Shwopping Learning

Walking to the L&D Connect Unconference at @LBiLondon this week I passed the above installation being erected against the walls of the Truman Brewery. The walls of the building are being covered in used clothing to mark the start of Oxfam's Shwopping Campaign in partnership with M&S.

The brisk wind was lifting the garments, giving a sense of natural order and belonging to the chaos of clothes. Beyond the message of recycling & valuing old clothes the experience of walking under the clothes was quite beautiful.

The concrete building behind the clothes probably once looked "new and shiny" but this didn't last. Now it is full of life, colour & texture. The 90 degree corner of the building, absent in our natural landscape, is now only hinted at. The natural elements and our ignored resources only now bringing the building to life.

It's funny how often joy & learning is to be found when we journey past our common expectations of order, uniformity and the immovable and experience the unexpected.

L&D Connect Unconference
As is often the way, the experience of the Shwopping Campaign installation was a foretelling of what was to come at the L&D Connect Unconference (#ldcu).

We are diverse. Largely through social media, an amazing & diverse group of professionals from across the UK to connect and discuss aspects of Learning & Development. The discussion was rich and great connections were made.

We don't need to follow convention. The Unconference format broke from the traditions of the corporate world and allowed the community to form and direct itself. The simplicity of the format allowed participants to look at things differently but collectively.

We are resourceful. We didn't need "new & shiny" additional resources - just our energy & willingness to share & create. It allowed us to look at things differently whilst still valuing much of the order and structure that already exists.

With a little imagination, effort & the right stimulus, communities can lead change and have a great impact.  When it happens it's quite beautiful!

Blog Links

You might also like to explore these links relating to the L&D Connect Unconference :

Sukh Pabial, aka @naturalgrump, wrote this about the First LnDConnect Unconference.

@MartinCouzins also captured on video delegates reactions and takeaways and and has previously written about the Conference vs Unconference format.

Ian Pettigrew, @KingfisherCoach, provided us with this great Storify of the day.

@StellaCollins shared this from Jeff Hurt on Old Conference Education Memes. 

@niallgavinuk wrote this Sharing my Learning from my First Unconference.

15

Did you know that ...

1. Fifteen is the smallest natural number with seven letters in its name.
2. 15 is the atomic number of phosphorus.
3. In Judaism various celebrations start on the 15th day of the month.
4. There are 15 players in a team in Rugby Union & major Gaelic games.
5. There are 15 days in each of the 24 cycles of the Chinese calendar.
6. Interstate 15 is the freeway that runs from California to Montana.
7. In backgammon, each player has 15 checkers at the start.
8. Jamie Oliver established the restaurant "Fifteen" to give unemployed young people a chance to have a better future.
9. The rock band Wire had a song called "The 15th".
10. American singer Taylor Swift had a song called "Fifteen"
11. 15 is the number of minutes in a quarter of an hour.
12. 15 is the number corresponding to The Devil in tarot cards.
13. The words "uncopyrightable", "dermatoglyphics", "misconjugatedly", and "hydropneumatics", all have 15 letters and are the longest words in the English language that do not repeat a letter.
14. In 1968 Andy Warhol said that "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes".
15. My wife and were married 15 years ago today.

Happy Anniversary darling!  I love you.

Bigger, Better, Faster, More?

Here I am just before my son's swimming lesson and we're talking about what he wants to concentrate on today. He wants Bigger, Better, Faster, More!

I'm not a swimming teacher but I can see that all his enthusiasm and love of the water is actually having a negative impact on his swimming ability. What he wants is to swim as fast as he can and race his friend up and down the pool. Yet, the more he tries to swim quickly the less likely it is that he will actually swim fast. It's frustrating him.

We talk about what's getting in the way and how he could achieve his goal of swimming faster. Trying to go quicker ironically isn't the solution and he knows it. He's got an idea...

He gets in the pool and swims his first length slowly. I mean real slow. The kind of slow that feels agonising to watch.

Here's the thing though. Having swum a length, he sees that he's not really much slower than when he goes helter skelter. His swimming though is effortless and something clicks.

During the lesson he tries a little experiment - all his own invention. He tries swimming fast and swimming slow and he notices the feedback from his teacher. Sure enough, slow works pretty well and praise is forthcoming. Fast is when the teacher critiques.

In the car he's tells me about his little experiment. His conclusion is easily made - "I need to stop trying to go so quickly and slow down. When I slow down, I can concentrate on my technique and that's how I'll build my speed."

