wendyrobinsonexecutivecoach

Mindset Shift – Whoa!

I was working with a group of senior academics yesterday, training them in coaching skills.  It always interests me how the coaching mindset is very different from the traditional management mindset.  And it fascinates me how this realisation, this learning, comes in different ways for different people.  We had several lightbulb moments yesterday!

Several learnings stand out for me as the trainer of coaches:

• Keep reinforcing that the Goal of the coaching session is not the goal for the problem to be solved (e.g. I want to spend less time at work), rather, the Goal is ‘what do I want to get out of this coaching conversation?’ (e.g. I want to understand why I spend so much time at work, so that I can start to identify ways in which I could reduce this).  This is sometimes a subtle differentiation, other times not so much.  But it’s always important.  Also, have the coaches write down the goal and articulate it back to the coachee.
• Help line-manager-coaches understand that even though they are managerially accountable for the performance and behaviour of the person they are coaching, when they choose to undertake facilitative coaching (one end of the coaching spectrum for line managers), they need to become disciplined in standing back from ‘the problem’, and ask open, facilitative questions.  Easier said than done, as Julie Starr describes so well in her book Brilliant Coaching. Continue reading →