framework for transformative conversations at work and in life by Whitworth, Kimsey-House, Kimsey-House and Sandahl.
Again, let’s give you a quick summary.
#3 Conversational Intelligence: How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results by Judith Glaser.
TWO THOUGHT PROVOKING VIDEOS TO CHALLENGE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF COACHING…
HOW TO HAVE A GOOD CONVERSATION
When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have great conversations. Truth is, most of us don’t converse very well. Great coaching conversations require a balance between talking and listening. Check out this short TED talk for an insightful and humorous look into good conversations.
THE POWER OF VULNERABILITY
Engaging in a meaningful coaching relationship will take a good dollop of vulnerability? Why, because it’s all about connection, and true connection is impossible without it. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to listen to this inspiring TED talk by Brene Brown for an eye-opening understanding of the power of vulnerability and connection.
TWO LONG FORMAT PODCASTS TO DEEP DIVE INTO HOW TO BE INFLUENTIAL…
As this session has shown, coaching is all about great conversations and beautiful questions. This session interviews Judith Glaser, an Organisational Anthropologist and world leader on conversational intelligence providing insight into how to improve our conversations.
This long form podcasts interviews legendary influencer Simon Sinek on why start with why. This session encouraged you to want to commit to the coaching learning process from a strong reason for why you would bother. Check out this podcast to get more insight.
WELL DONE YOU!
YOU HAVE COMPLETED SESSION #1. GREAT START.
Head now to session #2 where we get into the practice of coaching by learning how to set up a great coaching relationship.