I could see it. His teacher could see it. Sheesh most of the pool could probably see it!

However, he needed to see it. He needed to find a different way of behaving to reach his goal. He needed to make the change himself.

What made it happen?

There was a caring conversation. There was a safe environment. There was an expert on hand to give feedback and even critique. He'd had a good day. He was enjoying learning. He was willing to experiment. The sun was shining. All these things surely helped.

Each and every one of is capable of doing similar.

Perhaps sometimes we all need to behave a little differently. Perhaps sometimes we all need to seize the moment and experiment. Perhaps sometimes we all need to let go of the Bigger, Better, Faster, More?  

The Pseudo-Intellectual Blog-Bomb of Ignorance

Do you know what really bugs me?  Bloggers who don't participate in the debate or discussion they started. 

It's like they've lobbed a pseudo-intellectual blog-bomb into the ether then scurry away to hide in their blog-bunker.  Jumping onto the zeitgeist bandwagon the sycophantic plebeians of social media swarm around their blog like it was the greatest thing since god knows what.  Unwittingly feeding the behaviour and encouraging more blog-bombing.  WTF?

Perhaps it's ignorance... Perhaps if we don't tell them engagement is an interesting dance between people they won't ever know?  That their beautifully crafted bouquet of a blog is in fact a Pseudo-Intellectual Blog-Bomb of Ignorance.

Perhaps standing up and defending what you have to say is hard work...  Perhaps being brave enough to listen and change your views doesn't come easy...

Guess what?  IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE EASY.  It's called authenticity.  It's called integrity.  It's where you'll find respect.

Perhaps the audience get something from this reverse monologue...  I don't.  Would you write a message or talk to a book?  No!  Then why would you engage in a monologue with a blog post?  I'd much rather have a meaningful conversation or debate with people who can do more than just vomit into a blog and suck up the adoration of the star-struck.

It's my personal opinion of course but I'm happy to look at it through your eyes and learn something new.

Oh and if you're reading this thinking it's just David having a bit of a rant, I'm not.  I'm initiating a dialogue with you and I'd love to hear what you have to say.  You know where to find me!

Who complains about Professional Conduct?

Earlier this week I picked up on a few tweets about the @CIPD revised Code of Conduct. There's also a good article (& comment) over on People Management. You may have seen some of the exchanges on Twitter between myself and @FlipChartRick, @MJCarty and @RobertBlevin. For a mini case study touching on the subject you might appreciate this post from @FlipChartRick - "The BNP HR Manager". 

Me & the EMCC 

As a member of the EMCC I readily abide by their Code of Ethics - it's a standard that is important to me personally and as a professional. It's supported by a Complaints Procedure that can be used to investigate complaints of professional misconduct by EMCC members. 

I believe these are both important underpinnings for a professional body like the EMCC. It's sets expectations and helps protect standards for both the profession as well as clients themselves. Yet in all my encounters with fellow EMCC members, I've always felt that they joined because they hold these standards dear. They are in my eyes the least likely to deliberately breach the Code of Ethics. 

Enforcing Standards 

By it's very nature, the membership and exposure to the HR agenda is much greater for the CIPD than the EMCC. However, I was surprised when @FlipChartRick asked on Twitter "How often are people chucked out of the CIPD and what for?" and @CIPD responded "Rarely, but has happened in case of serious breaches - typically where law’s been broken". 

I'm very supportive of both the wording and the intent of the CIPDs Code of Conduct.  However, I wonder what this revised Code of Conduct heralds? 

The Case for Standards 

Codes of Conduct & Professional Standards supported by an appropriate and diligent Complaints Procedure make perfect sense. Why wouldn't you have them if you were serious about standards of practice? 

These don't have to brought into play only when there is a breach of the law. For me this is a sign of a professional body who cares about the practice of the profession rather than protecting its membership. 

The Conundrum 

I think there is a conundrum here especially with regards to complaints...

Members are likely to work within the Codes of Conduct as a matter of course. Those members who don't are not likely to complain about themselves. Do fellow members feel inclined to complain about each other? 

Non-members be it individuals or organisations are most likely unaware of any Code of Conduct. Effort can be made to make non-members aware of what Conduct is expected of members but few organisations actively go out of their way to seek & encourage complaints. So who will complain? 

Perhaps this is why historically CIPD has not seen many cases of expulsion due to serious breaches... 

What do you think?

Do Codes of Conduct really make a difference to standards? I think they do if you are personally inclined to maintain appropriate professional standards. They act to guide your practice. 

