Are You Coaching Curious?
I feel like I am always using my coaching skills. I use them as a parent. I use them with my grandchildren. I use them in every client engagement. I use them while facilitating strategic conversations, teaching about feedback, and helping people frame effective one-to-one meetings. And I use them with my colleagues.
Why? Because the ability to listen deeply, to learn from the perspective of others, and to witness people as they grow and develop is at the core of all meaningful and sustainable relationships.
Coaching is an ego-less activity meaning that when I am engaged in coaching, the coachee is the one who knows their story. They know what risks they are willing to take and what consequences (good or uncomfortable) they are willing to experience.
I am simply present to help them uncover their brilliance and empower them to take the next step if they choose. Coaching is both magic and science.
Coaching is at the heart of everything I do because the tools of coaching are the foundation of creating engagement, learning about others, sharing perspectives, and expanding thinking.
Currently I am helping a colleague expand her coaching skills and develop her coaching presence. I love this work. I’m not trying to make her a copy of me. I’m instead learning about her, her strengths and goals, and then using coaching and teaching to help her build upon the foundation of who she is in the world. Recently I helped someone making a career shift build his coaching skills and he just landed a well-paying job coaching others in his chosen profession.
It is a joy for me to partner with others to help them develop their coaching craft and to coach well simply because I love teaching, mentoring, and the art of coaching.
So many people believe that coaching is a natural talent. But the truth is that much like leadership, some people may have a natural affinity for coaching, but quality coaching also requires skill building and knowledge.
I can recognize people who haven’t been trained, or don’t understand what coaching truly is, when I see them …
telling instead of listening.
over complicating the curious questions they are asking.
falling in love with being an expert.
giving advice that doesn’t resonate with the coachee.
talking altogether too much.
projecting their own experience onto the coachee.
A challenge I see so many people face is that they take training after training to learn how to coach well, but they never put what they’ve learned into practice, simply because it is scary.
One way to build strength in this skill is to be mentored by a practiced, experienced, solid coach like me. When you work with me, I walk with you as you put all the pieces you’ve learned to use with actual unpredictable humans.
The truth is that I coaching has been so incredibly important to me in my growth as a teammate, boss, parent, partner, and friend, that whenever anyone takes a workshop with me, regardless of the content, they get access to an FREE Online Learning Center that has a whole section dedicated to coaching skills.
That’s how truly essential and valuable I believe the skills of coaching are to everyone.
If you are “coaching curious” or you’re seeking to build upon the coaching skills you already have, there are several ways we can engage. I’d love to walk with you as you begin – or develop – your coaching journey!
Reach out and let’s talk about the right pathway for you!