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Monday Magic is our effort to share some of the powerful insights found on the web with other direct selling coaches. Today’s version is has a focus on coaching techniques.
Finishing Well. I tend to view goals and activities as part of a larger stream of activities. That’s why, when I work with clients on year end planning, I often ask questions about getting ready for the new year. I never realized there can be great benefit to having closure on this year. Talking story with Rosa Say has a great post on seeking closure for your year. From a practical view, I’ve found it very useful. With three different clients this past week I raised the question of closure AND I got a different answer than I anticipated. That’s wonderful discovery!
Changing Habits. One of the most difficult items for any coach is helping a client change a habit. Let’s face it—much of what we do is by rote. If we want something different, we have to change a habit. That’s easier said than done. Leo Babauta produces a very thorough list of 29 habit changers. I would venture to say that no two people change a habit the same way, so this list provides a way of choosing the best and leaving the rest. I especially love the closing quotation from Benjamin Franklin, “Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.”
Clear, Harmonious Design. Bear with me on this for a minute. Garr Reynolds writes about presentations (as in PowerPoint design). He recently had a post in his blog, Presentation Zen, on Wa: The key to clear, harmonious design. I was struck by how this describes really good coaching. It’s about finding the greatness in little things. Read about presentations with your mind in the framework of coaching and then tell me I’m wrong.
Use Your Fear. This is not about walking over coals. It’s about using your fear as a guide for your focus. It’s about finding your passion. Click here to read Cath Duncan’s excellent insights into fear and passion.
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. Get Free Updates to the DSWA Coaching Center by Email here or via an RSS reader in the top right sidebar. We would love to have you on board.
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.
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Aloha Neil, I am so thrilled to read that the concept of “Sweet Closure” led you to your new discoveries; how exciting! You make a great point that did not explicitly occur to me either until now: We tend to be more practiced on goal-setting at a number of different ‘beginning’ times, but so much happens while we are on course, and we often find our goal has shifted in some way. Reflecting on our closure can reveal these shifts in a way that can be very affirming for us.
Thank you so very much for sharing this, both with your readers, and so collaboratively with me. ~ Rosa