Do they encourage legitimate complaints to be made to deal with transgressors? If not then how do professions seek out and deal with poor practices?  What do you think?

Friday Wondering - Why don't we say hello?

Each Friday I'm posting a "Friday Wondering". These posts are meant to explore & discuss observations or issues which I think would benefit from discussion. Participation is open to absolutely anyone regardless of their expertise or knowledge. Just bring your curiosity!

If you'd like to discuss on Twitter rather than here then why not. It would help though if you could use the #FridayWondering hashtag. Thanks!

Why don't we say hello?
We probably spend most days passing strangers in the street without acknowledging them let alone saying a "hello" or a "good morning/afternoon".  Yet on Twitter we'll quite happily approach or engage with people we've never spoken to before.

Have you ever passed someone in the street and just said "good morning"?  Isn't it wonderful when that look of shock (a stranger actually spoke to me!) turns into a smile and the silence is broken with a "good morning" back.

So why don't we say hello?

Mapping the Mind

Back in January I ran a competition to celebrate the 1st anniversary of this blog.

Nominated by Ian Pettigrew (@KingfisherCoach) the lucky winner Bev Holden (@stickythinker) won a ticket to the EMCC UK 1 day Symposium "Mapping the Mind".  Bev has written a superb guest blog post about her experience - I hope you enjoy it!

Mapping the Mind 

Clutching my metaphorical "golden ticket", I joined EMCC UK members for the Manchester Symposium on Thursday 15th March, thanks to a thoughtful nomination by Ian Pettigrew (Kingfisher Coaching), suggesting that I would be the deserving recipient of David’s “spare” ticket, and apparently I was! 

So, for those of you that couldn't make it to the event, and even for those of you who did, I’ve captured some of my reflections about the day. I haven’t attempted to share the expert content in any detail; the EMCC will make it accessible to those who are interested in knowing more. These are my “afters,” the thoughts and questions I have been left with so far, as I suspect the non-conscious part of my brain will be cogitating for a while longer and firing unexpected questions into my consciousness over the coming days and weeks. Fitting it all into a blog-sized nutshell has been taxing to say the least, so I’ve left quite a lot of things out – they do say “less is more.” 

This was my first exposure to Psychodynamics and Catherine Sandler painted a picture that had great resonance for me, describing a reality where a person knows they need to change, truly wants to change but finds it difficult to break through entrenched patterns of thinking and behaviour. I imagine most coaches have come across someone who fits this description. 

Chris Samsa brought us positive psychology, interesting evidence from the world of neuroscience, and some hugs (I should probably explain that the hugging was all about raising oxytocin levels to help us be more effective at solving problems creatively.) There was lots of content that helped me recall some of what I know and use from the field of NLP too. 

With Danielle Grant we explored the meaning of life, IQ, EQ and SQ, authenticity and even neuro plasticity within the context of leadership, and she gave us the delightful term "authentic chameleon" to describe the leader who deftly adjusts their style to meet the needs of their people. 

The Mapping the Mind Symposium gave me some new information, asked me some challenging questions, and has left me with some really practical approaches I can build into my professional coaching practice. I have been able to "inter-twingle" my thinking on Psychodynamics, Neuroscience and Positive Psychology and Ego and here's where I've got to in my cogitations - if that's a word. 

Why business needs us to be good parents 

If we agree with the theory that our early life experiences shape the way we are as adults, and that we learn to deploy psychological defence mechanisms such as denial, repression, displacement, projection and idealisation to keep us psychologically safe and sound, then business really needs us to be good parents. 

It's these defence mechanisms that become our "hidden drivers" sitting below the surface, beneath the observable behaviour that we present to the world, that cause us to think, feel and behave in particular ways, sometimes creating great outcomes and other times sabotaging our success. It's these hidden drivers that coaching with the psychodynamic approach can bring to the surface, building self-awareness in the client and being the catalyst for personal change. 

If we provide our children with a happy, stable and enriching childhood, what are the "hidden drivers" that we are shaping for the future? And I've made a leap in my thinking that leads me to suggest that if parenting is done well, maybe we won't need coaches to help people in organisations to perform well as adults? I suspect I'm taking a far too simplistic stance on this one...... 

Why we might need to rethink how we use trusted coaching models 

Chris Samsa's insight into neuroscience and positive psychology left me feeling inclined to revisit some of the coaching models I have relied on so far, and find ways to incorporate his very elegant SCARF model into what I do. 

