Storm Beach

In a recent posting (New learning needs new media) I shared an e-book on change. This time round it’s a 9 pager on The Art of Coaching that I use as a handout for my 1-day coach training workshops. There are two foundations to the ebook. Firstly, coaching needs to focus on states more so than skills. State trumps skills. If we are feeling confident, brave and in the zone then abilities accelerate. Secondly, it’s not about the coach.  The coachee also has to show up, be coachable, demonstrate coach-ability.

If I had five coaching philosophies that I could take with me to a deserted island it would look something like this…

1. Defining the purpose of coaching – it is vital we define coaching (and mentoring) so that we can grasp and communicate our purpose.
2. Applying a structured approach – skillful use of a coaching model means we can map our territory and pinpoint specific actions necessary to bring about change.
3. Questioning to initiate change – expand the levels of questioning and the possibilities: ritual/cliché, facts/information, actions, cognitions, emotions and being.
4. Developing attentive listening – if your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything and it is open to everything. Nuff said.
5. Observing words, voice & body language – people’s behaviours are always correlated to the way they see the world, to shift behaviour one has to shift how people see the world.

To wrap up we look at the cycle of optimal performance (struggle – release – flow – recovery) and 17 flow triggers that describe conditions that need to met in order to engineer flow. If you want a copy of this e-book then please email me at stuart@stormbeach.co.uk