I read a life philosophy the other day. It wasn’t about coaching but it might as well have been. It went something like this: The past and the present are statements of what is. I can’t change them. I can only affect what is going to be. In that vein, here is the next edition of Monday Magic, designed to share some of the “change agent” wisdom we find in other blogs about coaching.
Some Things Don’t Need a Coach: While I think that the presence of a coach makes some activities easier, coaches sometimes make things more complex than they should be. The blog, Effortless Abundance, draws the simple bond between thought and action as it discusses the importance of affirmations. You can read the blog article by clicking here.
Be Yourself. As director of the DSWA Coach Excellence program, one of the hardest skills for student coaches to achieve is being natural. In most conversations, we try to be empathically listening, talking about what intuitively arises during the talk, and generally following the agenda that just casually arises. New coaches often think they have to follow a formula and create an awkward setting for an open coaching session. I discovered I’m not alone in my feelings. Open and genuine coaching is a difficult skill. You can read what the Center for Management and Organization Effectiveness has to say about it by clicking here.
You Gotta Ask. When I coach people trying to uncover new, practical knowledge, I often ask the question, “Who do you know that will let you pick her brain?” The follow-up question is, of course, “What would you ask?” Michael Hyatt was recently interviewed about leadership, and these were the questions he had to answer. I’d love to hear your reaction to the list. Read the interview list by clicking here.
The Hawaiian Way. As part of my transparency, I am revealing that I originally subscribed to the Talking Story blog in an attempt to better understand Grace and Nicki Keohohou. While the blog is a joint effort, the main force behind it is Rosa Say and her Hawaiian based group. Each culture has some unique approaches to coaching, and I thought that this might help me understand the Hawaiian way. I am fascinated by the relationship between words and the way we shape our world with them. This article on Ho‘o (translated as “make something happen”) will show you want I mean. Click here to explore Hawaiian coaching.
We’d love to hear your reactions to these brief articles. Pick one, read it, and offer a comment. What have you been reading lately? Share it in a comment or even a guest post.
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About the Author: Neil Phillips is Director of the DSWA Coach Excellence program and founding partner of Team Connections. Get more from Neil on his Direct Selling Notebook and Twitter.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I loved the article by Rosa Say. It reminds me that we can create different meaning from words. Last week a student said “challenge” is negative, which is true for her. For me challenge brings to mind adventure, a hill to be willingly climbed, and a victory to be won. This article reminds me to ask for the feelings and connotations behind my clients’ words.
This was great – I always appreciate your insight and the resources you share. I especially liked the “Be Yourself” & “You Gotta Ask” sections. Looking forward to the next post.
Aloha Neil, good to meet you. Thank you for sending the trackback so I could find your blog; you have created a great resource here. I appreciate you sharing my article, 3 Ways Managers Create Energetic Workplaces.
One small point of clarity, that Talking Story is primarily written by me on management and leadership topics. I am guessing you may have also seen Joyful Jubilant Learning, where I serve as the managing editor – we do have over 50 authors contributing to a a monthly learning theme there, and I warmly invite you and your readers to join us.
Dana, your comment resonates with me, for I have a very good friend who insists she is a pessimist and not an optimist, and I have always struggled with her identifying herself that way (she does not demonstrate an pessimistic attitudes to me). We talk about it often, and yet we will never come to a shared definition of those two words, pessimism and optimism – it is very much a cultural difference between us.
Vocabulary and “Language of Intention” is something we talk about within our Ho‘ohana Community, always seeking to have clarity and better understanding between us.
Thanks for the clarifaction. You caught me. I subscribe to Joyful Jubilant Learning as well. I loved the triangulation (how many angles can 50 people produce?) that goes along with the monthly themes and have even expanded my library to incude some of the books referenced.
I’m loving the multiple points of connection Neil, truly (looked you up on Twitter too!)
Never thought of JJL as the “triangulation” you refer to – another example of our language choices? We do thrill to what we think of as an abundance mentality there – something I can tell is very much in play here as well, in your generous spirit of sharing resources. Again – thank you so much.