We risk reinforcing negative and less helpful thoughts, feelings and behaviours by encouraging our clients to describe their current reality in vivid terms, as a source of information upon which to begin searching for a future ideal. This places too much emphasis on Away thinking rather than Towards thinking. 

In my experience clients find it very easy to describe what's happening now and what they don't want, (i.e. what they want to get away from) but are less able to create a vivid picture of what they want instead (i.e. towards) but it’s exactly this kind of thinking that shifts them from an unresourceful state to one where they can be more creative and innovative. 

I'm inclined to think that Away from thinking is less effective because it lacks direction, you can run away from something in any direction you like, and perhaps end up in a worse situation. I liken Towards thinking to the tractor beam on the Star Wars Death Star, it's both irresistible and compelling! 

What does make some people so reluctant to dream about the future and its infinite possibilities? What do we need to do differently as coaches to move our clients into a more positive state and would it speed the coaching process, and the pace of transformation, up if we did? 

Why managers need to let go of what they know 

Historically managers and leaders have acquired knowledge and held onto it as a way to keep them at the top of the organisational pyramid. With the pace of change accelerating and knowledge becoming accessible to the masses, it’s much harder to hold onto knowledge and for it to be relevant for very long! 

Organisations thrive when they are agile and responsive, when they are equipped to react appropriately to the pace of change and where everyone in the organisation is enabled to make it happen. How can an organisation behave that way if all the knowledge (and the power and control) is held by an elite group of individuals? 

One of our challenges as coaches is to help some clients let go of what they know by letting go of their ego, by thinking beyond their ego, which for me means they realise the success of the organisation is a combined effort, bringing together and leveraging the skills, experiences and abilities of a broad range of people under a visionary leader. 

There is also a place for the coach in helping team members to step up to the challenge of being empowered, so that the people who lead them have more confidence in their ability, making it much easier to let go......at least in Utopia if nowhere else! 

So, I hope this gives you a flavour for the event and I look forward to your comments. I'm very grateful to David and Ian for the opportunity to attend and now it’s time for me to time to turn thinking into action. 

Bev Holden is the co-founder and Director of The Clear Thinking Partnership. She and her business partner Kate Hargreaves work with clients to help them think more clearly, boosting individual and team performance and business success.

Friday Wondering - Does HR need courage?

Each Friday I'm posting a "Friday Wondering". These posts are meant to explore & discuss observations or issues which I think would benefit from discussion. Participation is open to absolutely anyone regardless of their expertise or knowledge. Just bring your curiosity!

If you'd like to discuss on Twitter rather than here then why not. It would help though if you could use the #FridayWondering hashtag. Thanks!

Does HR need courage?
I've noticed that many of my conversations with people in that broad house called HR have touched upon the need to act in their roles to break the norm.  To stand up to management.  To change the status quo.  To lead by example.  It often takes courage to be a leader of change.

However, the situations recounted often reflect the fact that senior management don't have the courage to change themselves.

So what do you think?  Does HR need to have courage to perform it's role fully?
Would acting with courage lead the way or would it give permission to other executives to follow rather than lead?

The sound of someone not looking in the mirror

Did you hear about the Goldman Sachs ex-employee Greg Smith?  If you didn't then you obviously weren't on Twitter or the newsfeeds yesterday...

It's funny how a sensationalist story of bad behaviours in part of a global banking institution can overwhelm the newsfeeds.  To the extent that in all this hulabaloo many probably missed that there had been a 6.8 earthquake in Japan... 

What makes the soundbites of an ex-employee of a bank more important than potential further catastrophe in Japan?  I'm sure that along with many journalists we could all think of some good reason... but when I look at my kids it's not bankers ethics that I need to be worrying about is it?

I have a theory.  Gossip and warmongering aside, could the reason be that much of the world wants to pick at the ethics of bankers as a way of not looking at their own?

I'm not taking a moral high ground here, but wasn't the noise on Twitter yesterday just the sound of thousands not looking in the mirror at themselves?

Just a theory....

Friday Wondering - Do Social Media Snobs exist?

Each Friday I'm posting a "Friday Wondering". These posts are meant to explore & discuss observations or issues which I think would benefit from discussion. Participation is open to absolutely anyone regardless of their expertise or knowledge. Just bring your curiosity!

If you'd like to discuss on Twitter rather than here then why not. It would help though if you could use the #FridayWondering hashtag. Thanks!

Do Social Media Snobs exist?
I have to thank @Projectlibero for sharing this posting from copyblogger on the "21 Warning Signs You're Becoming A Social Media Snob".  Please do take a minute to read the article - it resonated with me and I think there's some learning in there for all of us.

