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CONTENTS

FOREWORDINTRODUCTIONPARTONEFOURPRINCIPLESOFCOACHING1.TRUST2.POTENTIAL3.COMMITMENT4.EXECUTIONPARTTWOSEVENCOACHINGSKILLS5.BUILDTRUST6.CHALLENGEPARADIGMS7.SEEKSTRATEGICCLARITY8.EXECUTEFLAWLESSLY9.GIVEEFFECTIVEFEEDBACK10.TAPINTOTALENT11.MOVETHEMIDDLE12.COACHING:AFINALWORDEPILOGUE:COACHINGTHEORGANIZATIONNOTESACKNOWLEDGMENTSABOUTTHEAUTHOR

FOREWORDDr.MarshallGoldsmith

MichaelSimpson’sUnlockingPotentialisaskillfullywrittentreatiseabouthowyoucanbeagreatcoachInthebook,Michaelcoachesyouonhowtobeabettermanager-coach;asaresult,you,yourpeople,andyourorganizationcanthrive.Inthisbook,you’llfindtheparadigmsandkeyprinciples thatareessentialforyoutocoacheffectivelyfromandtoanyleveloftheorganization.

Thisbookissuchanimportantworkbecauseinallmyyearsofcoachingandallmyworkwith senior leaders, I’ve found thatoneof themostcommoncomplaintsdirectreportshaveisthattheirmanagersdoapoorjobofprovidingcoaching!Validated in 360-degree feedback scores for 30major corporations,the item “provides effective coachingwhenneeded” consistently scores in thebottom10ofallitemswhendirectreportsevaluatetheirexecutives.

There are a number of reasons whymanagers tend to do a poor job ofcoaching.Foronething,executivesareoftenmanagingknowledgeworkers,thatis, peoplewho knowmore about theirwork than their boss does. How can amanagerbeexpectedtocoachsomeonewhoalreadyknows10timesmoreabouthisorherjobthanthemanagerdoes?

InUnlockingPotential,Michaelidentifiessevenkeyskillsthateverygreatcoach needs to help transform people into great employees. None of theseincludedetailed instructionsonhowaknowledgeworker shoulddohisorherwork!MichaelandIagreethatpeoplewantongoingcommunicationwiththeirmanagersconcerningthe“bigpicture”—howtheirworkismakingadifference,andsuggestionsabouthowtheycanimprove.

Anotherreasonmanagersmightavoidcoachingisbecausetheyaresobusywith their own jobs. If you view coaching as a complex and time-consumingprocess,youwon’tdoit!Andbecauseyourdirectreportsareasbusyasyouare,

they may not want or need coaching to be a time-consuming process. AsMichaelpointsout, theywant it tohelp thembreak through fromone levelofperformancetoanother.Theywanthelpbecomingbetter.

Follow Michael’s advice in this great book. He’ll help you coachindividualswithoutalienatingthem.He’llhelpyoufocusonhowyoucanhelppeoplebesuccessfulinthefuture,ratherthandwellontheirpastmistakes.He’llgive you guidance on holding coaching conversations with individuals,conversations where you listen carefully and fully commit to helping themsucceed. Individualswill grow and developwhile you discover the invaluablerewards of helping them succeed.And—not to be discounted—your team andorganizationwillthriveasaresult!

Foreword by Marshall Goldsmith, author/editor of 34 books, including thebestsellersMOJOandWhatGotYouHereWon’tGetYouThere.

INTRODUCTION

Success as a leader is a difficult thing. As a leader, your success is directlymeasuredbythesuccessofthoseworkingonyourteam,andinfacttheirsuccessisyoursuccess.Teammembersrelyonyouinordertosucceed,andyourelyonthem. So whether you are a CEO, a government administrator, a departmentmanager,aprojectleader,oranyotherkindofleader,youneedtoknowhowtocoachyourteam.

The need for effective coaching has never been greater.Gallup researchshows that a team that is highly engaged has double the chance of jobperformance and success. Engaged workers are more productive, profitable,loyal,andcustomerfocused.Mostimportantly,theresearchalsoshowsthatanimmediatemanagerhasthemostprofoundinfluenceonanemployee’slevelofengagement.1

That’swhyeveryleader,manager,orsupervisorneedstobecomeagreatcoach.Inanerawhenpeoplearerequiredtodomorewithless,theycanbecomedisengaged. The essential work of a coach is to engage the team—but manyleadersareill-equippedtodothat.Often,theseleaderspossessgreatfunctionalskill, technical know-how, expertise, and training in business management,finance,accounting,operations,sales,marketing,engineering,law,orscience.

Buttheydon’tknowhowtobeaneffectivecoach.OneofmyclientsisakeybusinessleaderinShanghai,China.Duringone

of our coaching sessions, he told me, “When I graduated from law school, Icameoutwith the very best of academic, analytical, research, and legal tools.ButwhatIwasnottrainedin,andwhatIwasnotpreparedfor,washowtocoachmypeople.ThefirstdayIhadaboss,Ihaddirectreports;IhadpeersIneededto

workwith—butIhadabsolutelynotrainingonhowtoinspirethem,helpthemtoimproveperformance,orbreakdownbarriers.EverythingIdidinmyroleasaleaderhadtobedonewithandthroughotherpeople.Ihadtoachievegoalswithotherpeople.EverythingdependeduponwhatIwasnevertaughttodo.”

MostoftheexecutivesandteamsIworkwithsaythesamethings.What’s fascinating is thatpeoplewantyou tocoach them.Not longago,

ColumbiaUniversityBusinessSchoolsurveyedtenthousandpeopleonwhetherthey would like to have a coach and why. Almost everyone said they wouldwelcomesomecoaching.Thirtypercentsaidtheywantedcoachingtohelpthemwith“life,purpose,vision,creativity,andintegrity.”Seventeenpercentsaidtheyneeded helpwith their “entrepreneurial” activities andwith their “team, sales,and cross-cultural diversity” issues. Sixteen percent cited “leadership andmanagement” needs. Eight percent wanted help with “relationships,” andanother8percentsoughthelpwith“careertransitions”and“futurejobplanningandcareerdevelopment.”Manyaskedforhelpwithbehaviorchange,leadershipeffectiveness,andwork–lifebalance.2

Clearly,coachingisnotjustabouttheorganizationortheteam.Coachingisaboutpeople.Andthatmayseemlikeanoverwhelmingtask,onethatrequiresmorethanyourbusinesstrainingpreparedyoufor.Ofcourse,youcanbeagoodcoachorabadcoach.Andtherearenoreality-showjudgestowatchyoucoachandtellyouwhetheryou’redoingagoodjobornot.Butifyoufollowthefewvitaluniversalprinciplesinthisbook,youwilllikelydojustfine.

Muchofwhatwedoforeachothereverydayinthewayofguidanceandsupportisatypeofcoaching.Butcoachingismorethanconsultingoradvising:it’s a specific set of competencies, skills, andbehaviors, and it takes a certainkind of good intent and character. Perhaps the best definition of coaching is“unleashing or unlocking the potential of another human being.”We like thedefinitionbecause it’s soexciting—humanpotential is truly infinite andat thesametimetotallypersonal.Everyonehasuniquestrengthsandchallenges.

Weallhavehadcoacheswhohavehelpedusalongtheway,andmorethanlikely,theyweremorethanjustabossoratrainer.Theycouldspeaknotonlytoour business habits and performance but also to our personal lives and ourbetterment as individuals. In fact, sometimes our best coaches are coworkers,spouses, and friends—people without authority to speak organizationally butwhomwetrusttogiveusmentoringandadvice.

In the end, coaching is about positively impacting one person’smindset,heart,andbehaviorsso thatpersonisnever thesameagain.It isabouthelpingonepersonmakethecontributiononlyheorshecanmakeintheworld.

Sometimesit’shelpfultodefinecoachingintermsofwhatitisnot.

Coachingisnotorderingpeoplearoundbecauseyouhaveauthorityoratitle.Coachingisnot“fixing”aperson.Coachingisnotcreatingdependencyorindulgingin“open-endedtherapy.”

Coaching is about building a relationship of trust, tapping a person’spotential, creating commitment, and executing goals. Trust, potential,commitment, and execution. In this book, you’ll learn about these fourfoundational principles or realities of coaching and how to apply them. Byaligning yourselfwith these principles, youwill become farmore effective atcoachingthanyouarenow.

Thewordcoachcomesfromaliteralcoach—thewheeledkindthatusedtobedrawnbyhorsesandcarriedpeoplefromoneplacetoanother.Inthe1800s,college students would seek someone to “carry” them through theirexaminations, someone they trusted to help them excel and keep themcommitted—andtheyinformallycalledthispersona“coach.”Asacoach,yourtaskistohelppeoplebreakthroughfromonelevelofperformancetoanother.

Lifeismadeupofaseriesoftests,trials,andgreatopportunities.Somearemomentary, but most take endurance. These are stages of professionaldevelopment that are thedeterminingmomentsof the future.We’ve identifiedsevenkeyskillseverygreatcoachneedstousetohelptotransformpeopleattheindividual,team,andorganizationallevelofperformance:

1.Buildtrust.2.Challengeparadigms.3.Seekstrategicclarity.4.Executeflawlessly.5.Giveeffectivefeedback.6.Tapintotalent.7.Movethemiddle.

To paraphrase my mentor, Dr. Stephen R. Covey—coaches are neitherbornnormade.Greatcoacheschoosetobegreatcoaches.

PARTONE

FOURPRINCIPLESOFCOACHING

1.TRUST

All effective coaching is based on building trust, tapping potential, creatingcommitment, and actually executing goals. Consider how successful a coachwouldbewho is unreliable, fails to tap into thepotential of the team,doesn’ttrustothers,doesn’tknowhowtoget the teamtocommit,andpresidesoverateamthat fails toexecuteandachieve itsmost importantgoals.Thesuccessofallcoachescomes“fromtheinsideout.”Unlesscoachesinternalize,model,andlivebytheseprinciples,theywillfail!

Inthissectionofthebook,weexamineeachoftheseprinciplesandhowtoapplythem.Ifyoucan“coach”yourselftolivebytheseprinciples,youwillbewellonyourwaytohelpingothersasacoach.

TheInternationalCoachingFederation(ICF)haspublishedasetofethicalstandards3forcoaches.Amongotherthings,allprofessionalcoachespledgeto:

Showgenuineconcernfortheindividual’swelfareandfuture.Continuouslydemonstratepersonalintegrity,honesty,andsincerity.Keepconfidences.

Everyoneagreesthatonlyapersonwiththesetraitscanbetrusted,andthefirstrequirementofcoachingistobetrusted.

Of course, these are all ethical traits.We can understand them, have thewilltolivebythem,andevenpreachthemtoothers.Wecandoallthesethings

andstillbeuntrustworthy.Itisonlywhenthesetraitsaremodeledandbecomepartofourverybeingthatwecanbefullytrusted.

Simplybeinginapositionofauthoritydoesnotmakeyouatrustedcoach.Your concern for the person you are coachingmust be based on genuine andgood intent. Your integrity must be inviolable. Your determination to keepconfidencesmustbeunshakeable.

At one point in my career, I accepted a role working as the sales andmarketingvicepresidentworkingalongwith theexecutivesat a company thathadsolidgrowthpotential.

Before I accepted the position, I observed that the executive team hadchanged its sales leadership and sales force every few months. The longestanyonehadlastedinmypositionwaseightmonths.

Isoon learnedwhy thecompanyhadahistoryof turnover: lowtrustandpooremployeemorale.Onthesurface,theCEOcameoffasintelligent,focused,and ambitious, but there were many broken promises and hot-temperedinteractions fueled by his larger-than-life ego. The rapidly growing companywas burning through funding at an alarming pace. Every member of theleadershipteam—particularlythesalesteam—feltenormouspressuretoexecute.

Still,Iwasexcitedaboutourprospects.Iestablishedaclearsalesstrategy,defined a clear value proposition to differentiate our technology in themarketplace and tomarket to key customers and channels by setting up goalsandobjectives,andimprovingourservicesupportwithcorecustomers.

Evenasoursuccessgrew,Isoonlearnedthatinexecutiveteammeetings,onlyoneopinionintheroommattered:theCEO’s.Myattemptstomanagemysales teamwere largely ignored or blocked. Tenseweekly executivemeetingsusuallydissolvedintofinger-pointingandmicromanagement.

Shortly before I was due to finalize a contract that would bring a largecommissiontomeandoneofmyassociates,theCEOcalledbothofusintohisofficeandannouncedthatwewerefired,effectiveimmediately.

We showed him the client commission report with the payout we hadearned.TheCEOsatbackinhischairandgrinned.“Letmeremindyouthatyouareanat-willemployee.IcanfirewhomeverIwant,wheneverIwant.”

Wearguedthatheowedusthecommission,basedonthesignedcontract.Heorderedhisfellowleaderwhowas in theroom,“Have themremovedfromthepropertyimmediately.”

Mymindwasreeling.Ihadneverwitnessedorexperiencedsuchimmoralor unethical behavior. My associate’s friend was an attorney who offered topursuea lawsuit. I felt justified inseekingvengeance. Iwasangry. Ihadbeenbetrayed.

ThenearlyonemorningwhenIwasfrettinginmystudy,mywife,actingin the roleof apersonal coach, came tome. “I don’t thinkyou shouldpursuethis,” she said gently, “even though I know what happened was completelywrong.Idon’twantthespiritofcontentioninthishouseasyouconductayearortwoofdepositionsandrelivethissituationoveragainandagain.Ourpositiveenergiesneedtobepointedtowardsourfuturewithoutconstantlyrevisitingthepast.”

Mywifecontinuedtocoachmetochangemythinkingaboutanintenselypainfulandunjustsituation.Ifithadbeensomeoneelse,Imighthaveshruggedofftheadvice,butbecauseItrustmywife,Ilistenedandwasabletoletgoofabad situation that was consuming me. Her coaching helped me reframe anegativesituationintonewopportunities.Sheaskedmeaseriesofveryhelpfulquestions: “What have you learned from this situation? What would be thebenefit of moving forward?What would be the costs of seeking justice? Dootherprevioussalesleadersreallywanttogothroughdepositionsandrelivepastinjustices?Howcanyoubestmoveforwardfromthisnegativesituation?Whatare the benefits? What would you like your future career path to look like?Whereareyourgreatestskills,gifts,andpassiongoingforward?”Assheaskedmetheseverypowerfulquestions,Istartedcreatingaclearplanthatwouldbuildabridgetoabetterfuture.

