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What do I do with my expertise?

What do I do with my expertise?

I’ve got a lot of experience and knowledge that could really help my clients.  How do I bring that forward?

When managers coach employees, they often have the advantage of experience or additional knowledge.  Coaching is about co-creating; accompanying your team members along the journey without being the guide.  So, if you are not providing advice, what’s the advantage?  Your knowledge and expertise will help you to quickly and thoroughly understand the situation. You will be able to ask better questions quickly and get to the heart of the issue.  The Expert has the right answers.  The Coach has the right questions to help the client get unstuck.  This is where your knowledge really pays off.

Fighting fires. No Time to Coach.

Fighting fires. No Time to Coach.

Fighting fires. No Time to Coach.  My department has real challenges that need to be solved immediately.  I don’t have time to coach.  How can I build up my team and still make our deadlines?

Managers and department heads often struggle with what Charles Hummel described in his book, Tyranny of the Urgent.   The basic idea is that your greatest danger is letting the urgent crowd out the important.  When we are too busy responding to outward pressures, we are unable to execute the plan that sets our priorities.  If you find you do not have time to coach, perhaps you should first ask:  What impact would coaching have on my business?  How you answer this question will determine what true priority you place on coaching.  If you believe it is non-essential (something nice to do but not critical) or externally motivated (something you are being asked to do by leadership but not something you personally want to incorporate), you will likely not make coaching a true priority and it will be continually bumped for other urgent, “more important” tasks.  However, for those who truly believe in the power of coaching, creating time can still be difficult.   In this case, we want to look a bit deeper.  Is making time for true priorities a problem for you in other areas?  If so, you might want to explore time management and/or planning strategies.   There are many great books out there.  Some may recruit help from within the organization to help set a realistic plan for implementation and hold them accountable. Others may want to make small changes to see that it is possible and grow from there.   If you don’t typically have a challenge with managing time/priorities but you still can’t seem to make time for coaching, know that incorporating coaching is more than just another item on your todo list.  Coaching requires you to shift into a new pattern (a new way of being).  By definition, this new behavior is different.  As neuroscience has shown us, we tend to avoid what is new in favor of our old patterns.  Managers need to have compassion for themselves as they adopt and change their patterns.  Continual exposure will make it feel more normal and more likely to occur.

 

Client is looking for answers.

Client is looking for answers.

Client is looking for answers.  What do I do when clients look to me to provide answers? I’ve been clear about my role as coach, but they keep looking to me for advice.  How can I help them help themselves?

First, I think it is important to appreciate that this is typical and expected.  It is normal for us to want the answer.  We should neither be surprised by this, nor should we be deterred.  As a coach, we use our training to help us hold the space so that our clients (team members, employees, colleagues) move into a mode where they may engage in solving their own challenges.  One of the most powerful things we can do for our client’s is to help them get grounded.  This begins with regulating breathing, clearing the mind and entering a state of being open.  Grounding helps those you coach enter a new mental state – one that allows them to think differently.   Once the mind is prepared, the next helpful move a coach can make is to establish a common understanding.  It may help to imagine a circle.  Next, inside that circle, draw an imaginary stick figure.  The image of the person inside the circle represents our clients and their story.  We do not coach at our clients from the outside.  We get inside the circle and coach alongside them.  Using appreciative inquiry, we establish a common understanding.  Only then are we working with our clients.  Together, we can go someplace new.   What helps a client move forward instead of sharing their story over and over?  Trained coaches will clarify the agenda with their clients.  This will give purposes to the conversation and direction for our clients as they help themselves move forward.  These are just a few ways we can help those we coach take an active role in solving their own