However, taking the "test", I'm thankful that I'm only guilty of knowing my Klout score - it never changes!  Yet I'm not sure that I know anyone who would score highly.....

So for all the bad behaviours the article describes, I wondered if there really are Social Media Snobs?  Have you ever encountered any?  How would you describe their snobbish behaviour?

FridayWondering - The Art of Business

Each Friday I'm posting a "Friday Wondering". These posts are meant to explore & discuss observations or issues which I think would benefit from discussion. Participation is open to absolutely anyone regardless of their expertise or knowledge. Just bring your curiosity!

If you'd like to discuss on Twitter rather than here then why not. It would help though if you could use the #FridayWondering hashtag. Thanks!

The Art of Business

Earlier this week I was lucky enough to join the Leap Day fun hosted in London by @dougshaw1. As well as being a great way to spend the day together, it was an opportunity to explore, discuss and practice how we might bring work and art closer together, for mutual benefit.

I came a little late to the party but experienced a wonderful hands-on tutorial on painting in watercolours from @VandyMassey . You can see more of her talent here www.vandymassey.com .

Now I've not painted anything more than a few walls and kids' Airfix models over the last 25 years. Yet, I really enjoyed trying out watercolours and even managed to paint something recognisable!

It left me wondering why, for all my years in corporate life, has art not been a part of either my own development or a medium to develop teams or capabilities. Yet there's clearly enormous potential...

So that is my #FridayWondering for this week....

Why for all the learning & development opportunities pursued in the workplace, is art not more commonplace?

Your challenge is beautifully simple

We live in a complex world. Most of our efforts to make things simple just create further levels of complexity. Take a moment to think about what it’s taken to relate this blog post to you now…

The working environment around us. The electricity we are consuming. The devices we are using to read this blog. We all have a sense of how these things are provided to us but I’d bet not one of us could create this complex system ourselves from scratch…

You might think you have no choice. Perhaps it’s very hard to see any other way.

Beauty in simplicity

Do you like this photo? I do - I feel it has a certain beauty to it.

It was taken in a restaurant built by the owners themselves. All the cooking was done in a wood oven. Rustic, simple & gorgeous. The seating was informal and it created a simple environment where the focus was us and our conversation over good food. 

The photo is nothing more than a paper bag and a tea-light. Simple. Beautiful. It worked wonderfully.  It’s an example of  simplicity that has stayed with me.  Surely simplicity endures just as well as complexity if not better?

I don't believe our purpose in life is to make things more complex & ugly. I believe our challenge in life is to make things beautifully simple.  Don't you think?

Friday Wondering - Where is the Reciprocal Learning?

Each Friday I'm posting a "Friday Wondering". These posts are meant to explore & discuss observations or issues which I think would benefit from discussion. Participation is open to absolutely anyone regardless of their expertise or knowledge. Just bring your curiosity!

If you'd like to discuss on Twitter rather than here then why not. It would help though if you could use the #FridayWondering hashtag. Thanks!

Where is the Reciprocal Learning?

For all the greatness of social media, I'm struggling to find the place where the debate and learning can happen in a meaningful way...

Twitter is great for short exchanges but tends to be fleeting and short! LinkedIn, when you can avoid the spam, is troubled by "know it alls" - it's hard to find real learning exchanges. Blogs & their comments tend to add something but also tend to stop with the comment made.

So here's today's #FridayWondering...

Where is the reciprocal learning on Social Media happening?
Why don't blog comments turn into discussions & debates?
How do you create the space for meaningful questioning, challenge, contribution, sharing and reciprocal learning?

Commit! I dare you…

Do you know what drives change?  Commitment.  Nothing else. 

It’s the basis for our relationships.  It’s how we hold ourselves accountable.  It’s how change comes about.  Commitments that are explicit, visible and enduring drive the greatest sustainable change. 

Commitment is also how change fails... When your commitments are hollow, unrealistic or absent. When your commitment is not apparent. When you are committed to not creating the change. 

Without meaningful, explicit & shared commitments how can you hope to bring about change? 

OK, you might think I’m talking about someone else. Wrong - we all fail to at this some of the time. Maybe we think we are strong enough to do it ourselves, privately & without help. Maybe we don’t want to change. Maybe we just don’t care enough, yet... 

That’s fine. Change isn’t always easy. You need to be ready to change. You need to be ready to commit. 

