Friday, September 29, 2006

Working with a Mentor Coach

Check out this post from D onna Steinhorn's blog: The Coaches Toolbox:

As a Coach, it's vital to experience coaching and be mentored by an experienced coach. This is a much different, deeper experience than working with a buddy or peer coach!

Selecting that mentor coach is a very personal experience. Donna hope this two part teleclass will help you in that selection. You can listen to it on your PC, or choose the downloadable MP3. Also, Donna has created a checklist for areas to work on with your mentor coach

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Resource - Try this automated personal-values assessment

Thanks so much for this post on Ken Winston Caine's blog: Mind Body Spirit Journal

Ever have trouble choosing your guiding values from one of those lists of 150 values?

And then narrowing it down to 5 or 10?

How ’bout if we take most of the difficulty out of it?

Conductor and composer Douglas Wagoner has done that. He’s automated the process. It’s online. Free.

You still start off with a list of 150. But then it gets easier.

Try it here:

Your Guiding Values Test

Coaches and holistic counselors will find this especially useful. Your clients will love it. And will be eager to coach around their results and what the results mean for them.

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Sunday, September 24, 2006

Coaching News Tidbits (Thanks Stephanie)

from On Coaching Blog

Posted by Stephanie Brail on September 20th, 2006

More on the U.K. government coaching scandal in “Couch government: the cost of Labour’s shrinks.”

“‘Our Lady of Weight Loss’ Is Speaking To You” - a coach with a “holy” humorous approach.

Life coaches help clients reach next level” in the Jewish Review.

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Friday, September 22, 2006

Training Teleclass - Are you a "Conflict Coach?

The next free monthly teleconference for coaches with a focus on conflict coaching is coming up soon. Please mark your calendar.

DAY/TIME: Monday, September 25, 4:00 pm ET, 40 minutes duration

HOST: Dan Dana - http://www.mediationworks.com/DanDana

DESCRIPTION:
Join your coaching colleagues for a discussion of professional
and practice issues with a special focus on conflict coaching.
See: http://www.mediationworks.com/123/coach
Free and open to coaches with any level of experience.

FOR CONFERENCE ACCESS:
Confirm that you are subscribed to the Conflict Coaching
Forum at http://www.mediationworks.com/123/coach
Call 712-432-2222 at the start time, enter code 66208

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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Training: The Serpa Process and Executive Coaching

In attempts to keep you informed of all the wonderful training options out in the market place, here is another school of which I know nothing. However, I am impressed with their philosophy and approach as quoted from their web site. I recently received their latest newsletter and at the end of this explaination of their executive coaching approach is an interesting article on Leadership Coaching you might enjoy.

University Certification for Executive Coaching Based on : "The Sherpa Guide: Process-Driven Executive Coaching" Classes taught by authors Corbett and Colemon.

As executive coaches, Sherpas deal with business behavior. In the Sherpa Stance, we ask four questions that determine if a conversation is permitted, and whether it's worthwhile:

1. Is it Precise? Are we talking about a problem, a symptom or a feeling? Sherpas only spend time on problems.
2. Is it Personal? If it's too personal, we don't continue.
3. Is it Present tense? Sherpas live in the moment, and in the future, not the past.
4. Is it Possible? Will a change in your client’s behavior actually fix this problem?

We deal only with specific, achievable business behavior. Our process makes sure of that.

We are not life coaches, success coaches, personal coaches, psychologists or therapists. Coaching seems to be an easy occupation. All you have to do is meet with someone (or even easier, talk on the phone) and give them your advice. Without a process, what do most coaches do? Wander into areas bordering on therapy, and take on personal issues and history. Without a process, you have an unqualified advisor, working toward an ill-defined goal with no road map, no documentation and no deadline.



The Sherpa process is detailed enough to produce a 350-page book and 80-page client guide. It's specific, yet flexible enough to accomodate any client's development needs.

Our executive coaching certification classes at multiple universities teach the process in detail.

Sherpa clients experience the process, while finding it transparent.

Every phase and every step includes assessments, journaling and 'homework' assignments, to keep the coaching process moving between meetings. Here's a quick summary.:

  • Phase One – We will be looking at you, the real you. (Taking Stock).
  • Phase Two – You'll look at the important people in your life and how they affect and support you. (Global View).
  • Phase Three - Then we’ll discover your motivations, why people and things affect you the way they do and how to create and communicate expectations. (Destination)
  • Phase Four - We will work on specific areas that will affect your day-to-day work life. We'll organize and structure goals that fit your needs. (Charting the Course)
  • Phase Five - Then we'll make sure it's planned for success, checking that accountability and attitude are right where they should be. (Agenda)
  • Phase Six - When we are done, we’ll have cause to celebrate. (The Summit)


Leadership Coaching: Developing Effective Executives

Chief Learning Officer magazine

Coaching has become extremely popular as a component of most companies’ leadership development programs. More than 70 percent of organizations with formal leadership development programs use coaching as an important part of that mix.

Coaching works. It encompasses many elements of the best learning methodologies and content used in leadership development:

  • concepts and ideas that are job relevant;
  • content that is practical, actionable and personalized to the individual;
  • highly engaging learning methods;
  • emphasis on the long-term and follow-through
Managers who are highly effective at coaching their direct reports boost employee satisfaction with the organization, employee confidence in the organization’s ability to achieve goals, employee commitment to “go the extra mile” and intention to stay at the organization.

As companies realize the value of coaching, they seek ways to make coaching available to a broader range of employees; more efficient and cost-effective ways to deliver it.

