The Applicability of Coaching
As a developmental methodology, coaching has emerged as a very effective set of skills and tools that is not “flavor of the month” and continues to have a positive impact on individuals and organizations. Why is that? The simple reason is that these skills are practical, relatively simple in understanding and, quite surprisingly, common sense. Unfortunately however they are not a natural default setting for most people. We prefer to speak rather than question or listen, we consider primarily our own perspective, and we typically think of ourselves before others. Whilst this is not all wrong, the reality is that we are missing a bigger opportunity. Most success and happiness comes through others – family, friends, employees, customers, etc. Coaching enables this.
So let’s look at a few specific areas where coaching can enable success and how displaying some of these skills and attributes can make this happen.
Leadership
What many people do not realize is the person that asks the questions controls the conversation. However the ability to ask a question that is helpful and enabling to others is even more powerful. Empowering Questioning is a key and very fundamental skill of coaching and all great leaders have the unique ability to form their questions that gets people’s attention, is informative and helps them contribute in a much more meaningful way.
Team Building
The essence of team work is engaging everybody. This happens most effectively if people truly listen to each other. This is not listening at a level where you only relate to what somebody says as it pertains to you. This is about really listening to what somebody is saying (and even sometimes not saying) as it pertains to them. When people do that, connections become much stronger because Intuitive Listening is selfless and makes it more about the other person. This builds collaboration.
Teaching
Truly great teachers have the uncanny knack of presenting information in a manner that gets people thinking. This ability to access somebody’s Curiosity allows them to challenge themselves, see things from other perspectives and very often identify the appropriate course of action. The real key to teaching is not necessarily the information imparted but rather the action that emerges as a result.
One could say that coaching has always been around. However what is different today is that more people are developing these skills proactively as a means of ensuring that they maximize their potential (and those around them), both personally and professionally.
The Ideal Selling Approach
The ideal selling experience is characterized by appropriate Preparation, Execution and Delivery. These three legs of the sales stool are equally critical and often too much emphasis is placed on one which can jeopardize the whole opportunity. Let’s look at each:
Preparation
Notwithstanding the obvious in terms of punctuality, appearance and relevant collateral materials, this also has a lot to do with the psychological mindset of the salesperson going into meetings with potential customers. Consider approaching this process in a “coach” like manner. Yes you have to present what you sell but the emphasis needs to switch quickly to seeing this as an opportunity to help your potential client identify and get they want? What do you they need, what are their challenges and what would success look like? The key is to authentically coach a potential client that hopefully results in their purchasing your product or service, because they need it; prepare from the client’s perspective. Read more »
Emotions & Selling
Recent research conducted by Genos and Quantas Airlines suggests that sales people who demonstrate emotionally intelligent behavior have an edge. In this study it was shown that a group of 40 sales people out performed a comparable controlled group by 12% following their developmental experience with EI (Jennings and Palmer, 2007). So what does a salesperson do who demonstrates emotionally intelligent behavior?
The following is a sample of 4 skills and associated behaviors that can enhance any selling process.
1. Self Awareness
How you show up and present yourself (look, demeanor, attitude, communication style, etc) to a client forms a huge part of how they perceive (and feel about) you. Make it good because their perception of you is their reality. Be very mindful of how you come across. Read more »
Your Best Training Experience – 5 Tips
With billions of dollars spend every year on professional development and training, how much really sticks? We have all heard the comments “the training was awesome” and then very little changes. Or how many have attended programs where half the participants didn’t want to be there and the other half didn’t know why they were? I’ll let you judge which half you belonged to! Part of the challenge is with the way many training programs are delivered. And even if the content is rich, if nothing changes as a result, what’s the point?
Added to this is the fact that more and more training is being conducted online with cost and time being the major drivers behind this. This makes sense up to a point but cheap and quick are not necessarily the best ways to learn. In some respects many might think it’s almost the opposite of the college system; too expensive and too long. So where does the answer lie? Inevitably, as with most situations, the answer lies somewhere in between. Read more »
Coaching Model using Emotional Intelligence and Motivational Fit
Coaching skills provide a tremendous framework for improved communication and also inspire and implement the action necessary to achieve a desired result. In an effective manager / report relationship what would it take to make this interaction even better? How about a manger who demonstrates emotionally intelligent behavior working with a report who is highly motivated? This surely feels like “Coaching Utopia” with all the ingredients present for a successful outcome.
Of course you might be thinking that this is not realistic and rarely would you have a situation in place when these variables are “in sync”. In fact it might even be suggested that should this be the case then there is no need for coaching. Don’t forget coaching is not about fixing something that is broke. It’s about making a good situation even better; moving from functional to optimal. Research completed by Genos PTY supports this fact that much higher levels of employee engagement can be achieved when both an emotionally intelligent manager and motivated employee are present in the respective individuals. In turn employee engagement manifests itself in low turnover, high productivity, innovation, improved relations, etc, which are most typically the outcomes been sought through coaching support and development. Read more »
Sales & Motivation
What motivates a buyer? Whether dealing with a consumer buying basic living needs or somebody purchasing a large piece of capital, what truly motivates buying decisions? Motivation can typically be categorized in terms of Extrinsic (External) or Intrinsic (Internal), and though we often think of this in the context of performance, there are also many parallels in terms of what it might mean for a potential buyer.
Extrinsic Motivation is primarily driven by a logical justification. In performance it is reward and for a buyer this translates to how much does it cost, what is the technical specification, how long will it last, what happens if something goes wrong, etc? Intrinsic Motivation is much more influenced by an emotional rationale. Again in performance the parallel is recognition, and so for a buyer this equates will it make me feel good, do I trust the salesperson, what will others think about it, do I like the look of it, etc? Read more »
Business – The Changing Landscape
With the advent of technology and globalization the manner in which business is conducted has dramatically changed over the last 20 years. Dan Pink, in A Whole New Mind refers to the transition from Agricultural to Industrial to Information and now to what he describes as the Innovative or Creative Revolution. The advent of technology and globalization has very much driven this changing landscape, particularly here in the US, and this can be somewhat illustrated by considering the following shifts: Read more »
The Changing Face of Motivation
We live in very fluid times and consequently the manner in which we approach what motivates our employees requires a very different thought process. Think in terms of how doing business has changed over the last 50 years. The advent of technology and globalization has very much changed the landscape and this can be illustrated by considering some of the following shifts that have occurred. Read more »
Why Conduct an Employee Engagement Survey?
Employee Engagement is the collective level of intellectual and emotional commitment employees have toward their work and organization. It is a strategic approach supported by plans and actions for driving improvement and organizational change. Read more »
“Discretionary” Efficiency & Motivation
Organizations are for ever wondering what the magic pill to optimum people performance might be. There are so many factors that relate to this such as knowledge, attitude, personality, communications, behaviors, etc that makes “achieving optimum” quite illusive and rather complex. Needs analysis and assessments are conducted to help disseminate what is most critical and development plans are created accordingly. These go a long way but not the full journey. 
Read more »