You’re ready? Go on then. Commit! I dare you... it's much more exciting when you do!

Friday Wondering - Your Real Avatar

Each Friday I'm posting a "Friday Wondering". These posts are meant to explore & discuss observations or issues which I think would benefit from discussion. Participation is open to absolutely anyone regardless of their expertise or knowledge. Just bring your curiosity!

If you'd like to discuss on Twitter rather than here then why not. It would help though if you could use the #FridayWondering hashtag. Thanks!

Your Real Avatar

An exchange with @StirTheSource and @MJCarty the other week explored in a few brief exchanges the meaning behind the image we use on Twitter, or for that matter elsewhere.

If you think about corporate profiles, photos generally represent the "pretty veneer" of ourselves.  They make some statement about our perceived style e.g. smart suit = professional.  Even our corporate logos have a narrative attached to them...  But it is a veneer that is represented.

What about the real you?  What image would convey more of the person behind the veneer?  I think Twitter provides an environment where people can do this through their avatars.  It provides another way of conveying aspects of their life, beliefs or values that they want to share.

What does your avatar say about you?

How Coaching Has Helped Me: A Coach’s Perspective

To celebrate International Coaching Week (ICW) I'm running a series of daily blogs on both coaching & mentoring.

Today I am delighted to host a guest post from Vera Woodhead (@verawoodhead).  Vera is a professional coach, facilitator, trainer and lecturer in business, leadership and personal development. If you haven't already, I'd recommend checking out her blog here.

Vera's post gives a great perspective on the learning & development that coaches themselves take from the coaching process. It's a great story to end this weeks series of guest posts. I hope you enjoy it!

How Coaching Has Helped Me: A Coach's Perspective 

Having spent over 15 years in people development, the route to coaching seemed a natural progression.  Of those the majority was spent in large organisational environments where performance, effectiveness, goals, strategic direction… were part of the coaching repertoire.

This changed when I undertook my Masters in Coaching and Mentoring some years ago where we engaged with ‘coachees’ to practice new skills, techniques... etc on. I used my contacts to find 5 professional women who wanted to take up the offer of 6 free coaching sessions. They included a head teacher, lawyer, judge, HR director and a business owner. They were all local and came to my house (where I have a private ‘coaching room’) for their sessions. I was surprised about the type of issues that were being raised.  They were intertwined with aspects that were personal, professional, family and much more emotions were coming through than I was used to.

Many of our conversations resulted in shifts in paradigm and beliefs and in most instances were cathartic.  I was struck by how much they seem to get out of the sessions, the transformational changes and how liberated they felt. My approach since been one that is holistic, developmental and works with core values and beliefs.

However, the most transformational change was in myself. I arrived in England as a young teen and have been financially, emotionally, psychologically independent since the age of 17 years old. I was tough, hard, aloof, didn’t show any emotions as this would be a sign of weakness. I had to be strong, to cope with whatever challenges came my way - on my own. This continued throughout my married life and even when I had my children. 

It wasn’t until I worked with this group of women, that I became aware that showing signs of vulnerability does not make you a ‘less strong’ person. I was also moved that they felt safe and trusted me enough to share some of those inner feelings. This was a huge turning point for me and the start of my journey in getting in touch with my emotions, being aware of them and sharing them. I became better at asking for help and in talking about how I was feeling. I find it much easier to be empathetic and to share my own feelings.

My thoughts, feelings and actions are much more aligned and the perspectives and learning that I get from coaching clients continues to help me grow and develop.

Friday Wondering - What is Coaching & Mentoring?

Each Friday I'm posting a "Friday Wondering". These posts are meant to explore & discuss observations or issues which I think would benefit from discussion. Participation is open to absolutely anyone regardless of their expertise or knowledge. Just bring your curiosity!

If you'd like to discuss on Twitter rather than here then why not. It would help though if you could use the #FridayWondering hashtag. Thanks!

What is Coaching & Mentoring?

As part of International Coaching Week, I’ve accepted a challenge from @StirTheSource to deal with the question of “what is or isn’t coaching & mentoring?”. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Textbook stuff... 

Actually, that’s the challenge. Hundreds of books have been written about coaching & mentoring by academics, trainers, practitioners & consultants. For all that intellectual resource there is no apparent definitive answer, not even if you look to the professional bodies. 

The Definition Dilemma 

So why is there no definitive answer? Let’s start with the obvious. There is no overarching professional body for either coaching or mentoring as there is with say Accountancy. 