One way to achieve scalability is to create a coaching culture in which managers embrace coaching skills as the way to lead others. Coaching skills can be taught. Provide training and support for managers to act as coaches. It’s a critical component in sustaining a coaching culture.

Coaching has already made significant contributions to leadership development. Few things are of greater importance than developing extraordinary leaders.

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Training: The Positive Psychology and Coaching Master Class

While I can't keep up with all of the various coach training around, I do want to keep you informed of things that come across my desk. You can check them out for yourself.


The MentorCoach Positive Psychology Coaching Master Class is designed to give students a solid grounding in the history, development, approach, and application of positive psychology in their coaching practice. This Master Class consists of eight 90-minute classes: September 21, September 28, October 12, October 19, November 2, November 16, November 30, and December 7. To register and for full information, click here.

HEAR ALEX TALK ABOUT THIS CLASS
Alex is a thought leader on coaching and positive psychology. His work will be the focus of our October newsletter. Even if you have taken other courses on positive psychology, this will be different. Come to this Q&A and hear him speak about his approach.

Q&A About Alex Linley's Upcoming Class on Positive Psychology Coaching
WHO: Alex Linley, Ph.D., Ben Dean, Ph.D.,
DATE: Tuesday, September 12, 2006
TIME: One Hour Call at 8 am Pacific, 9 am Mtn, 10 am Central, 11 am Eastern (New York Time) and 4 pm GMT/UTC (London Time)
BRIDGE: Register for the live Q&A here.

CAN'T COME? Listen to the entire Q&A (taped live) by calling 1-405-244-4000, PIN 200, anytime, day or night.

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Monday, September 11, 2006

ICF has commissioned global study on coaching

Overview
The International Coach Federation has commissioned a global study on the state of the coaching profession. This study will provide groundbreaking insights on the size and scope of our growing profession. The study will be conducted by a well-known, independent, and global company, PricewaterhouseCoopers. The study is scheduled to launch in mid-September.

The survey will be sent to all ICF members in mid-September. The survey will come directly from PricewaterhouseCoopers. Please take the time to participant in this study. It's vital to have very robust results from all areas of the world to show the size of coaching. In addition, we may be able to provide regional figures if a large enough sample size from your area is received. This would provide great local media attention.

Second, since this is an industry survey, it's very important that coaches from all over the world are given the opportunity to participate (the survey will be offered in English, French, German and Spanish). In order to keep strict controls on the data, each survey must be sent directly to participants by PricewaterhouseCoopers. It is not possible to just forward the survey link you receive to other coaches.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has designated a place on their Web site where coaches can go to sign up to participate in the study. The link to go to is https://www.pwcresearch.com/uc/coachingsurveyregistration/

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Monday, September 04, 2006

Study to compare traditional assessments to Personology

Naomi Tickle is currently doing a study to see how her career and personality program compares with the more traditional tests. She plans to do an initial study of 100 people. So far the results are very similar. She is looking for volunteers who would be interested in submitting their photographs and tests results to her via e-mail.

To read about Personality and how to participate in this study go to:
http://www.assessmentstoday.com/2006/09/study_to_compar.html

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THE BOOK - “A Guide to Coaching and Mental Health - the recognition and management of psychological issues”

For coaching to continue to progress towards the status of profession many steps must be taken. One of these is for coaches and trainee coaches to check that they have the knowledge, skill and personal commitment to recognize psychological issues with their clients and then make appropriate choices on how the coaching should progress.

Understanding ‘when not to coach’ warrants inclusion in every coach’s skill set.

Not only is it not appropriate to continue coaching or mentoring some people who have psychological problems, it can be dangerous to all parties, coach, client and sponsoring organization. But, not all mental health issues are barriers to coaching. The coach, coach trainer, supervisor do not need to learn how to diagnose - in fact, it’s more important that they don’t try, but it is important for them to be aware of what might be happening and to listen for what is not being said.

THE BOOK - “A Guide to Coaching and Mental Health - the recognition and management of psychological issues” by Andrew Buckley and Carole Buckley will be published on September 5th 2006 in the UK and be available about six weeks later in the USA (other areas depend on distribution) as the third book in the Essential Coaching Skills and Knowledge Series by Routledge.

Priced at £14.99 / $26.95 for the paperback and £45.00 / $80.00 for the hardback, this text is an ideal introduction to the recognition and management - from a coaching, mentoring and other non-medical perspective - of psychological and mental health issues. The book covers the background, questioning, ethical considerations and discussion of the steps to be taken once a client has shown signs of mental illness.

More information can be found at

You can also order/pre-order now from Amazon and Routledge ( www.routledge.com )

This text will provide the knowledge that is needed by all coaches and coaching supervisors to be able to judge when not to coach.

But, knowledge is only half the story - specific training, using the principles outlined in A Guide to Coaching and Mental Health, will help ensure that trainee and more experienced coaches will not fall foul of a code of ethics and good practice by working when other treatment is indicated or working beyond their personal competence.

THE TRAINING - ‘Recognising psychological issues in coaching’. Andrew Buckley has designed a one-day training programme that, in conjunction with the book, will ensure that coaches have an understanding of the wide-ranging signs of mental illness, how to explore and question clients and what to do, in the best interests of the client, the coach and any sponsoring organisation. This training can be booked for your training course. Alternatively look out for publicity on an open training course near you - e-mail if you would like to be sent information on these training courses when it is published. At present this is only available in the UK.

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