Coaching Tip No.16 - Not too much, not too little, just right...
21/06/09 12:46 Filed in: Coaching
Tips
"It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and
important principle of life that the most likely way
to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal
itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it."
Arnold Toynbee - English historian & historical philosopher (1889 - 1975)
Have you ever had the experience where you've been using a tool for years (e.g. a technique, a program or even the onboard computer in the car.) and then you suddenly realise there's a far better, easier or more elegant way of using that tool? I had one of those moments recently and like the last tip, it harked back to my original coaching training in 2001.
When facilitating, my associate Waqar and I often talk about 'serving the need in the room'. Meaning, it's more important for us to be clear about the needs of the people we are working with and serving their need rather than prioritising the process or model we are using.
I was doing just this, 'serving the need in the room', when it came to me......
Arnold Toynbee - English historian & historical philosopher (1889 - 1975)
Have you ever had the experience where you've been using a tool for years (e.g. a technique, a program or even the onboard computer in the car.) and then you suddenly realise there's a far better, easier or more elegant way of using that tool? I had one of those moments recently and like the last tip, it harked back to my original coaching training in 2001.
When facilitating, my associate Waqar and I often talk about 'serving the need in the room'. Meaning, it's more important for us to be clear about the needs of the people we are working with and serving their need rather than prioritising the process or model we are using.
I was doing just this, 'serving the need in the room', when it came to me......
that I could use a tool I'd been using for eight
years in a very different way. This new way delivered
fantastic results and since then I've gone between
kicking myself for never having thought of it before
(and it is SO obvious in hindsight) and also being
really happy I've discovered a great new tool!
So here it is and it's most relevant for those of you managing people. If you don't manage anyone at the moment, it could be adapted to manage your reviews with your boss.
Most coaching models have a concept of an increasing level of challenge and there are different zones people can be in depending on the level of challenge. Little or no challenge is the Comfort Zone, too much challenge is the Panic Zone and an appropriate level of challenge is called the Challenge Zone.
This is often represented by a target symbol of three concentric circles. The smallest circle in the centre signifying the Comfort Zone, the middle area representing the Challenge Zone and the outer band showing the Panic Zone.
There are times when we want to be in the Comfort Zone, when we need to rest and recover. If we stay there too long though, we tend to get bored and demotivated. In fact, if we stay there too long our Comfort Zone can shrink as we stop learning. Whilst we can survive in the Panic Zone for a while it's not healthy to be there for too long.
Where we want to be is in the Challenge Zone where we are learning and growing - most people love to learn and many get huge satisfaction out of overcoming challenges. The longer we spend in the challenge Zone, the larger our Comfort Zone and Challenge Zones actually becomes and the more we become capable of.
OK - So now we've set the context, here's the tip itself:
This tool is normally used to help define where the coachee is in general or in regard to a particular area. In this instance, the coachee's particular need was around managing staff. For some reason, I drew the model up and asked the coachee where his staff were on the chart. He realised in that moment that he didn't truly know. He duly had conversations with all of them around this model. What came out of this was not only real clarity for both parties on what had to be done but it also facilitated some great development conversations. He found out that one employee was way out his depth and needed help he was fearful to ask for, and other team members who were eager to take on more challenging work.
I've been using this since with every people manager I work with (if appropriate!). It's also highly effective as a group exercise with teams - where they can share their level of challenge and what their biggest challenge is.
So my advice is, just try it. Draw the diagram and explain the concept of the three zones; ask where they would put themselves in general and also to think of the particular thing that challenges them the most and where that goes on the diagram..... and as the exam papers say.... discuss!
Take care and as always, please forward to anyone you think would find these tips useful - Gregor
So here it is and it's most relevant for those of you managing people. If you don't manage anyone at the moment, it could be adapted to manage your reviews with your boss.
Most coaching models have a concept of an increasing level of challenge and there are different zones people can be in depending on the level of challenge. Little or no challenge is the Comfort Zone, too much challenge is the Panic Zone and an appropriate level of challenge is called the Challenge Zone.
This is often represented by a target symbol of three concentric circles. The smallest circle in the centre signifying the Comfort Zone, the middle area representing the Challenge Zone and the outer band showing the Panic Zone.
There are times when we want to be in the Comfort Zone, when we need to rest and recover. If we stay there too long though, we tend to get bored and demotivated. In fact, if we stay there too long our Comfort Zone can shrink as we stop learning. Whilst we can survive in the Panic Zone for a while it's not healthy to be there for too long.
Where we want to be is in the Challenge Zone where we are learning and growing - most people love to learn and many get huge satisfaction out of overcoming challenges. The longer we spend in the challenge Zone, the larger our Comfort Zone and Challenge Zones actually becomes and the more we become capable of.
OK - So now we've set the context, here's the tip itself:
This tool is normally used to help define where the coachee is in general or in regard to a particular area. In this instance, the coachee's particular need was around managing staff. For some reason, I drew the model up and asked the coachee where his staff were on the chart. He realised in that moment that he didn't truly know. He duly had conversations with all of them around this model. What came out of this was not only real clarity for both parties on what had to be done but it also facilitated some great development conversations. He found out that one employee was way out his depth and needed help he was fearful to ask for, and other team members who were eager to take on more challenging work.
I've been using this since with every people manager I work with (if appropriate!). It's also highly effective as a group exercise with teams - where they can share their level of challenge and what their biggest challenge is.
So my advice is, just try it. Draw the diagram and explain the concept of the three zones; ask where they would put themselves in general and also to think of the particular thing that challenges them the most and where that goes on the diagram..... and as the exam papers say.... discuss!
Take care and as always, please forward to anyone you think would find these tips useful - Gregor