In the absence of an overarching professional body a variety of similar definitions can co-exist. 

For all the historical references to Coaching (Pendennis) & Mentoring (Homer - not the Simpsons!), the question of definition seems only to have become important in recent years with the advent of coaching & mentoring in organisations or as a service. Clients want providers to explain their solutions. Authors want to assert their views. Professional bodies want to set standards and expectations. 

The commercial market demands explanation but not a single definition. 

I think there is also another commercial (or perhaps human) interest at play here which is the need to differentiate from other practices. Coaches, as an example, are generally quick to point out that coaching is most definitely not consulting, mediation, training, therapy, counselling or even mentoring! 

There is perceived advantage to describing coaching & mentoring in a way that differentiates. 

I believe that the above dynamics have contributed to a crowded and extremely varied UK market to the extent that coaching as an example has a bad reputation for some. 

So with the above in mind there I have a dilemma about how do I answer the question of “what is or isn’t coaching & mentoring”? To answer provides another perspective and reinforces the above status quo which may not be seen as helpful. To not answer would seem to say that I don’t know how I practice coaching & mentoring! 

What coaching & mentoring is & is not 

As I’ve already mentioned, coaching is not consulting, mediation, therapy, counselling or even mentoring. The most effective way I’ve ever seen anyone describe this comes from @SandroDaSilva who wrote “A butterfly goes to a coach”. Do take a look over on his blog if you’ve not read it already. 

To add to this, I do not believe coaching is just about asking questions. Some people do. For me a human interaction that connects with you requires more than just asking questions. Feedback, observation, reflection are all valuable tools that we can share with our clients to support them. It’s worth also referring to my recent post on “Advice in Coaching”. 

The Confessional 

Personally, I don’t believe that there needs to be a single definition of either coaching or mentoring. 

I believe that coaching & mentoring have a variety of similar but differing definitions because they describe relationships based on deep levels of trust. Without such levels of trust I don’t believe coaching & mentoring can be successful. We all see such relationships through our own eyes, experiences & emotions hence the diversity of similar definitions. 

I value the diversity that exists and I think clients do also - they want a variety of solutions that create long lasting sustainable change. However, we should be more definitive regarding poor practice - I think that’s a whole different blog! 

I've said plenty!  What are your thoughts on coaching & mentoring?

Advice in coaching

Traditional wisdom in coaching suggests that advice giving is poor practice. The rationale is that by giving advice to a client you are leading or telling the client what to do. 

This directive action introduces a form of judgement and potentially takes away the clients’ ability to create their own solutions. In its purest sense this can have a consequence in terms of the coaching relationship and even limit the impact of the coaching. 

However, it’s often raised as a debating point in coaching circles, even by experienced practitioners. Is advice giving really poor practice? 

My view 

I believe that no matter how you practice as a coach, it is always to serve the interests of the client not yourself. If this care is absent then you are not coaching. 

There are a broad range of coaches, coaching practices & client needs out there. I think the question of advice in coaching is more an issue of how can advice help or hinder a client during a coaching session. 

From this perspective, in terms of advice giving, I think it’s helpful as a coach to be conscious of  two simple calibrating questions first: 

What form could the “advice” take? 

Be clear about what form the “advice” could take and how it might be received - feedback, observation, information, recommendation, obligation, expectation, judgement, critique, criticism. 

Who would giving advice truly serve? 

Connected to how it might be received, assess who does this input really serve? What are your motivations? What could the consequences be? Will it help shift thinking or action? Do you have an obligation to provide this input? Do you need to do it now? Are you the best person to provide this input? What will happen if you don't do it now? 

Using these two calibrating questions I find that I don't have to worry about the word "advice". I can focus my attention on how can I best care for the client at that moment in time. 

As it happens I almost never find myself feeling the need to give advice whilst coaching. When it does happen, I’m able to recognise it and if appropriate, offer it the client as it is meant, even “pausing” the coaching session if necessary.  Above all, this process ensures that the client can retain autonomy & self-determination in the coaching process.

What do you think about advice in coaching?  How do you deal with it in your practice?

The Coaching Journey

To celebrate International Coaching Week (ICW) I'm running a series of daily blogs on both coaching & mentoring.

Today I am delighted to host a guest post from Karen Locking (@karenlocking) who is a Workforce Development Resource Officer. Her post gives a wonderful sense of the coaching journey of an L&D professional. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

THE COACHING JOURNEY

I’ve been training and practicing as a Performance Development coach for ten months and I cannot believe the impact the programme is having on me as an individual.

