CorporateCoach eNewsletter
Issue No. 77, 1st November 2004
CONTENTS
- Editorial: Launch of Consultant Training Limited
- Coaching notes: Hurrah for Dave Buck
1. Editorial:
Launch of Consultant Training Limited
 This
has been a busy year for Brefi Group with a whole raft of developments
going on behind the scenes.
This week sees the launch of the first development. Working with our
associates at Sales 101 and Lighthouse 365, we have have established a
new company, Consultant Training Limited, to help the many, many senior
successful people who have reached the stage in life when they would like
to put their experience to use as consultants.
We know from our own experience that there is more to it than just announcing
yourself. There are specific consulting skills to acquire. There is the
whole subject of self-employment and building a new business. And, for
those who come from a corporate background, there is 'loneliness'. Suddenly,
when you need it most, there is no-one to talk to, no convenient sounding
board.
This is why many people investigate franchises. But franchising is only
suitable where there is a defined product, or a service that follows a
rigid process. The point about consulting is that it it must be flexible
and provide an appropriate response in a variety of circumstances. Our
programme provides the training, support and marketing benefits of franchising
for potential consultants.
Brefi Group has an established presence and a selection of powerful diagnostic
tools. But our main skill is the ability to build relationships and ask
powerful questions. We do this in the context of NeuroLinguistic Programming.
NLP is the study of human excellence, with a focus on communication and
change – the fundamentals of effective consulting.
As part of our intensive support and training programme, we are developing
the world's first NLP consultancy practitioner certificate programme,
with the support of Robert Dilts, Sue Knight and Lex McKee. The programme
will model the Brefi Group consultancy appoach to releasing human potential
through consulting, facilitation, executive coaching and training. Sales
101 will contribute a strong sales and business input and Lex McKee of
the Registry for Accelerated Trainers will ensure that we incorporate
both accelerated learning and accelerated training.
My role has been to ensure the rigour of the consulting processes, which
has involved identifying definitive texts and extracting core models.
Obviously, one of these is for coaching.
I have long been unhappy with the GROW model, but it is so obviously
logical that I have not wanted to deny it. But I have been modelling my
own successful coaching sessions, and they don't match GROW. So I was
really excited to read an email this week from Dave Buck of CoachVille.
Dave claims that the idea that coaching is about setting goals and creating
accountability is a myth - and has created a service that is almost impossible
to sell. So I summarise his paper below.
I attended the CoachVille conference this year because its theme was
about building successful coaching businesses - clearly relevant to our
consultant trainng programme. I was very impressed with what was happening
at CoachVille. I had not expected to attend future conferences unless
they were particularly relevant to my current interests. However, I am
increasingly coming to realise that CoachVille is where it is at. Dave
Buck and Thomas Leonard set out to re-invent the coaching profession with
the launch of CoachVille in 2001, and it seems that Dave is continuing
to do this. I was recently pleased to entertain Lance Secretan to breakfast
and learned that he is Dave's personal coach. Put Lance and Dave together
and you do indeed have a powerful combination.
Brefi Group and Consultant Training will keep close relations with these
and others setting the pace around the world, so leveraging the effectiveness
of consultants in the UK and elsewhere. Please look at our proposal at
www.consultant-training.co.uk.
I would welcome your comments.
USEFUL LINKS:
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor
I am studying for a Diploma in Management and was recommended your site
as one to investigate. It really looks good.
Jane Brett
NHS, Kent
 PRODUCT
REMINDER : Employee Development Pack
Employee
development pack
A collection of 12 forms that we have developed to provide a structure
for employee development. Includes induction, job description, appraisal
and training plan forms. Use them as provided or futher develop them for
your own purposes...[more]
2. Coaching notes: Hurrah for Dave Buck
"Coaching is setting goals and creating accountability" –
is a typical example of creating a service that is almost impossible to
sell.
The people who are doing reasonably well financially and can afford to
hire a coach are already pretty good at setting goals and accomplishing
them! They mostly don't need to pay someone $300 / month to hold them
accountable!
People hire a coach because they are entering some new territory in their
lives. Entering new territory creates uncertainty. Uncertainty is almost
always accompanied by fears. In the current coaching tool box, the coaching
approach to fear and uncertainty is motivation and accountability –
feel the fear and do it anyway! Accountability is very useful at times,
but over the long haul it is a meagre tool in the face of fear!
The only way to counteract fear and uncertainty in the client is for
the coach to create certainty!
You do this first through sharing your knowledge and experience –
you've been there and you've seen this before. Remember, coach what you
know!
Second, the coach must be willing to explore deeply with the client the
experiences, thoughts and beliefs that are at the core of the fear and
uncertainty. This exploration will greatly expand the clients' awareness.
In order to do this, the coach must be courageous! The coach must be on
a path which is causing them to understand their own issues and face their
own darkness. It is from this courage – the willingness to "go
deep" – that certainty is born.
Certainty is what clients will pay for – not better goals and
accountability.
Expanding the client's awareness is a key to masterful coaching, and
it has two parts. First, expanding awareness is looking at what is going
on around you: in the world, in your environment, in the market place,
in technology, and in others.
The second part of awareness is looking at what is going on inside of
you: your energy, your intentions, deepest desires, emotions, values,
beliefs and inner conflicts.
Expanding awareness is a process wherein you transform chaos into order.
Life - "the game" - seems to slow down. What needs to be done
right now becomes obvious and natural. Your talents are flowing into the
situation with complete absence of doubt.
Expanding awareness leads to power in any situation – this is what
most clients want and what they will pay for.
In the face of overwhelm, isolation and frustration - the three killer
emotions of the new age - creating certainty is the ultimate skill. This
is what masterful coaches can do - this is what sells.
A simple way of explaining this phenomenon to a potential client is called
"seeing into your blind spots". Blind spots exist because you
simply can't watch yourself do something. Ultimately this is the phenomenon
that created the coaching profession. The coach can "watch"
the client perform in real time or by talking about it afterward, point
out things that the client is not aware of and dramatically improve performance.
Editor's comment: This approach is much more in line
with what I do. I explore with the client, as a result of which the client
is able to resolve their own issues. We may well set a few well formed
outcomes at the end, but we certainly do not start with Goal and work
through Reality, Options etc. Perhaps coaching can now grow out of GROW!
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
© 2004 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: editor@brefigroup.co.uk
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