Like “vision,” “service,” or “leadership,” coaching has become a word that means different things to different people. Many people think of the typical sports coach who’s a veteran of the game (often a retired player). Sports coaches typically develop skills, guide improvements with feedback, and actively direct game plans. Other people talk about coaching and […]
Read post »A number of participants in our February 12 Building Extraordinary Coaching Skills webcast provided comments and raised interesting questions about this vital leadership skill. One question was whether there’s a marked difference in coaching those in volunteer roles versus people in paid positions. In the webcast I outlined our definition of coaching as “interactions that […]
Read post »My last blog reported on our Building Extraordinary Coaching Skills webcast where I outlined 6 Steps to Building a Coaching Culture with Exceptional Leaders. During the webcast more than 80% of the over 500 participating sites completed a series of six surveys on the state of coaching and coaching skill development in their organization. My […]
Read post »Last week I delivered a one hour webcast on 6 Steps to Building a Coaching Culture with Exceptional Leaders. Participants from 41 countries registered to attend. At broadcast time 536 unique sites signed on — many were teams or groups viewing the webcast together. The best feedback on whether participants feel they are getting high […]
Read post »Valentine’s Day hearts convey feelings of love and passion. It’s a day to celebrate romantic relationships and express our gratitude and affection for loved ones enriching our lives. February 14 is also a good time to review the powerful impact extraordinary leaders have on their teams and organizations. Exceptional leaders fan the flames of love […]
Read post »In the next 5 -10 years we’re going to see waves of leaders retire. Forward thinking organizations are now deep into succession planning as they prepare for this big generational change. In his Harvard Business Review blog, “We Wait Too Long to Train Our Leaders,” Jack Zenger highlights Zenger Folkman’s research showing that many supervisors […]
Read post »On March 4, HR.com is hosting my complimentary webinar on Double Learner Motivation with Revolutionary Strengths-Based Leadership. In this fast-paced session I’ll discuss why a huge part of the leadership development gap is caused by traditional needs assessments and gap analysis. This weakness-based approach is ineffective and undermines participant motivation for change. I’ll show pre […]
Read post »Tomorrow’s publication of The Leader Letter pulls all the January blogs together in one place. Most of these were focused on coaching as we completed our certification for Zenger Folkman’s very powerful and unique Extraordinary Coach development process. It’s fitting that we wrap up “the month of the coach” with Zenger Folkman’s insightful white paper […]
Read post »In our Extraordinary Coach development system we define coaching as interactions that help the individual being coached to expand awareness, discover superior solutions, and make and implement better decisions. This is a broad leadership skill set that is most often used in career and performance coaching. Extraordinary coaches can exist in an ordinary or even […]
Read post »When asked why they aren’t providing more coaching, managers will typically say: I am overwhelmed and don’t have enough time; my boss doesn’t coach me; or, my employees don’t need coaching. Our research shows these are excuses coming from low performing leaders without coaching mindsets on wobbly foundations of weak coaching skills. Within the very […]
Read post »A study on the need for improved coaching skills development conducted by the consulting firm, CO2 Partners, found that only 11% of employees listed their supervisors when asked “whom do you turn to for advice on problems at work?” Organizational surveys show that most managers believe they are providing coaching to employees and score themselves […]
Read post »click to enlarge In his introduction to The Extraordinary Coach: How the Best Leaders Help Others Grow, bestselling leadership author and executive coach, Marshall Goldsmith, points out, “a leader who is an adept coach can greatly enhance the organization’s success; one who dabbles and doesn’t take the process seriously can cause harm.” Marshall’s insight […]
Read post »We’re back from an invigorating week at Zenger Folkman’s international partner conference in the mountains of Utah. A highlight of the week was our certification to deliver ZF’s unique and powerful skill development system The Extraordinary Coach. Here are a few gems from The Extraordinary Coach: How the Best Leaders Help Others Grow. “A leader […]
Read post »There’s been a big surge in coaching over the past decade. Part of this is driven by the pressing need for increasing bench strength and succession planning. It’s also very clear that leaders with strong coaching skills have dramatically higher levels of employee engagement, productivity, safety, and customer service. Scott Schweyer, Ed Haltrecht, and I are delighted to […]
Read post »“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” – Edith Lovejoy Pierce, English poet
Read post »‘Tis the season for reflecting, giving, and planning. Most leaders care about their teams and organizations. Gifts, bonuses, parties, and good wishes abound as everyone prepares for a Holiday break. We all appreciate these seasonal expressions of gratitude and warmth. But the most lasting and profound gift a leader can give a team is uplifting […]
Read post »As 2012 winds down, ’tis the season for looking back at the year’s highlights. Harvey Schachter reviewed dozens and dozens of business, leadership, and management books for The Globe & Mail last year. As I contemplate my ever expanding must-read book list I am in awe of how many books he reviews. Harvey’s either a […]
Read post »click to enlarge Many organizations recognize that highly engaged employees create dramatically higher levels of customer satisfaction. Highly engaged employees are less likely to quit and leave — or to quit and stay. A workplace with engaged employees is 2 – 3 times safer, more productive, creative, and producing much higher quality. Lots of organizations […]
Read post »Most organizations we’re working with today have declared a set of values. Posters, slides, banners, screen savers, newsletters, flyers, and framed parchments proclaim what the organization stands for. Many of these values statements assert a commitment to excellence, respect and integrity, customer focus, teamwork and collaboration, service/quality, responsiveness and the like. This is an important […]
Read post »Leadership has been a lifelong passion for me. I read thousands of books, papers, articles, and blogs on the topic. I’ve also written seven books, hundreds of articles and blogs, facilitated over a thousand retreats and workshops, and delivered hundreds of keynotes on personal, team, and organizational leadership. As I wrote in the September issue […]
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