I signed up go on a coach programme to become a coach seeing it as a way of providing a service our workforce needed, we were offering performance development coaching and they needed people to train as coaches, I love learning and thought “I’m in, I’ll give it a go!”. I didn’t expect the transition to be personal and have such a huge impact.

I believed I had a reasonable level of self awareness, I thought I knew what made me tick and I knew how I learnt and how I worked. I have had counselling before and am a self confessed “overthinker” so I truly believed I had learnt a lot about myself. However, the world of coaching has opened newer areas of thought and continuously challenged what I thought I knew about myself. It has changed how I interact and my thought processes and patterns in ways I didn’t ever think it would.

For example - I find myself asking my husband questions when he’s stuck with a problem instead of giving him answers for ease and quickness (much to his annoyance some days! – “Don’t coach me” he replies!), I listen more attentively and find myself asking people questions about why they used specific words and where assumptions have come from.

And this isn’t even in my formal coaching sessions! The formal sessions have been so very eye opening, my self reflection afterwards about whether I ask questions linked to my comfort zone and way of thinking and then trying to ask questions around their way of thinking to build rapport and open doors for them has been unbelievably useful. The feeling of “wow the coachee has shifted mindsets” is so fabulous and to know all I did was continue being inquisitive through questions.

I have had the new coach internal panic and I don’t think I’ll have buried it forever. The “overthinker” inner critic in me has had a feeling of worry as well as excitement before a coaching session and I realised mid way through my training I was procrastinating with the finest level of skill before setting up my first session with a coachee however, overall my experiences have been one of unbelievable personal accomplishment and satisfaction.

I would invite any individual interested in coaching to speak to a coach, have some sessions perhaps and explore this way of learning. Not just as a way of learning about yourself but learning about others as well. I began my training seeing my coaching experience and training as a journey with a final destination, however the more I explore and the deeper I dive into the world of coaching

I’m realising there will be no final destination no final finish line, the journey will be the reward if I continue to learn about myself, and through the people and sights along the way.

Ironic or is it?

To celebrate International Coaching Week (ICW) I'm running a series of daily blogs on both coaching & mentoring.

Today I am delighted to host a guest post from Jon Bartlett (@ProjectLibero) a professional coach, mentor and health worker. If you haven't already, you can read more of his excellent blogging here. Here, Jon gives us a perspective on coaching in the workplace which I hope will resonate with you.

IRONIC OR IS IT?

When David first asked me if I wanted to do a blog for International Coaching Week I had just agreed to carry out some mediation training. It seemed slightly ironic that during the one week that is dedicated to coaching I would be doing mediation. However, as I thought about it made a lot of sense, let me explain.

For those of you who are unaware how a basic mediation works, let me do a (reasonably) quick explanation – basically you get the two protagonists in a room without all the attendant hangers on, be it HR staff, union reps or their best pal. You sit down individually with each of them, work out what is important and send them away to have a think about what they want to say to the other person. Then when they’ve decided you work with them to craft a form of words which honour their intent whilst also not starting a small office war. That takes up the morning, then after lunch you bring the two parties together. They both get an uninterrupted speaking time and it goes from there with the mediator(s) helping the flow of discussion, reframing some of the content, enabling them to see the others position. With any luck an agreement can be reached which enables them to continue to work together and saves on tribunals, oceans of paperwork and their pent up emotions ruining work for everyone else.

Now as a coach I often work with clients who are in conflict with someone else, and they want to examine how they perceive this person and how in turn they are viewed. So, transferable skill to mediation right there. I also work with clients who can only see one way forward in a situation and need to reframe their position, another transferable skill. I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this but lets add another, deeper layer.

What about the clients who are in conflict with themselves, the ones who sabotage their own best efforts, or think the world is against them and that they have no control over anything? Well a surprising amount of people who are hugely aggressive during a mediation are in fact acting out of very positive intentions. They may have become the office “problem” because it was the only way they knew how to express themselves and they often feel powerless against the system / their manager / their team. Given a voice and the chance to build a rapport with the other person they become like pussycats. Well it’s the same with coaching clients. They don’t know how to talk to themselves, how to break free of years of poor programming, how to take charge of their own lives. They have basically fallen out of rapport with themselves and the skill of the coach is sometimes in highlighting that fact and starting the conversation anew.

So it’s appropriate that I’m mediating this week because actually, I’m just coaching in a different way. One of the many methods available to a coach and I’m sure you will hear more about other coaching perspectives during David’s great series.