Coachesaskinsightfulquestionsthathelppeoplegaingreaterawarenessoftheirsituationandhelpthemreframeandcreativelyexplorenewandbetterwaystomoveforward.

ItrustmywifesothoroughlythatIwaswillingtolethercounselguideme.Ofcourse,toearnthiskindoftrust,ittookyearsanddeepunderstandingofoneanother.Intheworkplace,coachesrarelyhavethatkindoftimeandawareness,but they can still show a high level of genuine concern, good intent, and askgreatprovocativequestions.

Your intentherematters.Youhave theirbest interests foremost inmind.You talk straight to them.You listen empathically, help them see and exploreoptionsforward,andshowrespecttothem.Theseareissuesofcharacter—yourcharacter.Ifyoucan’tshowgenuineconcern,ifyou’redistracted,orhaveotherpriorities on yourmind—stop. Train yourself to stay in themoment with theperson whom you are coaching, to keep your mind focused solely on thatperson’s, life, leadership,career,orperformanceagenda.Yourgoal is tobeontheiragenda,notyouragenda.

FranklinCovey has surveyed more than 54,000 people, asking them toidentify theessentialqualitiesofagreat leader. Integrity isbyfar thenumber-onequality,accordingtotheglobalrespondents.StephenM.R.Coveyconfirms

whatthesurveyfound:“Theabilitytoestablish,extend,andrestoretrustwithallkey stakeholders—customers, business partners, investors, and coworkers—isthekey leadershipcompetencyof thenewglobaleconomy.”4Why is trust themost important of all leadership competencies? It drives and enables successwithallothercompetencies.

StephenM.R.Covey helped to lead themerger between two companies,theCoveyLeadershipCenterandFranklinQuestCompany.Themergerbetweenthesetwofirmswasextremelydifficultandfraughtwithmanychallenges.Thechallengesofdistrustwerevastbecauseofmerging strategy, structure,values,communications,andthealignmentoftwoverydifferentculturesthathadbeencompetingagainsteachotherformanyyears.Asthiscompanywasledfromaplaceofdistrustduring themerger, toacultureofhigh trustmanyyears later,FranklinCoveyisoneofthemostrespectedandtrustedleadershipdevelopmentcompanies in theworld.MuchofwhatStephenM.R.hadexperiencedonbothtrustanddistrustduringthemergerledtohisresearchandwritinginhisworldclassbest-sellingbookTheSpeedofTrust.You’llrecallinapreviousstorythatIhadwithabosswhooperatedfromanapproachthatwastheexactoppositeofmy experience being led by StephenM.R.Covey.My previous leader used avery industrial and authoritative approach to leadership influence. This leaderconvenientlyactedinexpedientandshort-termwaysthathefeltaddedvalue,buthismethod of influencewas to influence others around him through spinningdata,misinformation,politicking,fear,intimidationtactics,andthemanipulationofpeopleanddata.HemanagedupwardverywellwiththeBoardofDirectorsandwithourexecutiveteambuthadverylittlerespectwiththemajorityofthepeopleacrosstheorganization.AsIreflectonthevastdifferencebetweenthesetwoleadershipstyles,StephenM.R.Coveyhadveryhighintegrity,goodintent,great capability, and consistently delivered great results. The other leader hadverypoorintegrityandselfishintentandfailedtoinspireandunleashthetalentandpassionofhisdirect reports and staff.Hewasvery smart, intelligent, andexpedient, but was never able to sustain results because people across theorganization did not trust him. Those whoworked with StephenM.R. Coveyknewofhisgenuinecare,empathy, integrity,andhisability toact inwin–winwaysandtoentrust thosearoundhim.Hefocusedonleveraging,building,anduplifting teammembers strengths, seeing thegood inothers, and showing realvalueandrewardsfortheircontribution.Asaresult,thosewhoworkedwithhimfeltlikeatrustedandloyalpartnerandtheywerefullyengagedandmotivatedtoworkhardandproduceextraordinaryresults.ThefamousbasketballcoachJohnWoodenwasfamousforsaying,“I’dratherbeoutinfrontleaderwithabanner,

thanasaleaderbehindwithawhip.”Someleadersoperateinbusinesslikeit’sthechild’sgame,“WhackaMole.”Thisiswheretheleaderpullsoutabaseballbat andcontinues towhackpeopleon theheadbycatching themdoing thingswrong, rather than catching them doing things right. Their motive is to beatpeople up, destroy their confidence, and demoralize them by treating them inunkind,discourteous,anddisrespectfulways.Muchof this isdue toa leader’slackofemotionalintelligenceorhisorherpersonalego,orinsecurity.

An executive coachworkingwith seniormembers of a large automotivecompany learned the power of keeping confidences.Hewas assigned toworkwith a small group of very experienced, technically skilled leaders. Theirtechnicalexpertise,however,wasfarmoreadvancedthantheirskillinmanagingpeople.Theirbusinesswashaving tremendoussuccess,capturingopportunitiestheir competitors were not technically able to address. But the growth wasstrainingtheirworkforce,andsomestraincamebecauseofthepoorlydevelopedinterpersonal skills and lack of emotional intelligence among their leadershipteam.

Oneoftheleaderswasgruff,standoffish,andopenlyrude,andcameveryunwillinglytothecoachingexperience.Threeweeksintotheprocess,somethingwas said in one of the group coaching debrief sessions that offended him.Heresponded very aggressively, pointing his remarks at the coach. The coachmaintainedintegritytohisprinciplesanddidnotrespondinkind.

Inthatmoment,everythingchanged.Afterward,thesamerudeleaderaskedtomeetwiththecoachpersonally.

He said he’d been very impressed with how the coach handled the stressfulsituationwithahighdegreeofemotional self-regulation,andhowhenowfeltcomfortablebeginningtobuildarelationship.Hetoldthestoryofhiscareerandlife, his successes and failures. Despite his gruff exterior, he was actuallyseekinghelp tofindabetterpathforward.Recognizing theextremelypersonalnatureofthedisclosures,thecoachmadeitclearthattheconversationwouldbekeptcompletelyconfidential.“Iknow,”saidtheleader.“I’vebeenwatchingyouworkwithothers.I’vebeenlisteningtothestoriesyoushareandhowyousharethem,andI’mconfidentyou’llbeascarefulwithmeandmystoryasyouhavebeenwiththeirs.”

Drawingclosetoanotherpersonrequiresprofoundtrust.Itshouldneverbetaken lightly and should always be handled wisely and professionally. Whenpeople allow themselves to be vulnerable, the coach must be committed tokeepingpersonalinformationstrictlyconfidential.Itisthemostimportantaspectof the coaching role. Indeed, the lifeblood of truly great coaching is absoluteconfidentiality.

Trust is hard to earn but easy to lose. It can takeweeks andmonths ofgentle and careful nurturing to gain trust—whereas one broken promise, onedisplayofindifference,ormanipulationwithbadintent,oronefailedconfidencecan ruin everything. That’s why trust is the first principle of coaching. Alleffective coaching starts with the understanding of the great obligation to betrustworthy.

2.POTENTIAL

Allcoachingiscustomized;bythatwemeanthatthecoachingagendaisalwaysdrivenby thepersonreceiving thecoaching.Organizationsoftenengageeitherinternalorexternalcoachestohelpleadersbecomemoresuccessful,orinsomecases tobe“fixed”asa leaderormanager,buteven though theorganization’sinterestisinitsimprovementoforganizationalstrategiesandgoals,coachingisalwaysaone-on-one,personalactivity.

Likeacustomtailor,agoodcoachfindsoutwhattheindividualwantsandthen takes the measure of the individual. A good coach does not try to fitsomeone into “a ready-made suit.” A good coach starts with the individual’sown vision and then leads him or her to prioritize those things that aremostimportantinachievingthatvision.

Coaching is about finding and growing the potential of individuals toachievegoalsimportanttothemandtotheirorganization.Coachingisbasedonthe assumption that everyone can grow and that everyone has the potential tobecome something better, regardless of the point of departure. It is true thatsomewill strugglemore thanothers,but everyonecanachievenewandbetterthingsthattheymighthaveinitiallyfeltbeyondtheirreach.

Understanding the individual’s priorities, potential, and goals takes timeandrequires listening,observing, reflecting,andcustomizingyourapproachsothattheperson’suniquenesscanbeleveraged.

Wedothatbyfirstunderstandingtheindividual’sstory,context,andpointof view. Then we can help reframe that point of view if necessary so the

person’sownpotentialcanbefulfilled.All peoplehave stories:where they’vebeen in life,where they arenow,

andwheretheywanttobesomeday—inaweek,ayear,orfiveyearsfromnow.Thesestoriestellyoumuchofwhatyouneedtoknowabouttheirpotential.Thestories revealwhat’s important to them,what they hope and fear,what keepsthemgoing.These stories can also be focusedonwhat are their unmet needs,barriers,oropportunitiesthattheyseeamongtheirkeyrelationships,customers,marketplace,orwithinthebusinessandteam.Surveys,360-degreeassessments,colleague interviews, skills and aptitude tests, andwork records are helpful touncoverpeople’sstories,butthere’snosubstituteforhearingabouttheirdreams,hopes,desires,disappointments,failures,andfearsfromtheirownmouth.

Agoodcoachmustsetpersonalstoriesasideandinvestfullyintolisteningto, engagingwith, and feeling the power and the potential of the individual’sstory.Astherelationshipmatures,thecoachcanreflecttheperson’sstorybackfrom a more objective, detached perspective, unobscured by layers of pain,disappointment,frustration,andmisguidedefforts.

Oneofmycoachingclientsopensupabouteverything.“Weclosethedoorand talk about what is going on, both positive and negative, not just in myprofessionallife.Ifeelsafe.WetalkaboutwhereIneedhelp,tensionswithmyboss,frustrationswithourcompanyculture,wherepeopleareallowedtoactinwaysthataretotallyinconsistentwithourcompanyvalues.Italkaboutmyownshortcomings—that I’m impatient and even rude with people I think of asstupid.”

At the simplest level, coaching is a process of paying full attention to aperson.Whenwepayattentiontopeople,theylightup.Evenasachild,wehaveaninstinctiveresponsetopersonalattention,respect,andpositivefeedback.Thatneedforhumanresponsedoesnotendwhenwebecomeadults.Whenpeoplearetrulylistenedto,whentheycanseethatothersarelistening,theybegintoopenup, engage more, and expose potential suppressed by years of self-defensiveness,self-betrayal,orself-denial.

Thus, a great coach is an active listener, affirming themiracle of beinghuman,addressingthepotential,ratherthanthelimits,ofwhateachpersoncando. Coaches reflect, facilitate, and amplify. They partner with individuals togenerate positive and uplifting strategies for future action.Coaches know thatadhering to fundamental coaching principles and practices—“coachingpresence”—thatis,beingwiththeindividualinthemoment—mattersmorethantechnique and style. The coach offers a fine balance between inquiry andadvocacy.

Agreatcoachgathersinformationbylisteningwiththeheartforfeelings,

listeningwiththeearsforcontent,listeningwiththeeyesforvisualcuestothatwhich is not verbalized.Really effective coachespickup even the smallest ofcues. When an effective coach is at work, a spirit-to-spirit element ofcommunicationcomesintoplay.

PointofViewAsI’vesaid, thebestcoacheslearntolistenandobservebeyondthestorylineitself.Theypayattention to revelationsofbehavior that come frommore thanjustwords.Becomingsensitivetothephysicalandemotionalcontext,aswellastheverbalcontext,makesbettercoaches.

You must learn to rely on all of your senses during coaching sessions.Sometimes during a coaching conversation, an individual may seem to besharingopenly,yetwithoutdivulgingimportantinformation.Intheseinstances,agoodcoachmustrelyonsensesotherthansound—bylearningto“lookbeyondthewords”forinformationandinsightsfromnonverbalcues.

Watchforthefollowingbehaviors:

PhysicalBehaviors.Theseincludeyawning,lookingdown,avoidingeyecontact,gesturingwiththehandsandarms,foldingarms,andsoon.VerbalBehaviors.Patternsoflanguage,verbaltone,avoidanceofkeyissues,repeatedreferences,orcommontopicsorthemescontinuingtoariseintheconversationareallverbalbehaviors.Anindividualwhokeepsreturningtoaparticularperson,event,orfeelingissignalingthatthethememaybeadominantfeatureofthatindividual’sstoryorperspective.Or,theavoidancetotalkaboutcertainevents,people,orfeelingsmaybeasignalaswell.EmotionalBehaviors.Elementsofastorymayprovokeemotionalreactionsthatareparticularlystrongorsurprising.Theseareemotionalcluesthat,ifobserved,gobeyondsimplyplacingasingleexperienceinanoveralllifestory.Theycantellanobservantcoachhowmuchpowerorinfluencethemomentofthatexperiencehashadontheoverallstory.

Try looking through a set of binoculars at some sporting event:immediatelyyouwillgrasptheconceptof“pointofview.”Withbinoculars,youcansitinthecheapestofthecheapseats,wayupatthetopofastadium,andstillwatchtheactionasifyouweresittinginthebestseatsrightatgroundlevel.It

isn’t that the game itself changes; rather, your perspective or point of view ismodifiedbythelensesthroughwhichyouarewatchingit.

In coaching, the individual’s perspective canbehelpful or hurtful.Somehaveexcessivelycriticalornegativepointsofview,whereothers’perspectivesare too optimistic. Some of the people you coach will struggle because ofoverabundant passion and self-confidence; they see their own potential asunlimited.Otherswillbetimidanddiscounttheirownpotentialtoomuch.

Sometimestheirpointofviewisevidentintheelementsofthestoryitself;sometimesit’snot.Youmayneedtocarefullyprobeforgreaterunderstanding.Youdothisbylisteningwithempathy.Empathyisnotlisteningtosomeoneinordertoadvise,counsel,reply,refute,fix,judge,solve,change,agree,disagree,ortofigurethepersonout.Empathyistheabilitytoaccuratelyreflectwhattheperson is feeling, experiencing, and saying. Great coaches create a safeenvironmentwherepeoplesimplyfeelunderstood.

