(TIP: This is all the CC blogs, except those in the category CC-TTEF-Hand-Sort, in descending date order and paginated. This is only visible if you’re logged in.)
Coaching Feedback : 8 Words to Avoid when Giving Feedback
October 4, 2013
How do we best give challenging feedback to others? What are the little tips and techniques that can make the difference between having our message heard and understood rather than triggering a defensive and hostile reaction? Recently, I learnt a new coaching tip on this topic which surprised me through its simplicity and its impact. In this week’s challenging coaching blog, I will share this tip with you and explain how to use it in your coaching and leadership roles.
Read more ›Accountability Coaching : What are your Big Rocks?
September 20, 2013One of the most common challenges faced by business leaders is to keep a proactive focus on what is important in the long term rather than to be consumed by reactive and urgent daily tasks. Many a courageous goal has been undermined via endless distractions. To counter this risk I find that Steven Covey’s story of the ‘big rocks’ is a great way to hold leaders accountable for what is important rather than what is urgent and so help them persist to completion.
Read more ›Challenging Coaching Questions
September 12, 2013What is the most challenging question you have asked a coachee? I was asked this once when presenting at a conference. Linked to this I’ve also noticed a number of Linked In discussions about questions coaches could ask. By asking for examples of challenging questions are we seeking an answer, are we looking for the ‘killer’ question or the holy grail of coaching?
Read more ›Daring Greatly : Brene Brown on Truth, Vulnerability and Courage
August 2, 2013As the Americans would say ‘Brene Brown you rock!’ I finally got round to reading Brene Brown’s hot-to-trot book ‘Daring Greatly’ and, after all the hype, I was not disappointed. Given Brene Brown’s role as full-time academic researcher, I expected the book to be highbrow and sophisticated so I was surprised at the simple, direct and casual writing style. I certainly didn’t expect references to the lyrics of rock bands Whitesnake and Rush or frequent asides to the wisdom of singer Leonard Cohen. This writing style is disarming and therefore consistent with Brene Brown walking the talk as a champion of vulnerability and courage.
Read more ›Professional Women : If you ‘lean in’ do men need to ‘lean out’?
July 5, 2013Sheryl Sandberg’s recently published book ‘Lean In – Women, Work and the Will to Lead’ is causing quite a stir. Currently No.1 in the Amazon leadership best sellers, the book is Sheryl’s manifesto for helping professional women get to the top; as COO of Facebook she certainly has the war stories to be a credible author. In particular, she exhorts professional women to ‘lean in’ and be bold to assert their place at the top table of business life.
Read more ›Support Challenge Matrix : Polishing my Loving Boots
February 1, 2013We are delighted this week to have our first guest blogger, Angela Sabin. If anyone else would like to blog on a theme related to Challenging Coaching then please get in touch. Here are Angela’s intriguing thoughts on the topic of the ‘loving boot’. (John Blakey)
‘I am a passionate advocate for John and Ian’s work on Challenging Coaching, especially their notion of the ‘loving boot’. It seems to me that offering high challenge (that’s the boot) together with high support (the love), must create the best space for client high performance. Without this vital fusion, coaching sessions could fall into the other quadrants – pointless, over cosy or stressful.
Read more ›SMART Goals are Comfort Zone Goals – It’s Official!
December 31, 2012As you set your goals for the coming year you might find it useful to read the LeadershipIQ white paper – Are SMART goals dumb. This US based leadership and training firm surveyed over 4,000 workers across 397 organisations to find out whether SMART goals (usually defined as specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) really do drive great achievements or do they keep us safely in our comfort zones. The results of this research suggest SMART goals all too often act as impediments to – not enablers of – bold action and actually encourage mediocre and poor performance.
Read more ›Deeper FACTS – From Dependence to Interdependence
November 9, 2012This week John and I presented to the Bristol and Bath Coaching Group. After discussing the FACTS coaching model we talked about chapter 10 of “Challenging Coaching” and what we call the ‘deeper FACTS ‘ for the first time. In chapter 10 we move our focus from the balance of support and challenge in coaching to the balance of freedom and responsibility in the world at large.
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