Executive Coaching

Build Relationships with Your Employees

1/4/2012

If you like college basketball, the names Coach K (Duke Blue Devils) and Pat Summit (Tennessee Lady Volunteers) are familiar. They are the two winningest coaches in Division I college basketball history. Both were honored by Sports Illustrated as the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year in 2011. You may (or may not) be a fan of their respective teams; either way, you can’t argue with their success.

The December 2011 SI article that honored the two coaches caught my eye—in part because I like college basketball. It also grabbed my attention because of a reference to leadership that goes beyond the obvious records and accomplishments that they both have achieved. For Krzyzewski and Summit, “coaching starts with understanding the individual,” wrote Donald G. Zauderer, a professor emeritus at American University in an assessment of the two coaches. “Both invest large amounts of time and energy in getting to know players—their values, emotional makeup, and hopes and dreams for a successful life.”

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10-10-10 Decision Making

11/23/2011

Are you looking for a quick and simple tool to help you in decision-making? A tool that can help when you are ’stuck’ and can’t seem to determine the appropriate next step? The tool I’ve been recommending of late is from Suzy Welch’s book, 10-10-10: A Life Transforming Idea.

The exercise goes like this:

Think (journal) about a decision you are facing. Answer the 10-10-10 question:

1. What will the consequences of my decision be in 10 minutes (the first 10 basically stands for “right now” – as in, one minute, one hour, or one week)?

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Coaching is more than just action planning

11/15/2011

A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason. – J.P. Morgan

Over the last several years, organizations have spent more and more money on leadership coaching for their executives and key leaders. When done well, leadership coaching can have a dramatic impact on the development of those being coached. This is due in large part to the relationship established between the coach and client. Through this relationship, and the ability of the coach to uncover the internal drivers of client behavior, sustainable results can be achieved. Unfortunately, not all coaches work with their clients to get at the drivers of behavior, preferring instead to jump to problem solving and action planning too quickly. In doing so, the client may not be able to sustain the change in behavior they are striving for, because they aren’t personally invested in the solution.

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To Lead, Sometimes We Must Follow

11/1/2011

horses

My family was recently enjoying a glorious fall day. The weather was great—the air was crisp, the sun was shining, and there were beautiful cottony clouds in the sky. The horses were grazing in the pasture enjoying the afternoon sun.

My sister-in-law commented on the horses walking back and forth across the field. “See how that horse leads the others around the pasture. Everywhere he goes, the others follow.” (To set the context, you have to realize that she is not a horse person.) As I looked out to the pasture, I saw something else. I’m no horse whisperer; however, if you have ever owned horses, it wasn’t hard to see what was really happening.

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