PASS THE BATON TO WIN THE RACE

The difficulty with training is that it is often like having people watch footage of Olympic runners, do a few stretches, and then expect them to go out immediately and win a big race. In our work, we look at learning and coaching as a process of passing the baton; you are only as successful at either to the degree that the hand-off goes well. Take too much for granted and the baton falls to the ground as the person is off and running. Take too much control and you crash into the other person as they stand still —and the baton crashes to the ground. You get my point . . .

So, what is our role in helping our clients get better at coaching? To shift metaphors, we see ourselves as weavers. Most of our clients have a shelf full of binders—crammed with clever acronyms, solid theories, well-thought out designs, and pleasant graphics—hey, some of them may even be ours from the past—but in the moment, they are of little use to the leader with a direct report sitting across from her who wants some coaching.

We will create binders for you—but mostly what we do is create experiences that engage the whole person, encourage people to take risks, foster self-awareness and promote real-time change. Most of our workshops are built around one or two simple models for the day that become embedded for sustainable use. While David has a PhD in this stuff, we don’t overload participants with lots of theories and models, steps to remember, labels/judgments or hypothetical options. We don’t want to be a client’s flavor of the month; we can both play a bigger game. We will bring together our expertise and your needs and resources to create the program that would best serve your organization and its development.

IMPORTANT TOPICS WE KNOW A LOT ABOUT

• How people develop—and how to help them
• How organizations change—and how to guide them
• What great coaching looks like—and how to teach it
• Why stories are so powerful—and what to do with them

THE INNOVATIVE WAY WE WORK

We work with our clients to weave together the best of: what they have done in the past, what they need in the present, and where they want to be in the future in terms of their coaching capability, culture and customer value. We work with clients to weave together these three essential strands into a workshop(s) that will move people ahead as part of a larger vision and commitment. We can do this because of our multidisciplinary background and our applied approach to coaching. We support our workshops with shadow coaching, consultation on culture and strategy, support for internal resources and whatever else is necessary.

We want to make coaching the way business gets done for our clients. It informs how people talk to one another, approach their customers, engage in the organization, think about sustainability, and view themselves. Let us know how our workshops could help you weave together your strands and move closer to a coaching culture.

Click here for a sample of a recent workshop we co-created with a client to support their broader effort to shift the culture, integrate human capital strategies and support better coaching by leaders and managers in the organization.