ChallengeParadigmsDeeply held views that color every aspect of a person’s thinking are called“paradigms.” A person’s paradigmsmay or may not correspond to reality. Amanwhoseparadigmisthatwomenareover-emotionalmighthaveahardtimeworkingwithwomen.Awomanwhoseparadigmisthatofamaniscontrollinganddominantmighthaveahardtimeworkingwithaman.Anindividualwhoismotivatedonlybymoneymightloseinterestinotheraspectsofpersonalgrowth,balance,andfulfillment.

Ourparadigmscanhelporhurtus.Ourparadigmscanlimitusinachievingour potential, thus becoming self-fulfilling prophecies. People afraid of failureinterpretsetbacksasconfirmation that theyare failures.Theymayalsobe riskaverse, hindering, and judging of those who seek to innovate or who makemistakesorhavefailures.Inturn,theybecomelesslikelytotryforsuccess—sotheirfaultyparadigmbecomes“true.”

Acoachcanhelppeopleshiftpeople’sparadigmsbychallengingthem.Forsomeonewhohasstruggledinthepast,acoachcanhelpthemlookbackonhardtimesandreframethoseexperiencesthroughapositivelens.Thecoachcanhelptheindividualask,“Howdidthatdifficultexperiencebenefitme?Whatwasthegrowthorlearningopportunityinit?IfIcouldchangethissituation,whatwouldmyidealsituationlooklikeinthefuture?”

WhenCarolineCasey turned17,she tried toapply foradriver’s license.Theproblemwas,Carolinewasblind.Neverhavingdefinedherblindnessasa

disability, shewas taken abackwhen officials laughed at her for requesting alicense.Herparadigmwasthatshewasnotatalldisabled.Herparentshadnevertold her she was disabled, so from her point of view she could do anythinganyoneelsecoulddo.Itwasarevelationtohertolearnotherwise.

Prevented fromchoosingonepath, she chose another.Shewent to Indiaandrodeanelephant—whichdidnotrequirealicense—acrossthecountry.Shethencircumnavigatedtheglobe,using80differentformsoftransport.Todayshehelps businesses change their point of view to better accommodate disabledpeople.

As a coach, your task is to help individuals change paradigms that areholdingthembackfromachievingtheirpotential.

The late computer-science professor Randy Pausch turned his imminentdeathintoalessononliving.Informedbydoctorsatage46thathehadonlyafewmonthsofgoodhealthleftbeforehewoulddieofpancreaticcancer,Randydecided tomakeuseofevery lastminuteofhis life.Hegothimself invited tospeaktotheU.S.Congressontheneedformorecancerresearch;hedeliveredanupbeat lecture at Carnegie Mellon University on “Really Achieving YourChildhood Dreams”; and he wrote The Last Lecture,5 a positive, forward-lookingbooktranslatedinto46languagesandfeaturedonTheNewYorkTimesbest-sellerlistfor85weeks.

Mostconsider setbacksasomensof failure.This is a faultyparadigm. Ifyoucanhelppeopleseetheirperceiveddeficienciesintheframeworkofoverallproficiency, they can overcome that paradigm. Randy Pausch’s exampledemonstratesthatpeoplecanshiftperspectivesandturntheirgreatestchallengesintoopportunities.

When a coach helps a person challenge their paradigms, they canmorereadily take responsibility for their life or situation.When they learn to aligntheirparadigmstoreality,manyofthebarrierstorealizingtheirpotentialbegintofall.

PsychiatristDavidBurnsidentifiessomecommonpatternsofthinkingthatare based on unrealistic paradigms. People jump to conclusions with all-or-nothing, absolutist thinking (“He always (or never) responds that way to myrequests”)ordiscountpositiveexperiences(“Sheonlyhelpedmeonthatprojectbecause she wanted all the credit”).6 The coach’s job is to challenge theseassumptions, test values and intent, and help the individuals towards a morerealisticviewofthemselvesandtheirsituation.

Aclientofminestruggledwithstress-relatedhealthchallenges,includingboutsofanxietythatledherdoctortosuggestthatsheseekstress-management

coaching.Adevotedwifeandmother,shealsoheadedanonprofitorganizationin South America and was regarded as a high achiever and a role model forothers.Butshewasplaguedbyfearsanddoubtsthatcausedintensedistress,andsheoftenfoundherselfincapacitatedforhoursatatime.

Incoaching sessions, she recountedmemoriesofherchildhood.Shewasraisedinalovinghomebutwassurroundedbyillnessandexcessiveworry.Shewatchedafamilymemberstrugglethroughalong,terminalillnessfromhisbirthuntilhisdeathinhistwenties.Theseexperiencescloudedherresponsetostressinherlifeasanadult.

After coaching and practicing positive, affirming self-talk, she beganfocusing on the evidence that her work at her nonprofit organization wasimportant. The more light she shed on her fears, the more they scattered,providing space to release and eliminate eachnegative thought as it appeared.Althoughshehadfeltfear,shecouldnowrecognizecourageandoptimisticallymove on with her life despite some of her negative history and difficult lifeexperiences.

We challenge paradigms by imagining the world as viewed throughdifferent lenses. It takes imaginationtoenvisionsomethingdifferentandbetterthan the negative stories people tell themselves or those inaccurate storieswemaytellorbelieveourselves.Coachescanhelppeoplebegintoseethefruitsoftheir own potential instead of the ashes of their limitations.Coaches can helpfuel,support,andfirethatimagination.

3.COMMITMENT

It’s easy to motivate people in the short term. A persuasive pep talk, animmediate reward, an urgent threat—all these external motivations can movepeopletoaction.Buttheydon’tlast.Oncetheurgencyisgone,themotivegoeswithit.Theonlykindofcommitmentthatlastsisinternalcommitment.

That’s why creating lasting commitment is another key principle ofeffectivecoaching.

Buthowdoesacoachcreatecommitmentintheindividual?Ofcourse,youcan’trequirecommitmentfromothers,butyoucancreate

theconditionswherepeoplecommittogoalstheythemselveswanttoachieve.The principal skill for creating commitment is to ask powerful coaching

questions.InherbookChangeYourQuestions,ChangeYourLife:10PowerfulTools

for Life andWork,7 respected executive coachMarileeAdams says that life’stoughestissuesarenotsolvedbyhavingalltheanswers,butbyaskingtherightquestions.Coacheswhocontinuetoaskpowerfulandprovocativequestionshelpindividuals develop a sense of internal purpose and commitment for the longrun.Inasense,acoach’smainjobistoasktherightquestionsattherighttime.

Of course, coachesmust always remember that the opportunity to coachcomeswith anobligation tohonorpeople’s right to be in chargeof their ownstoryand,ultimately,theoutcomesofthecoachingexperience.Questionsshouldnotbemanipulative.

Along with asking questions, a coach should remember to talk less and

listenmore.Most of your talking should consist of asking powerful questionswith active listening. I use the word powerful because the questions actuallyprovokecommitmentandassigntheheavyliftingandrealworktobeperformedby the individual.As a coach, if I tell peoplewhat to do and how to do it, itbecomesmy responsibility, not theirs,whether itworksor not.The individualthencancomebackand say, “Okay, coach, Ididwhatyou toldme todoandhowyoutoldmetodoit,anditdidn’twork—andnowwhatdoyouwantmetodo?” Individuals don’t take ownership of commitments that doesn’t belong tothem.

Of course, your questions will often naturally follow the pattern of theconversation. Inmostconversations, casualor formal,onceapersonbegins toshare her story, aspirations, or struggles, the sharing can prompt appropriate,intuitive follow up questions. But coaches have an obligation beyond simplybeingverycapableconversationalists.Theymust focusonhelping individuals,teams, andorganizations achieve strategies, prioritize goals, shift perspectives,andkeepcommitments.Thisisbestdonebyquestioning.DuringmyColumbiaUniversity Coaching Certification Program, our director Dr. Terry Maltbiataughtoursessionastructuredframeworktoengageothersinanaturalcoachingconversation.

Thepowerfulquestionsacoachasksmayfallintothreeareas:

1.Engagingwithpurpose(Opening)2.Advancingtocommitment3.Obtainingcommitment(Closing)

First:Engagingwithpurpose.Startbyaskinginsightfulquestionsthatgetthe individual thinking about purpose, whether it’s the purpose of the wholecoachingengagement,or thepurposeof today’smeeting, including thedesiredbenefitsofit,thatmayinclude:

Whatspecificneeds,issues,oropportunitiesbringyoutocoaching?Whatarethemostimportantstrategies,goals,oroutcomesthatyouneedtoaccomplishpersonallyorprofessionally?Whatdoyouwanttoaccomplishasaresultofourcoachingrelationship?Whatlegacydoyouwanttoleaveinyourlife/yourfamily/yourcareer?Whatdoyouseeasyour“bestself”fiveyearsfromnow?

Whatcontributioncanyoumakeinyourcurrentroleatwork?Whatdoyouneedtoachievethisyear?Canyoumakethatgoalmorespecific?Howwillyouknowwhenyou’veachievedthatgoal?Howwillyoumeasuresuccess?Whatwillbedifferentasaresultofthetimewespendtogethertoday?

Once the individual has envisioned a goal, the challenge is to figure outhow to achieve it. The individual isn’t likely to commit if the goal seems toolofty, vague, or difficult, whether the goal is to turn a profit, improve arelationship,betterengageateam,ortoloseweight.

Second: Advancing to commitment. Your questions should help theindividual move towards both logical and emotional commitment. Your taskhereistohelptheindividualanticipateandtakedownbarrierstoachievement.

Whatareyoucurrentlydoingthatisworkingtowardsyourgoal?Whataretheobstacles?Howhaveyouaddressedsimilarsituationsinthepast?Ifyouhadunlimitedresources—time,money,people,information,technology—andknewyoucouldnotfail,whatwouldyoutry?Whatresources(includingtime,money,people,information,technology)doyouhavethatyoucancallon?Whatarethebenefitsofgoingaftertheseanticipatedgoalsandkeyoutcomes?Whatwouldbethecostsornegativeoutcomesofnotdoingthesethings?Whatisthesinglemostimportantthingtodonowtoadvancetowardsyourgoal?Ifyouwenttoyourrespectedpersonorexpertwithyourproblem,whatwouldthispersonsuggesttoyou?Ifyousawsomeoneelseinyoursituation,whatwouldyourecommend?Onascaleof1to10(with10beinghighest),howmotivatedandlikelyareyoutomakeyourgoalhappenbythattimeframeyouhavecommittedto?Howmightyoualtertheplantomoveitclosertoa10?8

Third: Obtaining commitment. Obtaining commitment involvessummarizing, narrowing the focus, and selecting options and confirming nextsteps.Thesequestionsallowcoachesto“circletheconversationalwagons”andbringsummaryandclaritytoallofthesharedinformationandfeelings.

Closing the conversation requires that individuals have a clear andmemorablesummaryofwhat theyarecommitted todonext inpursuitof theirpersonalgoalsandaspirationsforchange.Thisiswhatwecall“confirming”theconversation.

Whatarethetwoorthreemostimportantthingsforyoutofocusonbeforeournextcoachingsession?Basedonwhatwehavediscussed,whatseemsmostimportantforyoutofocusonnow?Wehavetalkedaboutalotofimportantinformationtoday.Ifyouweretoputheadlinesonthekeyareasyouwanttofocuson,whatwouldtheybe?Whatwillyoudointhenext24hours(orweekormonth)tomoveforwardtowardsyourgoal?Onascaleof1to10,howmotivatedareyoutotakecareofthiscommitment?Whatwillittaketoturnthatratingofa6intoa9?Canyouthinkofanythingthatmightstopyoufromdoingit?Howwillyouovercomethatbarrier?Movingfromvisionandbigpicture,whatactionswouldyouliketofocusonoverthenext30,60,or90days?Whatdoyouneedtodotohelpfulfillthiscommitmentgoingforward?Howwillyoumeasureyoursuccess?Whatmilestonesorkeysuccesseswillbeimportantforyoutoachievewithyourgameplan?Whatdoyouseeasthebestwayofholdingyouaccountable?

Creatingcommitmentistheessentialclosingstageinthecoachingprocess.Commitmentarisesfrominsideout;anyattempttoimposecommitmentmeanstheindividualwillnevertrulytakeownershipofit.

That’swhypowerful questions are such important tools for the coach togainbuy-infromtheperformer.Askillfulquestionercanhelpindividualsspeaktheir own language, set their owngoals, promote their own reasons, and offertheirownsolutionswhen theyencounterproblems.Acoachmustnever forget

thatindividualscreatetheirownstories—wecan’tdoitforthem.Greatcoachessettherighthigh-trustenvironmentandsafeconditionsforpeopletotransformthemselves by doing the necessary heavy thinking and lifting.Dr. StephenR.Covey says, “Change—real change—comes from the inside-out not from theoutside-in.Itdoesn’tcomefromhackingattheleavesofattitudeandbehavior,bytellingoradvising,byfixingorteaching...Itcomesfromstrikingattheroot—the fabric of our thought, the fundamental, essential paradigms,which givedefinitiontoourcharacterandcreatethelensthroughwhichweseetheworld.”9

4.EXECUTION

Onceanindividualhasmadeacommitment,thecoach’snexttaskistohelpthatperson execute and be held accountable.The principle here is obvious: unlessthere isexecutionandaccountability, thecoachingengagementbecomes justafruitlessseriesofongoingconversations.Allsuccessfulcoachingconversationsneedto linkdirectly toactuallymeetingkeyperformanceindicators,measures,andobjectives.Howdoesaneffectivecoachhelpindividualsexecute?

Coaching is working to discover the precise nature of an individual’sdesireddestination.Whatistheoverallscopeoftheengagement?Thechallengefor a coach is to help the individual find this desired destination without thecoachimposinghisorherownpersonalparadigm,vision,values,orpassion.

A coach’s duty is not to define the journey or push people along a pathwhere they may not want to go. Rather, coaches help individuals keep theirhandson thesteeringwheelso theycanbothdriveandarrive.Foundational tohelpingpeoplegrowistodisengagethemfromthenegativeandthelimiting,andtoengagetheminthepositiveandexpanding.

