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Thoughts to Consider Before Your First Coaching Session
- What do you know/how do you feel about coaching versus other professional development tools? Get more information here.
- What would you want out of coaching? What would you like to do differently?
- Think back on your career through all of its ups and downs, twists and turns. What do you consider to be your 'peak experience'? This would be a time when you felt most committed, most connected and most alive in your work.
- Without being humble, what is it that you most value about yourself, the nature of your work and your organization/team?
- What do you want more of?
- What strengths would you like to build on?
- What skills would you like to improve?
- If you were to embark on a coaching relationship, how would you know it had been successful?
- Are there particular areas you would like to discuss/focus on?
Relationship Mapping
From an article by Ken Blanchard, Madeleine Homan Blanchard and Linda Miller
Relationship Mapping is an ideal tool to use when strategizing a new project, beginning a new role or running into unexpected obstacles in a new area. The secret to using this tool effectively is to know and be able to articulate your:
- Key goals and milestones;
- The plan to achieve goals;
- Who will be affected by the achievement of goals;
- How each of these people can either help or hinder success;
- What can be done to leverage helpers;
- Tactics for possible damage control.
The Relationship Mapping Process
1. For each goal or project, clearly identify what needs to be accomplished.
2. Create a relationship map for each goal or project.
3. For each map, draw a box for each person who might be affected by efforts involved in achieving the goal. Think of as many people as possible. You can always pare down later. Include all relevant senior leaders, colleagues, peers, direct reports, functional reports.
4. For each person on the map answer these questions:
a. What are their main goals and objectives?
b. How will it serve them for me to succeed – or fail?
c. What is needed from them?
d. How can they help — or hurt – the project?
e. What is the person’s thinking style? What will be needed to most effectively communicate with and influence him or her? A lot of detail? An executive summary?
f. What attitudes does the person have about me? Is there respect, credibility, trust?
g. How do I feel about the person? Is there any judgement or bad history to complicate things?
5. Review the maps and add or delete people depending on their level of importance to the success of the project.
6. Create a mini-action plan for deepening your relationship with each person on the map. This can include: spending time together, going to ask for advice, picking up the phone to ask for an opinion, seeking their comments on your proposals, sharing information.
7. Pay attention to how people use language. How people communicate their understanding offers clues on how they process information:
“I see” – swayed by visuals and graphics;
“I don’t feel comfortable” – give a paper rather than electronic copy;
“I hear what you are saying” – communicate orally.
8. If you consult them on your project, listen carefully to comments and act on them when you can. Explain why not when you can’t.
Creating Your Leadership Point of View
From an article by Ken Blanchard, Madeleine Homan Blanchard and Linda Miller
The Leadership Point of View is a credo that encompasses not just a leader’s vision for the work, but also shares personal background that has influenced the leader’s beliefs and expectations about leadership. The Leadership Point of View (LPoV) expresses what is most important to the leader and offers examples that help people understand and remember what has been shared. Developing and sharing your LPoV can make explicit what has been implicit.
The LPoV focuses on others, telling them what they need to know about the leader to work effectively with him or her. It expresses what the leader expects from others and what others can expect from the leader. Doing this also sets an example for others and encourages them to think about their own beliefs about leading and motivating people.
The Leadership Point of View Process
1. Make a list of the leaders who have inspired you and had an impact on your beliefs about leading and motivating people.
2. Take each leader on the list and answer these questions:
a. What qualities does this person have that I find so impressive?
b. What have they done that I find so inspiring?
c. What lessons am I learning from them about leadership?
3. Create a list of qualities and actions you admire and want to incorporate into your leadership behaviour. Can you do these things? If not, can you develop them? If not, what will you do about it?
4. Once you have completed the previous steps, reflect on and answer this question: Is there something about me that would be helpful for others to know that would make them more effective in working with me?
5. Then answer these questions:
a. What can people expect from me?
b. What do I expect from my people?
6. Create a draft LPoV based on the above.
7. Decide how you will share this information with others.
Creating a Leadership Point of View is a process that takes time. Generally, the questions are not easily answered off the top of your head. Once you have crafted your LPoV, you will most likely revise it over the course of your career.
Tel. (613) 979-7500 | [email protected] | © Hardy Coaching Group 2012
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