CorporateCoach eNewsletter
Issue No. 39, 15th December 2003
CONTENTS
- Editorial: Monkey business
- Coaching notes: Coaching competencies
1. Editorial: Monkey business
I was talking to Lorna
Sheldon this week about presentation skills training. She explained that
one of her exercises was to ask her students to prepare a PowerPoint presentation
without words. They could use pictures and symbols only.
I was delighted, as my experience is that, powerful as PowerPoint is, it has
had a poor effect on many presentations.
I started to think of what I had used when giving presentations and was reminded
of a talk I gave to a divisional conference in Atlanta, Georgia, using a stuffed
monkey.
Monkeys are an important symbol in discussing delegation and empowerment. Indeed,
I gave one of my clients a monkey on a recent assignment. It is so easy, when
someone comes into your office with a problem for you to take it on board and
agree to solve it. This is known as picking up someone else's monkey. The little
problems that effectively stop you from performing at your optimum efficiency.
It is well described in Ken Blanchard's excellent book in the One
Minute Manager series, which features in our list of core
recommendations.
Blanchard describes the four simple rules from the One Minute Manager to pass
these Monkeys back to the appropriate keeper and reduce the burden on yourself.
If you haven't got a monkey to hand, then you can download a flash
card. Make it up with two sides so that when you show it to your monkey
holder, there is an equivalent set of messages facing you: -
- Do you really need me to make this decision?
- Do I need to be involved in this decision?
- What help do you need to make this decision?
Many managers love to get involved in problem solving. It stimulates the mind
and demonstrates their 'superior' competence. However, it inhibits learning
by junior staff and can lead to a degree of dependence.
Do you have a monkey strategy? How do you decide when and how to share ownership
for someone's monkey?
USEFUL LINKS:
REMINDER:
As the New Year approaches, now is a good time to work through Seven
Ways to Figure out What You Want™.
Although primarily aimed at individuals, 'Seven Ways' is a creative resource
that can be used by teams to generate new solutions to old problems. Exercises
cover:
- Starting small
- Deciding what you don't want
- Making your wishes come true
- Scoring your life
- Using the time remaining
- Paying attention to your senses
- Following your joy
Why not purchase Seven
Ways to Figure out What You Want™ at £9.99 (approximately $13.00)
and immediately download it?
2. Coaching notes:
Coaching competencies
It is a long time since we have reviewed what coaching is about. The international
body for setting standards is the International Coach Federation. Two studies
by the International Coach Federation have defined basic coaching competencies
and executive coaching competencies.
Not only are these relevant to coaches, but they also provide a useful check
list when selecting a coach to work in your organisation.
Basic coaching competencies
- Meet ethical guidelines of the profession
- Ability to establish a coaching agreement
- Ability to establish an intimate and trusting relationship with the client
- Ability to express active listening
- Ability to ask powerful questions
- Ability to be a direct communicator
- Ability to create and raise the client's awareness
- Ability to design and create action plans and action behaviours
- Ability to develop plans and establish goals with the client
- Ability to manage the client's progress and hold him/her responsible for
action
The core of coaching is building rapport, asking powerful questions and setting
goals.
Executive coaching competencies
Executive coaches need additional competencies including a unique combination
of maturity, professional skills and human qualities, such as:
- A firm grounding in business knowledge and competencies
- Thorough understanding of the world of the executive leader
- A broad understanding of leadership and leadership development
- Knowledge of systems dynamics (organisation and community)
- Knowledge of the framework of adult development
- High standards of personal and professional ethics
- Highly developed communication proficiency allowing them to operate in
the executive's environment
- Advanced coaching skills and capabilities
- Stature and reputation that gains respect
- A commitment to lifelong learning similar to the leader him/herself
Brefi Group focuses on Corporate
Coaching. Corporate coaching is executive coaching undertaken within the
context of an organisation's vision, mission, values – and strategy. By
working within an organisation as well as with individuals, corporate coaching
extracts the synergy that is greater than the sum of the parts.
Corporate coaches work with individual executives and with teams, we facilitate
strategy meetings and act as mentors to boards of directors. At Brefi Group,
we like to measure results against an organisation's objectives and external
benchmarks such as the IoD and MCI
competencies.
USEFUL LINKS:
We aim to make the Brefi Group web site the premier developmental site for
teams and individuals in organisations, so do please send us your suggestions
and requests for further development. And let us know what you think of this newsletter,
and comment on the content.
THIS IS A FREE PUBLICATION! Please SHARE it willingly with a friend or colleague
who could benefit from knowing more about corporate coaching.
Copyright © 2003 all rights reserved.
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Brefi Group is a change management organisation that provides corporate coaching,
consultancy, facilitation and training. Be sure to visit the Brefi Group web
site at http://www.brefigroup.co.uk
We hope you enjoyed this issue of CorporateCoach. If you would like
to learn more about how we can work together, then please contact me, Richard
Winfield:
Telephone: 08450 678 222, or +44 (0) 121 704 2006 (international)
E-mail: rwinfield@brefigroup.co.uk
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