Inherent in the ideas of growth and achievement is the optimisticexpectationthatthingscanchange,andwillchangeforthebetter.

Executing worthwhile goals usually requires continuous, often repeatedeffortsofaccountability.Tomeetasalesgoal,togetaproductoutthedoor,tohelp a student towards a degree, to get stronger, or to lose weight—theindividualhastokeepworkingattypicalgoalslikethese.Often,theindividuallacks staying power and the commitment to the right behaviors or habits to

sustainlastingchange.Takingthefirststepisoftenhardenough—contemplatingthethousandthstepcanbewearying.

However,acoachknowsthatrepeatedeffortcanalsobecomeeasierovertime.Repeatedactionsbecomehabits.Moreover, thebestcoachescanactuallyhelpindividualsgetintoa“flow”statethatcanbeexhilaratingforthem.

Getintothe“Flow”Whatistheflowstate?PsychologistMihalyCsikszentmihalyidefines“flow”asafeelingofgreatinnerclarityandenergythatcomesfromtotalabsorptioninatask.10Weoftenhearathletestalkaboutthe“high”ofbeing“intheflow.”Whenflowispowerfulandpurposeful,peoplehaveoptimalenergy,fullengagement,evenbliss;theydescribefeelingliketheyarefloatingalongariver.

Just as a rivermoves towards a determined point, people in a flow statemove towards a defined destination inherent in their mission. The flow statesustains the insights and impacts through the coaching experience. Flowempowersindividualstomovebeyondtheircoachastheypursuetheirdreams.Greatcoachestrytoachieveandsustainflowwiththeirindividuals.

Recall“Flow”ExperiencesOnewaytohelpindividualsgetintothe“flow”istoaskthem:

Thinkofatimewhenyouwereinahighperforming“flow”state.Whenareyouareyourbest?Howdiditfeel?Whatkeptyougoing?Howdoyouthinkyoucouldgetintotheflowstateofhighperformancenow?

“Flowing”doesn’thappenbyaccident.Itrequirespracticeandpersistenceto create flow. For one thing, according to Mr. Csikszentmihalyi, “It is notenough to know how to do it; one must do it consistently, in the same wayathletes and musicians must keep practicing what they know in theory.”11Gettingintotheflowisquitedifferentfromexperiencingpracticeandrepeatedeffort as drudgery. The flow state leads to high levels of self-mastery, self-confidence,andfulfillmentatthesametime.

Discover“Flow”BehaviorsAnother way to get individuals into the flow is to help them find some newactivitytoenjoy,somethingtheyaregoodat,thatleadstowardsthegoal.Somepeopleneverexperience flowbecause they remainstuck inoldparadigms,oldhabits, and fruitless practices that are emotionallydrainingor boring.Coachescanhelpindividualsdiscovernewandbetterbehaviorsthatgenerateflow.

Businessmogul Sir Richard Branson has never been afraid to challengehimself. His list of achievements and the fact that his face is plastered onadvertisements everywhere belie the fact that he is by nature rather shy. Hisdyslexiaresultedinpooracademicperformanceasachild,andheneverfinishedformalschoolingdue tohis learningdisorder,but thatneverstoppedhimfrompursuinghispersonalandprofessionalaspirations.Intimehediscoveredhewasagreatvisionaryandgoodatmakingconnectionswithpeople.His companieshavehadtheirupsanddowns,butin1992hesoldtheVirginlabelfor$1billionto fund Virgin Atlantic Airways. Today the Virgin Group encompasses morethan200companiesin30countries—andkeepsBransonverybusy.Despitehismany setbacks in business, he is known for his imagination, hard work, andpassiontopushtheboundariesofinnovativesuccess.

Howdoeshekeep it all going?He is in flowwithpeople and ideas.Heexudes a highdegree of appreciation, optimism, and trust in others, reframingnegatives into positives, and inspiring those around him to join the flow ofinnovation and new ideas. He’s always ready to step into the river and befloodedwith energy andnew ideas.Evenwhenhe’s in ameeting, hemay liedownonacouchtoeasebrainstormingwithhisguests.Ifhehearsagreatideaanddoesn’thaveanotebookhandy,he’ll jot itdownon thebackofhishand.Whatmatterstohimisthefreeflowofideas,andhedoeswhateverit takestokeepthattapflowing.

Whileintheflowstateofhighperformance,peoplehavemoreenergyandself-awareness,andtheyfindthemselvescompletelyimmersedinwhattheyaredoing.Howcanyouhelpthepeopleyouarecoachingfindthosenewbehaviorsthatwillgetthemintothe“flow”?Askthesequestions:

Whatarethemostimportantunmetneeds,challenges,difficulties,oropportunitiesthatsocietyisaskingyoutosolve?Whatisthehighestandbestcontributionyoucanmaketohumanity?Whatlegacydoyouwanttoleave?Whatdifferencedoyouwanttomake?

Whathaveyoualwaysloveddoing?Whatareyoureallygoodat?Whatareyoumostpassionateabout?Whatprofessionalorcareer-relatedopportunitiesareyoumostexcitedtopursue?Whatuniquetalentsorabilitiescanyoubringtothegoal?Whatdoyoudobest?Whathaveotherstoldyouyou’regoodat?Wherehaveyoureceivedacknowledgment?Whatfeelslikeplaytoyou—meaningthatwhenyouengageinthatactivity,timeseemstoflyby,andyoufeelhappierandliftedup?

OneofthegreatmusiciansinhistorywasGlennGould,anaward-winningCanadian pianist.As a child he lovedmusic but couldn’t stand practicing thepiano.Histeacherswerefrustrated.ButGlennfoundhisownwaytomastertheinstrument: he loved intensively studyinghismusicbooks and scores andwasabletocommitthemtomemory,visualizinghimselfplayingandinterpretingthemusicinhisownwayevenwithouttouchingthepiano.

Aftermanyhours of such study,Glennwould sit downat thepiano andperformwhathevisualizedinhismind.Hisuniquewayofgettingintotheflowledhimtobecomeaworld-famous,one-of-a-kindconcertartist.TheexampleofGlennGould shows that there ismore thanoneway toget into flow—in fact,thereareprobablyasmanywaysastherearepeopleoropportunitiestodoso.

PersistinPracticing“Flow”Ahabit issimplyagrooveorapathwayin thebrain.Repeatedactivityofanykindeventuallycreatessuchagroove,andyouareabletodotheactivitywithoutthinkingabout it,almostsubconsciouslyoreffortlessly.Theexecutionofgoalsoftenrequiresroutine,habitualwork.

Consider American swimmer Dara Torres, who participated in fiveOlympics,takinghome12medals,includingfourgoldmedals.Attheageof41,her time in the event that got her to theBeijingOlympics in 2008—the 100-meterfreestyle—was2.47secondsfasterthanherOlympictimein1988atage21.Mostwouldassumethatawomanof41couldnotparticipate,letaloneexcel,atthelevelrequiredfortheOlympics.

Torresfoundherownwaystogetintotheflowandthenmadeithabitual.Every day she went through a series of what one sports-writer called “weirdinventedexercises.Shechurnedoutpush-upswithherfeetsuspendedinleatherstraps...Sheplungedoffatiltedwoodblockwitharesistancecordattachedto

herwaist,as ifshewasdivingintoanimaginarypool.Almostnothingshedidusingtheequipmentatthefitnesscentermatchedtheinstructionsforhowtousetheequipment.”12

Torres achieved her goals by inventing her own way into the flow andstayingtherehabitually.Flowbecomeshabitual,andhabitsinturnsustainflow.

Asktheindividualyouarecoaching:

Howmuchtimeandeffortwillyouneedtocommittopursuethisopportunity?Whatonethingcouldyoudoeachdaythatwouldgetyouclosertothegoal?Whathabitsdoyouneedtoform?Whathabitsdoyouneedtochangeoreliminate?

Sohereweare,hopefullywithabetterunderstandingoftheprinciplesthatunderlie the practice of coaching.These principles growout of a fundamentaldesiretohelpandanethicalframeworkthatguidesthatdesire.Theseprinciplesinfuseall typesofcoaching—personal, team,andorganizational.Although theprinciplesremainthesame,theapplicationvariesbasedontheaudience,andinthenextfewchapters,Iamgoingtoshowhowtheseprinciplescanbeappliedinactualcoachingsituations.

PARTTWO

SEVENCOACHINGSKILLS

Coaching is far more than showing up and counseling, giving pep talks,consulting,advising,or tellingpeoplewhat todo. It’sadefiniteskillset.Withpracticeandtherightintent,Ibelieveanyleaderormanagercangetreallygoodatcoaching.Thegoodnewsis,anyonecanmasterit.Whetheryou’recoachingexecutives of large corporations or five-year-old soccer players, you need thefollowingsevenskills.

1.Buildtrust.Thisisthefoundationalcompetencyandskillofallgreatcoaching—withoutit,individualswillsuspectyou,questionyouragenda,slowyoudown,andpossiblyrejectyouasacoach.That’swhyit’sthefirstskillofcoaching.

2.Challengeparadigms.Aparadigmisthewaywethink.Anindividualwhobelievestheycan’timproveisnotcoachable—untilthatparadigmchanges,you’llgonowhere.Yourindividual’sparadigmsmightbecomebarrierstoachievement,andasacoach,yourtaskistochallengethemfirmlyandgently.

3.Seekstrategicclarity.Withthecoach’shelp,theindividualshouldchoosepersonalgoalsandbecompletelyclearaboutthemwithmeasurableendpoints.Withoutstrategicclarity,coachingbecomesaimlessandendless.

4.Executeflawlessly.Executionmightbethetoughestchallengeofall—thecoachcanhelpindividualsactuallytoset,prioritize,andachievetheirgoalsandhelptoholdthemaccountable.

5.Giveeffectivefeedback.Allcoachesgivefeedback.Someofitiseffective.Byfollowingthesuggestionsinthisbook,youareguaranteedtogivefeedbackthathelpscreateawareness,focusonactions,andachievetheresultsthatpeoplewantwithwhomyou’recoaching.

6.Tapintotalent.Mostpeopleunderestimatetheirowntalents.AsDr.StephenR.Coveywouldoftensay,“mostpeoplehavefarmoretalentthantheyeveruse.”Asacoachyouneedtoknowhowtohelppeopletapintotheuniqueandvastreserveoftalentstheyalreadyhave.

7.Movethemiddle.Coachesareusuallyfocusedonhelpinghighperformersgetevenbetter.Itisessentialtorewardandpromotetoptalent.However,thebiggestopportunityforperformanceimprovementinanyorganizationistohelpto“movethemiddle,”amongthoseperformerswhoaregood,butnotyetgreat.We’llshowyouhowtotakeadvantageofthatopportunity.

In life, as in work, one of our key leadership responsibilities is to helppeople gain vision and strategic clarity in their jobs, careers, and in theirbusiness.

Never forget your role as a leader is to help people through uncertainty,darkness, and the fog, so they get to their ultimate destination and achievesuccess.

On July 4, 1952, Florence Chadwick, who had previously swum theEnglishChannelwith success,nowattempted the21-mile swim from theU.S.southernCaliforniamainlandtoCatalinaIsland.

Thewater was freezing at 48 degrees. The fogwas thick, and visibilityoffered little to no sight at all. Finally, one-half mile from completion of herdestination,shebecamediscouragedandquit.Thenextdayreporterssurroundedherandaskedwhyshehadquit.Wasitthecoldwater,thedifficultcurrents,orfatigueduetothedistance?Sheresponded,“Iwaslicked[defeated]bythefog.”She then recalled a similar lack of clarity due to the fogwhile swimming theEnglishChannel,when the fogwas equally engulfing.Shewas exhausted.Asshereachedoutforherfather’shandinthenearbyboat,hepointedtotheshore.Sheraisedherheadoutofthewaterlongenoughtoseethelandahead.Withthisnewvisionandclarity,shepressedoninthefogandbecamethefirstwomantoconquertheEnglishChannel.

SimilarlytothewaythatFlorenceChadwick’sfatherpointedtotheshorefromtheboat,leadersandmanagersmusthelpcoachtheirpeopleandteamsby“clearingthepath”andhelpingthemseeopportunitiesandsuccessbygainingaclearvisionandstrategicdirectioninthemidstofthefogamongmanyurgent,distractions.

It’snotthehardworkthattirespeopleout—it’sthefog!

5.BUILDTRUST

Great coaches place a premium on establishing, developing, extending, orrestoringtrustwiththepeoplewhomtheyarecoaching.

Often trust is overlooked as a hidden variable. And yet we can all citesituationswhere low trust isevident.Allwehave todo isglanceat themediaheadlinesconcerningglobaleconomicmarkets,corporatescandals,bankingandgovernmentimproprieties,andabusesintheworldofpolitics,entertainment,orathletics. We can find low trust in educational, religious, and charitableorganizations.Only39percentofemployeestrusttheirseniorleaders,accordingtotheWatsonWyattWorkUSAstudy,andonly45percentofemployeeshaveconfidence in their management teams.13 Almost half of employees reportedobservingmisconduct that, if revealed,wouldcause their firmto“significantlylose public trust,” according to aKPMG2000GlobalOrganizational IntegritySurvey.14

The role of a coach is twofold: (1) to help the individuals themselvesbecome more trustworthy and (2) to establish a trusting relationship withindividuals and key stakeholders. In your first role, you earn trust by being amodelofcharacterandcompetence.Inyoursecondrole,youknowyou’rebeingeffectivewhenyour individuals andkey stakeholders consistently attract loyalpeople to themselves—people whom they position, empower, and reward—successorswhoareprepared to leadevenbetter than they themselvesdo.Youknowwhen there is trust in the organizationwhen leaders actively get otherspromoted, build a pipeline of talent, and try to create leaders to replace

themselves.Trustworthiness might sound a bit traditional or old-fashioned—like

somethingyou’dtalkaboutataBoyScoutmeeting—butitisabsolutelycurrentand necessary.Why? Because trust translates into individual credibility. Eachindividual leader,manager, or coach has a personal brand of trust or distrust.Credibility comes from the Latin root credere, which means “to believe.”Anyoneyouexpecttosuccessfullycoachothersmustfirstbelieveinyou.

