TJ - The Publication for Learning and Development

International opinion

By Aviv Shahar (November 2004 Issue)
0 Comments Comments
Article Rating:

Poor Best

Email to a friend | Print Version

Many executives live a fast-paced life. Their lives are filled with action, but they leave little time for reflection. They’re so tuned in to demands from the outside that they no longer hear their intuition from the inside. They’re chasing ‘what works’ but are disconnected and displaced from ‘what matters’.

A century ago, when more people lived in agricultural communities, the seasons took care of the imbalances of life. The autumn moved into winter, and it was time to reflect. Life was balanced. Now, our 24/7 fast-paced environments have created a breed of people – and a breed of executives – who suffer from an imbalance: a lot of action with little or no reflection. The consequences of our living and working in such environments lie around us in multiple unhealthy ways:

  • compromised health
  • stress and anxiety
  • burnout
  • misunderstandings and conflicts
  • ineffective communication
  • ethical breakdown
  • accidents
  • loss of productivity
  • bad service, and
  • stupid system failures.

And the list doesn’t end there. It may sound simplistic, but if you take time to reflect, you may save yourself from many of those syndromes.

Today’s managers understand that honing their coaching competence is vital if they’re to successfully retain and nurture the best talent in their organisations. After finding the power of reflection, learning to enter the coaching space is the next step. Thus, a five-step coaching practice is often included in retreat experiences.

STEP 1: THE COACHING MINDSET
The facilitator invites the teams to create individual coaching tenets, such as the following.

‘As a coach, I focus on strength, growth and opportunity.’
‘The person I coach is whole; nothing is broken or needs fixing. S/he is naturally creative and resourceful.’
‘The coaching relationship is based on trust, respect and support.’

It’s vital to ask retreaters to articulate their coaching tenets in their words so that they can own it.

STEP 2: THE COACHING TOOLBOX
The facilitator explains that coaching is different from managing, mentoring or consulting. In addition, it’s a mode of operation that managers choose to enter. What’s important for each manager to remember is that the coach doesn’t bring answers; instead, he or she carries a toolbox of powerful questions, encouragements and challenges.

Teams explore optimal coaching by answering questions that help them identify the strength of a values-based and opportunity-focused approach to coaching. The key is to explore options that find the optimal path – the path in which organic growth is enabled in the best possible way.

STEP 3: THE ART OF LISTENING
The facilitator explains that listening ‘with presence’ is a whole-person effort and experience. Retreaters discuss the anatomy and body language of deep listening and practise ways to enter this zone. For example, breathing deeply from ‘your centre’ helps to put the listener in a place of no-judgement, ready to accept people the way they are. A coach has to create that zone of safety and help people accept themselves. This is the point in which change begins.

STEP 4: COACHING FOR ACTION
The facilitator explains the importance of moving the coaching process to action. Retreaters learn to negotiate and challenge in a way that empowers the people they are coaching to forward their intentions. Teams explore the use of language that is specific, clear and realistic.

This step builds accountability into the coaching process. Coaches must remember that all final decisions are to be made by the person being coached.

STEP 5: CREATING THE FUTURE
The future unfolds as a continuous flow of the present. In this step, retreaters explore how the coach can foster that unfolding process and encourage their teams to envision optimal growth and development. Discussions ensue on the phenomenon of the mind and the body as one continuum with which humans choreograph their experience of reality. Acting as a catalyst, the coach helps his or her team members reframe their perceptions of reality.

Retreaters gather in groups and take turns acting as the coach, the person being coached and the observer. By alternating roles, participants experience the dynamics of coaching from all viewpoints.

This activity allows retreaters to experience coaching first hand as a form of co-inquiry and mutual reflection dedicated towards growth.

Other possible retreat activities include envisioning exercises, exploration of future trends, coaching on specific individual and organisational issues, theatre improvisation and creativity-enhancing exercises.

Copyright © 2004 from T+D magazine by Aviv Shahar. Adapted and reprinted with permission of the American Society for Training & Development. ASTD is a leading association of workplace learning and performance professionals, forming a world-class community of practice. ASTD’s 70,000 members and associates come from more than 100 countries and thousands of organisations.


Aviv Shahar is the founder of Amber Network, a leadership coaching and consulting firm. He created and trained leadership development programmes for organisations where clarity of vision is critical to success. Aviv brings extensive experience in management, executive effectiveness and experiential learning. His integrated whole-person-development strategies are values based and opportunity focused. He coached top managers from Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, Emeritus Assisted Living, GAP Inc, Honeywell, Cisco Systems, Kellogg’s, Bank of Tokyo, Mitsubishi, Veritas Software, WebEx, Potlatch Corp and The Rockefeller University. His writings have been published by the Pfeiffer Annuals, The AMA Best of the Best, T+D and The Futurist. Aviv can be contacted at aviv2@ambercoaching.com or visit www.ambercoaching.com

Back to top | Current TJ

 

Readers Comment

Comment on this story here >

Be the first to comment on this news story