A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to see Sukh Pabial speaking at the EMCC London Network about Positive Psychology.
In case you've not heard of it, the EMCC London Network is one of around 15 such networks around the UK that operate as inclusive communities of practice. They are for anyone with an interest in coaching &/or mentoring including external & internal practitioners, trainers, supervisors, HR, L&D and OD professionals.
Positive Practices
Sukh's talk was very interactive and helped the audience understand more clearly what is meant by Positive Psychology. Perhaps more importantly, the discussions Sukh facilitated helped me appreciate the related practices that we already use or could use in coaching & mentoring.
It's since struck me that there doesn't seem to much blogging out there about the positive practices that we use when we coach &/or mentor others. The chances are we all coach & mentor to some degree or another and I'm sure we all use positive practices that we could share...
An Invitation to Blog
So do you have some positive practices in coaching & mentoring that you'd like to share? Well, here's your opportunity... Would you like to write a guest blog here?
No matter what your role is, if you have some positive practices that you use, have used or have been a recipient of during coaching or mentoring then I'd love you to share you practices & experiences by guest blogging here!
- You don't need to be a "coach" or "mentor" by title - anyone with an experience of positive practices in coaching or mentoring to share can write here.
- Your experience doesn't need to have been recent - any positive practice that has worked or left a lasting effect can be shared here.
- You choose how much to write and how much to share - quality is much more important to me than quantity. If you desire or require anonymity then that's OK. If you want to write more than one post that's fine too.
A blogging bonus!
And here's a bonus... We have 2 tickets to give away for Sukh's "Positive Psychology in Application" event on August 17th in London!
These will be given to the two most inspiring guest posts written and published here before Friday 10th August. Winners will be informed on Friday 10th August. In case you are not able to attend, the winners may choose to "gift" their prize to someone who would benefit and can commit to being at the event.
What next?
Sound interesting? Want to write something about your experiences of "Positive Practices in Coaching & Mentoring"? Leave a comment below or contact me here or on Twitter (@ChangeContinuum). Look forward to hearing from you!
Draw up your own shopping list!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise I was a coach until I attended a workshop to launch a coaching qualification a number of years ago.I believed that I was a trainer and a facilitator, but as I became aware of the knowledge, skills and attitudes around coaching I also realised that the reason I was an experienced facilitator and L and D specialist was because coaching wasn't just something that I did, rather it was who I was!I know that sounds a bit esoteric, but I had spent most of my life as a manager and later as a trainer working three simple questions - "Tell me what worked?" "What didn't work?" and "What would you do differently if you could do that again?" By doing this I learned to listen to the other person, pay attention to their thoughts and feelings, and ensure that they recognised their achievements rather than adopted the tendency to beat themselves up at every opportunity.
My focus as a manager was to identify what worked, and how we could repeat the success, rather than focus on the 'problem' when things didn't work. I have now linked this into Solutions Focused Coaching as a process, but I still find that the simple use of the three questions works again and again for me and others, and it's something that I share with learners and businesses at every opportunity.
One word of caution - it may be simple, but it's not always easy - and it demands that you park your ego and the role of deliverer of solutions to the other party. It's about them being clever and finding a solution they are committed to, not me being able to fix them and their problem in line with my world and my experience. I have found that significant work on my emotional intelligence has helped with this. As I sometimes say to delegates "I could never do your shopping without your shopping list as only you know what you need to feel happy, healthy and sustained. My list would not be the same as yours, so my solutions will not work for you - you need to find your own solutions".
Duncan thanks for taking the time to comment and share. Your example of the shopping list is something that has stuck with me - love it, thanks!
ReplyDelete