In his best-selling book The Speed of Trust,15 Stephen M.R. Coveydescribestwosourcesoftrustworthiness:characterandcompetence.Characteriswhoyouare—yourpersonalmaturity, integrity,andcommitment toprinciples.An immature, unprincipled person cannot be trusted regardless of his or herskills.Your competence iswhat you do—your talents, skills, and capabilities.Evenapersonofhighcharactercannotbetrustediftheylacktheskillstodothejobinahighqualityway.Bothcharacterandcompetenceareessential tohavetrustandcredibility.

We have said that trust is the first principle of coaching, and it bearsrepeating.Asacoachyoumustmodelbothcharacterandcompetenceyourselffirst, before you can expect it of others.Your interactionswith the individualmust be beyond reproach. Your own honesty and integrity are your stock-in-trade;youcan’taffordtoraisequestionsintheperson’smindaboutyouragenda.Acoachis,bydefinition,inapositionoftrust.

Your competence is amatter ofmastering the skills taught in this book.Whatyouareultimatelydoing iscreating leaders, trustworthypeoplewhocanchallenge their own paradigms, strategize for themselves, execute flawlessly,andtapintothetalentsandresourcesavailabletothem.Soalleffectivecoachingstartswithyourcharacterandabilitytobuildatrustingrelationshipwithleadersyouarecreatinganddevelopingaroundyou.

Your task is also to help your individuals become more trustworthythemselves. They are going to be leaders; therefore, theymust be trustworthypeoplebymodelingtheespousedvaluesoftheteamandorganization.

DiagnoseCharacterWhat is the individual’s intent—that is, theirmotives and agenda? No one iswilling to follow a leader whosemotives are suspect.Motivesmust be open,transparent,andmutuallybeneficial.

Thinkabout it:Whenyoususpectsomeonehasahiddenagenda,areyounotcautiousandreticenttobefullyengaged?

How do you help an individual become more trustworthy? This isaccomplished not through lectures so much as through asking the rightquestions:

Whomdoyoutrustandwhy?Whomdoyoumistrustandwhy?Whotrustsyouasacoachorleader?Whatareyoudoingtoearnthetrustofothers?Whatkindofrelationshipdoyouwantwithyourboss[yourcoworkers,yourspouse,yourkids,yourmarket,yourcustomers,youremployees]?What’syourmotive?Ifyouactonthatmotive,whatkindofresultsdoyouthinkyou’llget?Intheshortterm?Inthelongterm?

Letindividualsdefineforthemselvestheoutcomesofsuspectmotives.A coach who helps abusive husbands overcome their behaviors relies

heavilyonquestionslikethese.Insteadoflecturingtoabusivemenonthelaw,morality,andrelationshippsychology,heasksthemquestionslike:“Whatkindof relationship do you reallywantwith yourwife?What kind of behavior onyourpartwillcreatethatrelationship?What’syourmotiveforhittingher?Whatdoyou think theoutcomewillbe ifyouacton thatmotive?Whatdoyou seehappeningdowntheroadifyoucontinuetobehavethisway?Doyoutakethissameabusivebehaviorathomeintotheworkplace?”Byconstantlyaskingthesequestionsagainandagain,thiscoachhelpshusbandsbecomemoreself-aware—of their hopes, their wishes, their motives, self-betrayal, and the inevitableconsequencesoftheiractions.Often,thisapproachbringsarealawarenessandchangeinbehavior.

DiagnoseCompetenceAndthatbringsustoanotherelementoftrustworthiness:results—trackrecord,outcomes, the ability to get the right things done. If leaders don’t accomplishwhat they are expected to, their trustworthiness decreases. The converse isequally true: When leaders achieve the promised results, they establish areputationasproducers—andtrustincreases.

Todiagnosethecompetenceofthepeopleyouarecoaching,askquestions:

Whatisyourtrackrecord?Whatwouldotherssayaboutyourabilitytodothejobandconsistentlygetresults?Whatdoyouthinkaboutyourabilitytodothejobandconsistentlygetresults?Wheredoyouneedtoimproveyourabilities?Whatcanyourteamrealisticallydo?Wheredoesyourteamneedtoimprove?

The purpose of these questions is to bring to the surface strengths tocapitalize on and weaknesses to work on. The idea is to help the individualidentifyareaswheretrustmightbeenhanced.

One example of a high-trust coaching engagement that I hadwaswith aworld-classU.S.NationalFootballLeague (NFL) football organization and itsowner—we’llcallhimMr.Jonesforthesakeofprivacy.

Mr.Joneswasahighlyrespectedandsuccessfulbusinessmanandawell-known philanthropist in his metropolitan community and within the state. Hehad established a strong brand, emphasizing family values, and communityinvolvementastheowneroftheteam.

He hired me as an executive coach for the leadership team within hisorganization.Duringthiscoachingengagement,Iobservedhisgreat leadershipand vision, and his generosity to the community and the organization. Heextended high-performance expectations and high trust to the leadership andplayersonhisteamandtothecoachingstaff.

AlthoughIcannotsharetheconfidentialdetailsregardingourengagement,I can summarize some overall coaching themes and impressions from myexperience. The leadership team has become a great model of the leader-as-coachthatexemplifiestrust,empowerment,andcredibilityatallorganizationallevels.Thiswasfirstmodeledandexhibitedbytheownercreatingacultureofstrategic clarity, clear goals and objectives, high expectations for success, andongoingaccountability,aswellasestablishingastrongcultureoffamilyvaluesandloyaltytohisteammembers.

Mr.Jonespurchasedtheteamtohelpbringthecommunitytogetherandtoput forward a great product that would inspire trust and success with allstakeholders.Hischaritablefoundationisagreatmodelforofferinggenerositytoat-riskyouthaswellasdonatinggenerouslytoeducation,art,andculture.Mr.Jonesalsopersonallydonatedmorethan$150milliontovariousothercharities.Whenheacquiredtheteam,hewasalreadyatrustedleader.Everyoneknewthat

hisintentwaspositive,andhisintegrityandtrackrecordwereunquestionable.AftertheNFLfranchisewasrockedbyscandalandasuccessionofseveral

differentcoaches,Mr.Jonesknewhehadtochangethewaybusinesshadbeendone. While breaking in a new, untested quarterback, Mr. Jones gave hiscoachingstaffandmanagementteamthefreedomtomakechoices.Trustingandempowering the leaders around him to hire the right talent paid off and thatinfluencedthemostsuccessfulwinningseasonsinthefranchise’shistory.

Mr.Jonessawthevalueincoachingandthatitwouldsignificantlyhelphisleaders to furtheralign theirdecisionswithhisorganizationalvalues, andhelptake their personal and professional performance to an even higher level ofsuccess.Thus,heoffered tocoach leaders inorder tohelp set the rightvaluesand tone at the top, which in turn, began to make its way throughout theorganization.

Our monthly executive coaching meetings were with the head footballcoachandhisgeneralmanagerwhichfocusedonbothpersonalandprofessionalissues,challenges,andopportunitiesforsuccess.Theteamalsotookmeasurestoclearly empower their assistant coaches, players, and staffwithbetterdecisionmakingskills,planning,prioritization,andexecution.Theywantedthemtohaveagreater senseofpurpose in theirworkand toseekopportunities forpersonaland career growth. The team also valued the importance ofwork–life balanceandwantedtopromoteasenseoffamilyamongtheirleadersandstaff.Specificopportunitieswerecreatedforhisleadersandtheirfamiliesinordertobecomeinvolvedingivingbacktothecommunity.

Itwasclear tomethatMr.Jones’ownexpressionofmodeling trust,andhissinceredesiretoempowerothers,begantopermeatetheentireorganizationinaveryshortperiodoftime.Mr.Jones’sdesiretofurtherentrustandempowerhisleadershipteamsettherighttoneatalllevelstobegintrustingandmodelingthe right behaviors to further build commitment, motivation, and engagementacross the organization. A coach, whether an external coach like me, or aninternalcoachlikeMr.Jones,mustfirstandforemostestablishtherightcultureofvalues,performance,andtrust.Astheleaderseekstomodeltherightvaluesandbehaviors,theoverallorganizationwillbegintofeelfreetoempowerothers,andthusacultureoftrustwillbebornorganizationwide.

6.CHALLENGEPARADIGMS

AsI’vesaid,ourparadigmcanlimitusinachievingourpotential.Recallthataparadigm is a point of view or a way of thinking. So many paradigms areobstacles to improvement: a view of oneself as inadequate or untalented orvictimized.Asacoach,yourtaskistohelpindividualsshiftparadigmsthatlimittheir progress. You can do this by questioning those inaccurate or limitingparadigms.

Throughoutthisbook,I’veusedpowerfulquestionstodemonstratehowacoach can help create an opportunity for increased self-awareness andtransformational change. The great master teacher Socrates asked pupilsquestions that challenged the accuracy and completeness of their thinking.Hestated, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” In a way, that moved hisstudentstowardshavehumilityandinquirytolearninganddiscovery.Let’slookat five categories of questions he used to challenge paradigms, thinking, andassumptions:

1.ExploreAssumptionsAskquestionsthathelpindividualsthinkaboutandtestthepresuppositionsandunquestionedbeliefsorvaluesonwhichtheyarebasingtheirleadershiportheirwork styles.Your job is to shake the deep bedrock of their thinking and helpthem go to even deeper levels of reasoning. Here are examples of suchquestions:

Youseemtobeassumingthatsuchandsuchisthecase.Whyisthisthecase?Whatunderlyingvaluesorperceptionsseemtobedrivingtheseactions?Howdidyouchoosethoseassumptions?Pleaseexplainwhyorhowyou’rethinkingthis...Howcanyouverifyordisprovethatassumption?Ifyouweretosharethefactsorthedataonthissituation,whatwouldtheybe?Whatcouldweassumeinstead?

2.ProbeRationaleWhenanindividualgivesarationaleforopinionsandassumptions,digintothatreasoning rather than assume it as a given fact. People often use weak logic,reasoning, or support for their arguments. The following questions help themexaminetheevidencebehindtheirbeliefs:

Whyisthishappening?Howdoyouknowthisisthecase?Canyouexplaintomeorgivearationaleofwhatisgoingon?Canyougivemeanexampleofthat?Whataretheimpactsofthissituation?Whatdata,facts,orevidencewouldgiveyoureasontobelievethat?

3.QuestionViewpointsandPerspectivesMost arguments are given from a particular position. You should feel free toquestionthepositions.Showthattheremaybeother,equallyvalid,oralternativeviewpoints.

Whatisanotherwayoflookingatthis?Doesthisseemreasonable?Whatareyouralternatives?That’saninterestingtheory.Isthereanotherapproachyoushouldconsider?Whatarethestrengthsofyourargument?Whataretheweaknesses?Whobenefitsfromthis?

Whatwouldsomeonewiththeoppositeviewpointsay?Whatisthedifferencebetweenthisscenarioandthatscenario?

4.ExamineImplicationsandConsequencesOften people have not thought through all the possible outcomes of aproposition.Encourageacompleteexplorationofallthepossibilitiesbyaskingthefollowing:

Dotheintendedconsequencesoroutcomesmakesense?Whatarethedesirableoutcomesandbenefits?Isthereaclearandlogicalbusinesscaseforaction?Ifyouachievethedesiredoutcome,thenwhatwouldhappen?Whatarethepositiveand/ornegativeconsequencesofthatassumption?Whataretherisksorthecosts/benefits?Whatistheoveralleconomicvalueofdoingthat?Whataretherisksorthecostsofnotdoingthat?Whatmightpossiblyhappenthatyouhaven’tthoughtaboutyet?

5.QuestiontheQuestionYoucanhelpindividualsexaminetheirparadigmsbyturningthequestioninonitself.Inasense,youaremakingtheindividualdotheheavylifting.

WhywouldIaskyouthatquestion?Whatwasthepoint?Whydoyouthinkyouareaskingyourselfthisquestion?Isthisquestionimportant?Whyorwhynot?Whatassumptionsarebehindthequestion?

Coachesmustbealerttotheneedofindividualstochallengethevalidityoftheir old paradigms. Often, people are afraid to test and question theirassumptions—acoachcanhelp take the fearoutof theprocessbymaking itanatural and positive step. Coaches can help everyone adopt the attitude ofpositive inquiry, effectively challenging old paradigms, and innovativelyembracingchange.ThomasKuhnputitthisway,“allsignificantbreakthroughs[inperformanceresults]comefrombreak-withsinoldwaysofseeing.”

WhenIwascoachingtheleadersofabillion-dollarchemicalfirm,oneofthetopexecutiveswasuneasyabouthisjob,buthedidn’texactlyknowwhy.Itwasagreatposition,andhewasmakingarealdifference.

One day I conducted a workshop, and this leader attended. In theworkshop,IintroducedwhatIcallthe“WholePersonParadigm”—thatapersonhas physical, emotional,mental, and spiritual needs.We are not satisfied as a“wholeperson”unlessallofthoseneedsaremet.

Whenitcametimeforourcoachingsession,hetoldmethathisparadigmhadshifted.Hehadnotbeenthinkingofhimselfasawholeperson.Hereiswhathesaid:

Ihavebeenrunningthebusinessforeightyearswithdouble-digitgrowthandhavebeenexecutingverywell.Ninetypercentofourteamsarehittingtheirtargets,andwehavehadoneofourbestgrowthyearsinthehistoryofthiscompany.Ihavebuiltaverysolidleadershipteam.

ButamImotivatedtostaywiththiscompanyforthelongterm?Aremywhole-personneedsbeingsatisfied?

CurrentlyI’mmakingverygoodmoney,andifIleavethiscompany,Iwillforfeitalotofmoney;alotofcommissionsandbonuseswillbelefton the table. So my current physical needs for money are very wellsatisfied. The heart or social emotional need is also fully satisfied: Myboss,whoistheCEO,isawonderfulmanwithhighintegrity,andhetreatsme very well. The family and the business have been loyal to me. Thecompanyhas takenverygoodcareofme, and I amdeeply indebtedandloyaltothem.

ButasIlookatthingswithawhole-personmindset,IhavebecomeawarethatIwanttotakemyprofessionalcareertothenextlevel.Ireallybelieve I need to be more challenged intellectually. To be more fullyengaged in my career, mymind andmy intellect needmore global andstrategicchallengeanddevelopment.

Ashiscoach,mytaskwastohelphimchallengehisownparadigms.Theparadigmshiftheexperiencedhelpedhimmoveon toamorechallenging,butmore intellectuallyrewarding,positionwithanothercompany.Thiswasaverydifficultmoveforhim,butthroughcoaching,hewasabletotransformhiscareerandhislifetoahigherstateofmeaning,purpose,andcontribution.

7.SEEKSTRATEGICCLARITY

Akeycoachingskillistohelpindividualsfindtheirdestinationontheirown—withoutforcingonthemthecoach’sownvision,values,orpassions.Nocoachhastherighttoforcechange,toimpelmomentum,ortoprescribeordemandaparticulardestination.Butboththecoachandindividualneedadestination,andfundamental tothatdestinationisaself-chosenpersonalmissionthat is ignitedbywhatDr.StephenR.Coveycalls“theburningyesinside.”

The coach’s task is to help individuals comeupwith a concretemissionstatementandastrategyforcarryingitout.Helpingpeoplefindtheirmission—thelifepurposetheyareburningtosayyesto—isessentialtodefiningthenewdirectiontheywishtotake.Amissionnotonlygivespurposetolifebutalsocanunleash the power to re-focus, repurpose, and re-energize that life ofmeaningandpassion.

Ihaveafriendwhogavehislifetohisjob.Hewasaloyal,intelligent,andeffectivesenior-levelemployeewholovedhiswork.ButIfeltuneasywhenhemadethecommenttomeonedaythatthecompanywashislife.Thismanalsohad a son, two daughters, and a wife who waited for him at home while heworkedwhatever demanding hours his projects required.He has been able toremain married and to have an acceptable, if not close, relationship with hisdaughters.Buthissonhasturnedtodrugsandhasbeeninandoutofjail.Whenvisitinghissoninjail,hissonsaid,“Dad,I’mnotsureI’dbesittinghereifyouhadbeenhomewhenIneededyou.”

InhisbookTheHeartAroused:PoetryandthePreservationoftheSoulof

CorporateAmerica,poetandlecturerDavidWhytetellsofawomanhemetinone of his corporate workshops. The participants had been exploring whyhumans sacrifice their “personal vision” and their “sacred desires” to profit acompany.Shetoldhim,“Tenyearsago...Iturnedmyfaceforamoment,anditbecamemylife.”16

Instead of grasping at things that are momentarily attractive, we mustinvest our time and attention to clearly define a vision—a dream we cherishdeeply and one towhichwe arewilling to give great effort and sacrifice.Wemust turn our faces towards that vision even in the face of immediate andpressing items on a to-do list or with the pressure to keep up with society’sdefinitionofmaterialsuccess.

In everyday terms, if you’re not happy in your personal life, it impactsyourworkoutputandhowyouinteractwithyourcoworkers.Andtheconverseisalsotrue:Ifyou’renothappyinyourworklife, itaffectshowyouactwhenyou walk through the door at home or meet with your friends. If you’re notachieving “what really matters most to you,” it affects you in every way—mentally,physically,spiritually,andemotionally.

Amanageratauniversitywaspromotedtoatopadministrativepost.Farfromcelebratinghersuccess,shefoundherpromotiontobesostressfulthatshebecamenearlyincapacitatedbyherfearoffailure.Shespentcountlessovertimehoursatwork, stoppedexercising inaneffort to squeezeoutmore time in theday,startedlivingonfastfoodfromthevendingmachine,andeventuallygained30 pounds. She couldn’t sleep soundly. Her anxieties spilled over into herpersonallife.Shefounditimpossiblenottothinkaboutworkwhileathome.

Duringcoaching,shespent timeclarifyinghermissionandpurpose,bothpersonalandprofessional.Whenshebecameclearonwhatwastrulyimportantto her, she was able to repurpose and better focus on balancing all fourdimensions of life: physical, mental, spiritual, and social/emotional. She nowbegins each day at work by listening to inspiring music, places fruit andhealthful snacks within eyesight on her desk, takes at least one stress breakduringthedayfora15-minutewalk,attendsanexerciseclasstwiceaweek,andhasmovedherchairsothatshecanseethetreesfromherofficewindow.Afterdoing these few things, she performed so well in her new job that she waspromotedagain—andthistimesheknewhowtohandlethestress.

Clarifying your strategic mission in life can help you achieve yourpotentialanddecreasestress.Youknowwhattosayyestoandwhentosayno.Coaches can help by introducing the individual to the notion of a personalmissionstatement,awrittendocumentwiththefollowingattributes.

Amissionstatementaccomplishesthefollowingpurposes:

ClarifieswhatismostimportanttotheindividualProvidesfocusandclarityHelpstheindividualdesigntheirownlifeinsteadofhavingitdesignedbyexternalforcesGuidesday-to-daydecisionsabouthowtospendtimeandenergyGivesagreatersenseofmeaningandpurpose

Ultimately, a personal mission statement forms the foundation of the“burningyesinside.”Ithelpstheindividualtomeasurelife’ssuccessaswellasorganizational success. When people achieve things connected with theirpersonalmissionandvision,itfeelswonderfultothem.

MyStoryIn my mid-20s, I was immersed in a fast-moving, high-level career. Theeconomywas booming, and I was surfing the corporate leadershipwave.MyclienteleincludedmanyFortune500companiesaswellasgovernmentagencies.Asamanagementconsultant,Iinfluencedkeycorporateleaderswhileworkingsideby sidewithmanygreat coacheswhowere topperformers in the fieldoforganizationalbehaviorandleadershipdevelopment.

I knew how to help individuals uncover basic values and principles inorder to craft their own personalmission statements. Those statements helpedthemdefinetheirvisionandfindtheirvoiceintheirlifeandwork.Itaughtthemto“beginwiththeendinmind”andhelpedleadersandmanagersclearlydefinewhere theywanted to endup in theirpersonal andprofessional lives. I helpedindividualsestablishtheirvisionandgoals todrivetheirmissionsandstrategicpathways.

Iwassatisfiedwithwhat Iwasdoing,yetnotsatisfiedwithwhere Iwasgoing. I had a compelling vision of where I ultimately wanted to beprofessionally. I was teaching scientists with PhDs at Dow Chemical,Westinghouse, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, as well as experiencedseniorexecutiveswithinvariousglobalcorporations.Iexploredmanyoptionstotakemy life to the next level. I was unsurewhether I should attend graduateschool, gain international career experience, get married, or start my ownbusiness.

HereIwas,awell-paidmanagementconsultantinfluencingthedestinyofleaders inmultinational corporations,but I lacked the strategicclarity tomakedecisionsaboutmyownlife.Withnoclearvisionformyfuturecareer,Ibecamemore and more frustrated and confused. Nothing seemed quite right. It wasironic that I had been teaching strategic clarity and focus to managers andleaders inmyprofessionalwork each and everyweek, yetmypersonal futureseemed so unclear.Whywas I having such a difficult time chartingmy owncourse?

Ibegantodoalotofself-analysisandreflection.Finally,afterweeksofponderingmyfuture,andwhileonabusinesstripto

workwithanexecutiveteamatPackardElectric,Iwokeupinthemiddleofthenight, filled with the confidence that comes from hours of careful personalreflection. I jumped out of bed and began mapping out specific steps and atimetableformyfuture,basedonmypersonalvision,mission,andgoals.Iwasbecomingmyownexecutivecoach.

Ialsosoughtouttwocoachesforguidanceanddirection,individualswithwhom I hadworked closely atmy job. I had consultedwith both of them onseveral engagements and had tremendous trust and respect for their lifeexperiences andconfidence in theirguidancewithmycareer.Theyhelpedmeweighthecost-benefitsofstayingor leaving, togainmuchdesiredandneededinternationalexperience.Theyhelpedmeweighmyoptions:afulltimegraduateprogram,outsideconsultingexperience,orleadingandmanagingabusiness.

Myroadmapwasstrangelycounterintuitivebutbecameperfectlyclearinpartbecauseofgreatcoaching.Ittookcouragetoleaveawell-payingjob,whereIworkedforoneofthebestleadersinmyfield,andalargeconsultingfirmthatwasmore like family thancoworkers.But Iknew itwas the right thing todo.Within two months I had sold my home, left my job, accepted a yearlongteaching post at South China University of Technology, spearheaded amanagement-development program for Nike in Guangzhou, China, andcommenced my graduate studies in Organizational Behavior at ColumbiaUniversityinNewYorkCity.

Myroadmapmadenosense in lightof short-termeconomicbenefit andmyeight-year investmentwitha leadership-development firmthat I loved.Buttheshort-termsacrificewasrightforme.Inpursuitofthatclearandcompellingvision,Istartedworkinginaforeigncountryonasalarylessthanone-tenthofmy former earnings, depleting my savings, and incurred significant debt topursueanadvanceddegreeatafirst-tierIvyLeagueschool.ButasIdiligentlyand rigorously followed my road map, I found myself enjoying the mostastoundingpersonal,business,academic,andculturalexperiencesofmyentire

life.My coaches helpedme develop a vision of the futurewith real strategic

clarity, as well as a very detailed tactical plan that charted my actions andcommitmentstoexecuteonthatstrategy.Giventhattheformulaissosimple,itisunfortunatethatmorepeopledon’tfindtheirwaytolivingthelifetheylove.Perhapstheysuccumbtothesentimentcapturedinthisoften-usedstatement:“Intheabsenceofclearlydefinedgoals,webecomestrangely loyal toperformingdailytriviauntilultimatelywebecomeenslavedbyit.”

Visionwithoutactionismerelyadream.Actionwithoutvisionjustpassestime.Visionwithactioncanchangetheworld.

—JoelA.Barker

Short-TermNoiseMuchoflifecanbedrivenbyurgentshort-termnoisebutrelativelymeaninglessdemands. By contrast, a successful career requires a clear vision, carefulplanning,analysis,andstrategyformulationallalongtheway.Thesameistrueofanyeffortyoulead—whetherit’sstrategicgoals,aproject,ateam,adivision,a family, or a whole organization. The coach’s job is to help individuals andteamsgettotallyclearontheirvision,mission,andcontribution.Thesepersonalcoachingquestionsarehelpful:

Whatkindoflifeandwhatkindofcareerwouldyouliketohave?Howwillyoumeasurethesuccessofyourlifeandcareer?Whatwouldbeasuccessfullifeorcontributionbyyourdefinition?Whataspectsofyourcontributiondoyouwanttokeepinbalance?Whatareyourmostimportantrelationships?Whatareyoudoingtokeepthemclose,intimate,happy,andfunctional?Whatwouldcompelyoutogetoutofbedeverymorning,passionatetogetgoingwithyourday?Whatimportantandmeaningfulthingswouldyouwantthesepeopletosayaboutyouatyourfuneral:Aspouse,apartner,orafamilymember?Acolleagueatwork?Afriend?Whydoesyourteamexist?Whatpurposedoesitserve?Whatdoesteamsuccesslooklike?

Whydoesyourjobexist?Whoandwhatpurposedoyouserve?Areyousureitistherightpurpose?Howwillyouknowwhetheryou’veachievedit?

Theleaderwithaclearmissionsometimeswinsthegamebeforeitevenstarts.Thewilltosucceedisimportant,butthewilltoprepareisevenmore

important.—DukeUniversityHeadBasketballCoachMikeKrzyzewski

But a great mission is generally useless without a great strategy forachievingit.AsPeterDruckerstates,“Allgrandstrategieseventuallyboildowntowork.”

To fulfill an organizational vision and mission, the strategy defines thepathandtheplansinhowtoleverageitscorecapabilitiesandresourcestobestsatisfyitsmarket,customer,andorganizationalneeds.Strategyisalsoabouthowyouwilldifferentiateyourvaluewithyourproducts,services,or technologyinthemarketplace. Itdefinesacompany’suniquenessandcompetitiveadvantageand consists of how to leverage your operational plans, budgets, and coreresourcestocompeteandwin.And,ofcourse,strategydefineswhatdrivesthemoney-making model to drive increased cash, profit, margin, growth, andadditionalresources.

Tofulfillanindividualmission,thestrategyisusuallysimpler,consistingofpersonalvalues,goals,objectives,plans,andresources.

In general at the team and organizational level, there are two types ofstrategies: the competitive strategy that defines why, what, where, and withwhom youwill competewith your products and services; and the operationalstrategythatdefineshowyouwillprioritizeandleverageyourcoreoperationalcapabilities, strengths, unique know-how, intellectual property, processes,partnerships, distribution, people, and alliances. In helping leaders developstrategy,coachesshouldaskthefollowingstrategicquestions:

Whoareyourkeycustomers?Whataretheirneeds?Howcanyoubestaddvaluetosatisfytheirneedsbetterthanyourcompetitors?Wherewillyoucompete?Whatisyourdistinctivecompetitiveadvantage?Whatproductsorserviceswillyouprovideornotprovide?Howcanyoubestleverageyourrelationshipsamongpartners,

customers,suppliers,anddistributors?Howcanyourresourcesbestbedeployedacrossmultiplebusinessunits,geographies,andchannelstosupportyourcorecompetitivework?Howwillyoudifferentiateyourselfoperationallyfromyourcompetitors?Whatcapabilitiesshouldyouinvestin?Whatwillyounotinvestin?

Onceyouhavehelpeddefineyourcompetitivestrategy, then it’s time to tellaclear, compelling, andengaging storybycreatingyour strategicnarrativewithyourleadershipteam.

The following diagram shows the elements of how to draft a strategicnarrative.Thisframeworkcanbeusedbyanycoachtohelpleaders,managers,andteamsasktherightquestionstohelpclarifytheirstrategicdirectionsotheycan focus on the right work and execute it flawlessly. The diagram isaccompaniedbyaseriesofpowerfulcoachingquestionsthatleadtodraftingandcommunicatingyourstrategicnarrative.

First,startbydefiningthe“strategiccontext,”theimportantindustryforcesandissuesthatneedtobetakenintoaccountbeforeyoudefineyourstrategy.Todefinethestrategiccontext,askthisquestion:Whataretheexternalforcesthatarechangingyourbusinessenvironment?

Second,defineyour“jobtobedone,”thatis,theuniquevalueyoubringtothemarketplace,thecustomers,andthepurposeyourbusinessserves:Whoareyourcustomers(internalandexternal)?Whatdoyourcustomershireyoutodoforthem?Howwellareyoudoingthatjob?

Third,defineyourbusinessunit’smoney-makingmodel.Howmuchcashdoyouneed?Whatprofitmargindoyouneedtoget?Whatisthevelocityyouneed(speedofproductivityofinventory,production,orservices)?Whatrevenuegrowthdoyouneed?Howcanyoumaintainprofitableandsustainablegrowth?

Fourth,defineyourcorecapabilities.Whatdoyoudobetter thananyoneelse?Whataretheoneortwocorecapabilitiesyouneedtoobtainorimprovetodoyourjobbetterforthecustomer?

Fifth,defineyour few“strategicbets”:What competitivemovescanyoumakethatcoulddramaticallyimproveyourbusinessresultsoverthenexttwotofive years? How will your key strategic bets help you achieve the rightmilestonesandtargetstohelpachieveyourfivetotenyearvision?

Here is an example of a strategic narrative tool that offers powerfulstrategiccoachingquestionstohelpdriveyourdivision,businessunit,andteamto clarity and simplicity, so leaders and teams can clearly articulate andcommunicatetheirmostimportantstrategicprioritiesandobjectives.

Oncethecoachhashelpedcreatethecompetitivestrategy,it’stimetosetand align the right goals for making the strategy work. Without clear,measurable,time-boundgoals,thestrategyturnsintoanunusedbindergatheringdustonashelfsomewhere—becausenooneisreallyaccountableforexecutinganythingconcrete.

A great coach helps make sure the strategy is translated into actionablegoalsfromthetopoftheorganizationallthewaydowntoeverybusinessunit,function, team, and even to the individual level of production. This is calledcreating “lineof sight.”Everygoal at every level shouldbe clearly connectedandalignedbacktotheoverallcompanyvisionandstrategy.

Nothingreinvigoratesteammemberslikeatimelyreminderofapowerful

andcompellinggoal.MycolleagueBillBennettoftensays,“itisnothardworkthatcausesapersonorateamtobecometired;it’sthefogorthelackofclarity.”Peopleneedclarityaboutwhat isexpected,definedtargets,howtoaccomplishthegoals,andwhentheyneedtobeachieved;andthatmeanscreatingconcrete,realistic,andmeasurablegoals.

Inmyexperience, fewpeopleandorganizationshaveclear, realistic, andmeasurable goals. Instead, goals usually come in the form of a fuzzy, vagueslogansuchas:

“Thecustomerisalwaysnumberone.”“Safetycomesfirst.”“Bebetter,faster,andcheaper.”“Qualityisjobone.”“Hityournumbers.”

Vaguesloganslikethesemakeit impossiblefora teamtoreallyknowwhattoachieveorwhat todo.Bycontrast, a concretegoal canbeclearly,objectivelymeasuredandwritteninthefollowingformat:

“FromXtoYbyWhen.”

Thismeans:“WearenowatX(currentstatebaseline),andwewanttobeat Y (future state finish line) by a predetermined future date of completion(timeline).”

HereareafewexamplesofconcretegoalsandobjectivesusingtheXtoYformat:

Increaseprofitwithnewproductsalesfrom$150millionto$225millionthisyear.Paydown50percentofour$1millionincorporatedebtthisfiscalyear.Reducecustomerqualityconcernsloggedby30percentbyQ2.Increasebillingclosureratesfrom10daysto2daysbyQ4.Increaseoperationalproductionfrom82percentto91percentbyQ2.Decreaseship-to-requestfrom48hoursto12hoursbyQ4.Reduceprojectquotationtimefrom14daysto48hoursbyyearend.Achieve100percentofprojectlaunchreadinessasmeasuredbygreenon5PsbyQ4.Reduceresponsetimefrom48hoursto8hourswith90percentofcustomersbyQ3.Achieve95percentofproductionuptime(peopleandequipment)byyearend.Achievegreaterthan90percentratingsoncustomerscorecardbyQ4.

A great goal must be clear, specific, achievable, and measurable. Generalstatementssuchas“decreasedebt”wouldbefarlessactionable.“Decreasedebtby50percent”ismeasurablebutstillweakbecauseitgivesnocompletiondate.Amorecorrectgoalstatementwouldbe,“decreasedebtby50percentbyfiscalyearend.”As the latePeterDruckersaid,“Whatgetsmeasuredgetsmanaged,andwhatgetsmanagedgetsdone.”

With goals, less is more. In our professional and personal lives, we canalways find an abundance of good things to pursue. But if everything isimportant,thennothingisimportant.Whenitcomestogoalsetting,lessismore.Ten“priority”goalswilldiluteateam’sfocusquickly.Atorrentofgoodideascanturnintoaweaktrickleasenergyissiphonedofftofeedanoverabundanceof “key”goals.Helpingpeoplenarrowdownand select a few—maybeone tothreeatmost—strategicgoalsisanimportantdutyofacoach.

Iwilldefinethesestrategicprioritiesandobjectivesas“WildlyImportantGoals”(WIGs).WIGsare termedthevital fewmost importantgoals thatmustbe achieved this year to fulfill the strategy, or nothing else you achieve reallymatters. The idea of the WIG helps people distinguish between a lot ofsecondaryorday-to-daygoalsandthecriticalgoalsthatmustbeachieved.

Notice thedifferencebetweenPresidentsEisenhowerandKennedyin theway they presented the challenge to the American people to explore space.Eisenhower said, “TheU.S. needs to lead theworld in space exploration.”Bycontrast,Kennedysaid:“Weshallsendtothemoon,240,000milesawayfromthecontrolstationinHouston,agiantrocketmorethan300feettall,thelengthof[a]footballfield,madeofnewmetalalloys,someofwhichhavenotyetbeeninvented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than haveever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finestwatch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control,communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknowncelestial body, and then return it safely to earth, reentering the atmosphere atspeeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half of that of thetemperatureofthesun...anddoallthis,anddoitright,anddoitfirstbeforethedecadeisout.”17

Kennedy’sveryspecificvisionandgoal,withitstimeframe,galvanizedanation to participate in that inspiring challenge. People sold their homes andmoved to Florida and Texas in order to have a chance at being part of theexciting vision put forward for the future space industry. The grand goalwastranslatedintosub-goalsandprojects.Everydayworkintheaerospaceindustrywas connected to a larger vision and a compelling purpose.With his precise

challenge, President Kennedy provided the strategic why to motivate thecommitmentofanation.

Coaches can help people gain tremendous clarity by posing thesequestions:

Whatistheonegoal(theWIG)thatyoumustachieveorthestrategyfails?Whatistheorganization’sorteam’shighestpriority?Whatistheactivityorobjectivewithoutwhichnothingelseisworthdoing?Giventhevariouskeypriorities,whatcanyousaynoto?

Certainly, many goals matter, but they pale in comparison to the moststrategically orwildly important goals, and the coachmust help everyone seethat.

Thefollowingareaseriesofcoachingquestionsthatwillhelpanyleaderormanagerengageinasuccessfulgoal-settingprocess.

1.Whatisyourroleinrelationtothecompany’svisionandstrategy?2.Doesyourteamhaveasenseofitsmostcriticalbusinessgapsor

businessopportunitiestobeachievedwithinthenextonetothreeyears?3.Dothesegapsoropportunitiesdirectlyconnectwiththeorganization’s

desiredfuturevision,mission,andstrategy?4.Whatarethetwoorthreemostimportantgoalsthatyourbusinessunitor

teammustachieveifyou’regoingtofulfillyourvision,mission,andstrategy?

5.Whatarethebenefitsorvalueofachievingthesegoals?6.Whatarethecostsifyoudonotachievethesegoals?7.Doesaclearlineofsightexistbetweenyourkeygoalsandthegoalsone

levelup?8.Doesaclearlineofsightexistbetweenyourkeygoalsandthegoalsone

leveldown?9.Doeseveryteammemberknowthegoals,thebusinesscase,andthe

importanceofachievingthem?10.Iseveryteammembercommittedandalignedtoachievethegoals?11.Doyourkeygoalshaveavalid,reliablemeasurethatdemonstrates

success,andcanthegoalbeeasilytrackedandmeasuredeachmonth?

12.Areyourgoalsandmeasurestrulyachievable/winnable?13.Areeachofyourgoalswritteninaformat,from“XtoYbywhen”?14.Dowehavealltherightteammembersandresourcesassignedto

accomplishthegoals?

Coachingcanhelpindividualsdefinethevitalfewmostimportantstrategicgoalsinthemidstoftheconstantnoiseandunimportantaspectsofeverydaylife.Differentiating between the mass urgency of the day job priorities versus themost strategically important goals and objectives is the role of any successfulleader,manager,andteam.

8.EXECUTEFLAWLESSLY

Itisonethingtocomeupwithgrandstrategiesandwildlyimportantgoals;it’squiteanothertoactuallygetthemdone.Themorealeaderisinlovewithhisorher strategy, the more they will underestimate what it will take to actuallyachieveit.Oncethestrategyisinplace,itmustbeenacted.Oneoftheworld’sgreatest thinkers on strategy, Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter,famouslystates“ItisbettertohaveGradeBstrategy,withGradeAexecution,thantheotherwayaround.”18

Theleaderormanagerascoachhasakeyresponsibilitytohelpteamsandindividualsclosewhatiswidelyrecognizedastheexecutiongap.Ifindividualswant to excel, they must clarify first strategic purpose and then executeflawlessly.Withoutexecution,thevisionisjustahope,awish,oradream,andthe best strategy will fail or be short lived at best. The inability to executestrategiesandgoalsremainsoneofthemainreasonswhyleaders,managers,andteamslosecredibilityandtrust.

Everyoneknowsthis.Yettheexecutiongapremainsthebiggestchallengeinmostorganizations.

A global survey on the topics of strategy and goal execution, called theExecution Quotient (xQ) Survey, has gathered data from more than 500,000leadersandteamsacross18globalindustriesand20languages.ThexQsurveyresultsshowthecommonchallengeswithstrategyandgoalexecution.Thedatavalidates four key root causes for breakdownswith flawless execution. Thesechallengesdon’tvarymuchacrossindustryorculture:

1.Goalclarity.Eighty-fivepercentofrespondentsdon’tknowthegoalsoftheorganizationtheyworkfor;44percentofthepeoplesaytheyknow,butwhenaskedtoidentifythegoals,only15percentcanactuallydoit.

2.Leveragedbehaviors.Eighty-fivepercentoftherespondentsdon’tknowwhattodotoachievetheorganization’sgoals.Theyoftendon’tknowthestrategicreasonsfordoingtheworktheyaredoing.

3.Compellingscoreboards.Eighty-sevenpercentoftherespondentsdon’tknowwhethertheircompanyiswinningorlosinginrelationtoitsmostimportantgoals.Theysimplydon’tknowthescore.Oriftheydo,theyarealmostalwayslookingathistorical“lagmeasures”—resultsthatappearonlyafteritistoolatetodoanythingaboutthem.

4.Weeklyaccountability.Seventy-ninepercentoftherespondentsarenotheldaccountableforlackofprogressmadetowardscriticallyimportantgoals.Only21percentmeetwiththeirbossesevenasoftenasmonthlytoassessachievementoftheirmostimportantgoals.Usually,accountabilityistop-down,punitive,orintimidating;oritissoft,permissive,andinfrequentatbest.

Asaresult,accordingtoresearchbyMichaelMankinsandRichardSteelpublishedintheHarvardBusinessReview,“Companiesonaveragedeliveronly63percentofthefinancialperformancetheirstrategiespromise.”Generallytheproblemisnotwithstrategy;theproblemiswithexecution.

Whydoindividualsandteamsfailsooftentoachievetheirmostimportantgoals, even with a good strategy in place? In my experience, it’s most oftenbecause they are struggling with a “whirlwind” of the day-to-day demands—lessergoals,urgentproblems,andadministrativeissues.Thestrategicgoalsgetlost inmental space clutteredwith e-mails, phone calls, superfluousmeetings,unnecessary reports, people’s “urgent” requests, and daily routine operations.Theseminutiaedeflecteveryonefromtherealgoals,keepingthembusy,butnotproductive.

Whenday-to-dayurgencycomesheadonwithstrategicpriorities,urgencyratherthanimportanceusuallywins.Whyisthis?Theurgentstuffisimmediate,proximate, and pressing, whereas strategic goals are usually long range, noturgent,andrequirenewthinkingandnewbehaviors.Thinkofitthisway:Wouldindividuals in your organization be busy even if they did not have a clearstrategyorgoals?Theanswerisyes—andthisisaworrisomeanswer.

Iwas coaching a senior leader and his team from a largemanufacturingcompany.Hetoldme,“It’sveryeasyforourstafftogetseducedandcaughtup

into what I call ‘management by attention deficit disorder—MADD.’ Everyurgent demand and everyproject become all important.Urgentworkbecomesveryshinyandattractiveandwechaseafteritandseektofixitimmediately.It’ssoeasytospendallofourtimerunningaroundalldayjumpingfromonefiretoanother.Attheendoftheweekwerealizewehavebeenbusy,we’retiredandcompletely exhausted, but haven’t accomplished any of ourmost strategicallyimportant things.We’ve been seduced by the tyranny of themanyurgent, yetlessimportantthings.”

Mostpeoplecanfindenoughurgent,administrativethingstodointheday-to-daybusynessoftheofficewithouteverfocusingontheimportantgoalsthatwouldbestdevelop,unleash,andmaximizetheirpotentialandoutput.Peoplegoto work each day and get all kinds of things done. But are they focused ongettingtherightthingsdone?Anindividualmaybeworkingextremelyhardbutfailing to do themost important things; under pressure, theymay simply losetrackofwhatismostsignificant.Manymistakeactivityandeffortforstrategicaccomplishment.

Sowheredoesacoachfitinthislosingscenario?Thecoachhelpsanindividualbecomeawareofthewhirlwind.Progresson

goals will be very slow, temporary, or undisciplined if this conflict is notaddressedearly.Coachesmusthelp individuals see theconflictbetweenshort-term,whirlwind (“urgent”) activities thatmake up the day atwork, and long-term(actuallyimportant)goalsthatfulfillthevisionandstrategy.

Oftenpeoplearen’tawareofthewhirlwind,andsoagoodcoachhelpsanindividualdistinguishbetweenstrategicgoalsandthemerelyurgent tasks.Thecoachshouldask,“Howdoesthewhirlwindshowupforyou?Ifyougetseducedinto simply focusingon and completing the short-termurgent tasks,whatwillhappen to yourmore important goals and objectives over time?What specificthings compete for your time, energy, and resources? When ‘urgent’ and‘important’forcesclashtogether,whichoneusuallywins?”

JimCollins,authorofGoodtoGreat,notesthatwhatmostindividualslackisdiscipline:“Thedisciplinetodemandresults,thedisciplinetoholdourselvesto sustained outcomes, the discipline to understand what are the inputs toproducetheoutputs,thedisciplinetobuildforthelongtermandnottosuccumbtoexpedientshort termopportunity, thediscipline toholdgrowthback toonlywhatwecandobetterthananyoneelseintheworld, thedisciplinetoonlyputpeopleinpositionswhoaretherightpeopleforthosepositions—evenifwefeelpressuretodootherwise—thedisciplinetochangebehaviorsandhabitsfromthetopallthewaydowntothefrontline.Thesearesomeofthekeydisciplinesof

greatness.”19Thecoachplaysakeyroleininstillingthosedisciplines.Thecoachmust

trainindividualsinfourdisciplinesofexecution:

1.Focusonthe“WildlyImportantGoal.”2.Actontheleadmeasures.3.Keepacompellingscoreboard.4.Createacadenceofaccountability.

Focusonthe“WildlyImportantGoal”(WIG)WhatisthemostimportantgoalthatIcanfocusontoachievesuccessthisyear?Great coaches help people realize that theywill alwayshavemoregood ideasthantheywillhavetime,money,andcapacitytoexecute;therefore,theyshouldlimit theirgoals tonomore thanone to threeata time.Theseare the“WildlyImportantGoals,” orWIGs, that ask the question:what is themost importantgoal thatmust be achieved this year or nothing elsematters verymuch?EachWIGneedstobecraftedwithaclearformat:“FromXtoYbyWhen”sothattheindividualhascleardirectiononwhatneeds tobeaccomplishedbywhat time.Then,thereisnochanceofthegoalbecomingvagueorbeingovershadowedbythewhirlwind.

ActontheLeadMeasuresWhataretheleveragedbehaviorsorproactiveactionsIcandothisweektodrivethe goal towards success? As previously discussed, great coaches helpindividuals realize that simply focusing only on the lag measures (the finalresult)isfutile.Asalesleadermightspendallweekonthephonecoaxingtheirsalespeopletomeettheirsalesgoals,butitwon’thelpverymuch.

Instead, the coach needs to help individuals identify the lead measures,those actions that they can control and that lead to achieving the goal. Theindividualmustidentifytherealworkthatdrivesthegoaleachandeveryweek.Leadmeasuresaredailyorweeklyactions that arepredictive of achieving thegoal.Leadmeasuresareeasiertoinfluencethanlagmeasuresbutarehardertomeasure.Everyoneshouldpartner indefining, tracking,andreportingprogressonleadmeasuresdailyorweekly.

Supposethegoalistoincreasenewsalesrevenuethisyearfrom$2millionto$4millionbyyearend.Belowisasamplelistofsalesleadmeasuresthatare

predictive,influence-able,andmeasureable(PIM).

Proposetwocontractstonewlyqualifiedbuyersweekly.Make50outboundcallstonewqualifiedprospects(80%getane-marketingbrochure)perweek.Make40follow-upcallstotargetedbuyers(movingfromsalespitchtoclose)perweek.Obtaintwonewqualifiedreferralsfromexistingclientsweekly.

Thesalesleader’staskistoenabletheplayersontheteamtoexecutethesetasksproactively,andnotfocussolelyonthesalesgoal.Thatgoalwilltakecareofitself if theseleadmeasureshavebeencorrectlydefinedandshowcasewhattheindividualsandteammemberscanactuallyinfluence.Forexample, insteadof focusing on an annual or quarterly new sales revenue goal (lag measure),coaches must help leaders focus on, say, the number of face-to-face salesmeetings conducted with a presentation to key decision makers weekly (leadmeasure).Leadmeasuresaregranular,influence-able,down-in-the-dirtmeasuresandarevitaltosuccess.

KeepaCompellingScoreboardHow do we know if everyone is engaged and winning at a game? Everyoneknowsby thepowerof a scoreboard.With scoreboards, everyoneknowswhateveryone else is doing. People play a game differently when they’re keepingscore—theytakeitseriously.Greatcoacheshelpindividualsandteamsinstitutea regular, visible, and engaging “players” scoreboard. The potential outcomemotivates the players to engage in the game. Keeping score always makes agamemoreinterestingandengaging.Motivationincreaseswhenaplayerknowswhat the score is,who iswinningor losing, andbyhowmuch.Evenchildrenbecome instant entrepreneurs when they are trying to sell more cookies thantheir friends can sell. People push themselves harder physically andintellectuallywhentheyknowtheywill“winpoints.”

Ascoreboardmustbeclear—youneedtobeabletoseewhatyouneedtoknow instantly:whereyoucurrently are andwhereyouwant tobe at a futuredate. Such a scoreboard is easy to understand and is really motivating to theteam.If thescoreboardisdesignedfora team,rememberthatafootballplayerwon’tknow the score ifhe’s trackingonlyhisgoals.Everyplayermustknow

thetotalscorebasedontheentireteam’sperformanceinordertoknowthetrueposition.Theleadandlagmeasuresmustbothbevisiblesothateverymemberoftheteamknowswhethertheyarewinningorlosing.

The following sample scoreboard allows any leader or individual teammember to visibly see the Wildly Important Goal, the Lead Measures thatconnecttherealworkandbehaviorsthatdrivethegoal.Thisvisiblescoreboardmotivatesandengagesteammembersinawinnablegameandhelpsthemfocuson how they can impact the right performance measures that drive successweekly.

CreateaCadenceofAccountabilityWhyisitsocriticaltoholdpeopleaccountable?Withoutaccountability,thereisno commitment. An individual must account for progress not just annually,quarterly, ormonthly, but weekly. Coaches can help a team so that the goal-accountabilitymeetingsaresetat thesametimeeachweek. In thesemeetings,teammembers discuss personal commitments and failures in an open, candidenvironment while seeking to celebrate based on achieving small weeklysuccesses. This progress report is an opportunity for learning, not judging. Ithelpspeopleknowiftheyareactuallycontributingtowardsthegoal.Aspeoplehelp each other “clear the path” by addressing obstacles, they build support,createmorepositiveenergy,andhelpeveryonestayontrack.

AccordingtoaHarrisInteractiveSurveycommissionedbyFranklinCovey,only one in four workers meet evenmonthly with a manager to account forprogress towards a goal. The survey also found that only 10 percent ofrespondents agreed with the statement “Team members hold each otheraccountable for results.”20Many times accountability is seen as punitive, top-down,orfearbased.Butitdoesn’thavetobethatway.AweeklyWIGreviewmeetingcancreatea rhythmanda ritualofaccountability inwhich immediatecelebrationandcoursecorrectioncantakeplace.

Somethingstowatchoutforinyourweeklyaccountabilitymeetings:

FocusonlyontheWIG,commitmentsthatmovetheleadmeasures,andinfluencingthescoreboard.Avoidthewhirlwind,administrativeissues,philosophicaldebates,andofficepolitics.Maintainpeer-to-peercommunicationratherthanmanager-dominateddiscussions.Thismeetingisnotabouttheleader.Teammemberscommit,report,andsupporteachotherwhileholdingeachotheraccountable.Reportingisdoneinquickbulletpoints,notinlong,verbosestatements.Keepmeetingstonolongerthanahalfhour—thesametime,sameplace,eachweek.Thefocusisonimportantcommitments,nottheurgent.Shareweeklyactionsandcommitmentsandremoveroadblocks.Ifateammemberisstruggling,theteamcomestogetherto“clearthepath”forthatperson.

Arecent studyby theConferenceBoard, aglobal nonprofit organizationthat disseminates information about business management practices, askedCEOs and leadership teams worldwide what their top ten issues were.Surprisingly, profit growth was last. Improving productivity and customerloyaltywasinthebottomfive.Butthetoptwowere(1)excellenceinexecution,and(2)consistentexecutionofstrategybytopmanagement.21Itmakessensetocoachpeopleinexcellentandpreciseexecutionofstrategy.

Flawlessexecutionhasbeencalledtheholygrailoforganizationalsuccess.Why is something that is so basic to the success of organizations—executingstrategyata teamororganizational level—sorareandsodifficult?Howcanacoachhelpchangethementalenvironmentandculturesothatexecutioncomesnaturally?

Such a change isn’t accomplished at the stroke of a pen. Flawlessexecutionrequiresachangeinmindset,behaviors,andskillset.Overtheyears,while facilitating leadershipwork sessions all around theworld, I have askedthousandsofleadersandteamstodescribetheircommonbarrierstoexecution.Herearethetopfiveissuestheycite:

1.Toomanygoalsatthetop.2.Unclearorshiftingworkpriorities.3.Mostimportantgoalsareonlyvaguelydefined.4.Conflictinggoalsacrosspeergroups.5.Constantlychangingrolesandconfusionoverworkresponsibilities.

These issues from leaders,managers, and employeesdemonstrate a clearneed for improved clarity, focus, and action. But in addressing these issues,people are going to resist change. That’s why the paradigm shift of the fourdisciplinesofexecutionissoessential,andyourability tocoachindividuals inthosedisciplinesisthekeytoyoursuccess.

Holdingpeopleaccountable to execute results anddoing this in the rightway is absolutely critical for leaders. The key is to seek to develop anempowered culture that is self-directed,motivated, and engagedwith the rightvalues and behaviors over time.Kurt Lewin, an early pioneer in the study ofgroupdynamicsandorganizationalbehavior,identifiedboththe“hard”andthe“soft”sidesofchange.The“hard”sideincludesthoseculturalaspectswhicharevisible, logical, rational,measurable variables of change, like profit and costs.The “soft” side involves people and cultural issues—that deal with emotions,

values, cultural or historical contexts, style, communications, and divergentreasoning.22 Although these “soft” side variables are less visible than thoserepresenting the hard side, they can drive or impede change. The bestway tohelp leaders improve theirorganization’sculture is tovalueandtreateveryoneandallissues,softorhard,asessentialtoproducinggreatresults.Thekeyisnotsimply to achieve results in a micromanaged or authoritative way. It meanscoaching,mentoring,encouraging,andrewardingleadersandteamstoeliminatebullying,fear,andintimidationtactics;toforegomanipulationsusingthecarrot-and-stickapproach;andtodropdemeaninganddemoralizingpunishmentanticsthatdestroyself-esteem.Teammembersneedtoknowthatallsuch“old-schoolaccountability”methodsandbehaviorswillnotbeusedbymanagement.

On the soft side of change, even the word discipline has negativeconnotations. It conjures up a trip to the school principal’s office for areprimand.Executionfaresevenworse,beingassociatedwithpunishmentorinthe worst case, death. Accountability also sounds fearful. Therefore, a goodleaderormanagerascoachmustrepurposethesechargedwords—toshowthatdiscipline provides individual freedom, support, and empowerment; thatexecution is an agent of offering ongoing feedback, providing innovativesolutions that enact change; and that accountability means continuousimprovement, and learningquickly frombothmistakes andbestpractices, andproviding ongoing, positive, peer-to-peer feedback real time. Understoodcorrectly,theseareallpositivethings.Thespiritofthedisciplineofexecutionisbased on the feeling that we are all in this together, and that we are here tosupport,improve,collaborate,andhelpeachothergetbetterovertime.

ColleenBarrett,formervicepresidentofLearningandDevelopmentofSouthwestAirlines,stated,“PracticingtheGoldenRule(alwaystreatingpeoplethewayyouwouldliketobetreated)isintegraltoeverythingwedo.Asithappens,thenaturalresultofapplyingthe‘GoldenRulebehavior’isbetteremployeeproductivity,employeeretention,andcustomerloyalty.”23

9.GIVEEFFECTIVEFEEDBACK

All coaches give feedback. Some of it is effective. Sowhat kind of feedbackhelps you achieve the results youwantwith your staff? It startswith offeringfeedback in a balancedway that helps people become better and focusing ontheir strengths,while helping to target a few key areas for improvement. Thespiritoffeedbackshouldhelptoimprove,motivate,andbuildhope—notinjure,demoralize, or demotivate. As Albert Schweitzer said, “In everyone’s life, atsometime,our innerfiregoesout. It is thenburst intoflamesbyanencounterwithanotherhumanbeing.Weshouldallbethankfulforthosewhorekindletheinnerspirit.”

Usually, we think of feedback as offering the individual our ownobservationsandsuggestions.Inacoachingcontext,however,weaskpeopletogivethemselvesfeedbackfirst.Questionstoaskpeoplemayincludethese:

Whatdoyoulikeaboutwhatyou’vedone?Whatseemstobeworkingwell?Whatwouldyouhavedonedifferently?Whatareafewareasyoucanimprove?Whathaveyoulearned?Howwillyouuseyournewlearning?Whatwillyoudodifferentlyinthefuture?Whatarethebenefitsofdoingthingsdifferently?

Onlythenshouldyouoffer,MayImakeafewobservationsandsuggestions?The people you coach will probably give themselves the feedback you

intended to give, and they will take more ownership of it if they speak itthemselves.Afterward, ifnecessary,youcanalwaysmakefactualobservationsandneededsuggestionsofyourown.

DuringonecoachingfeedbacksessionwithaCEOandhisleadershipteamintheirexecutiveconferenceroom,Iwaspresentingbackthesummarizeddatafromanemployeesatisfactionsurveythathadbeengiventotheentirecompany.Theconfidentialandanonymousdataspokedirectlytotheissuesofgoalclarity,goal-execution, translation of goals into action, team synergy, collaboration,trust, work-unit relationships, time spent on most-important activities, andcommitment to team goals. The data showed big gaps in: poor employeeengagement, employee dissatisfaction, people feeling under valued andunappreciated,highabsenteeism,andlowproductivity.

Suddenly, duringmy report to the senior executive team, theCEO,whoalsoownedthecompany,shotupoutofhischair.Sputteringwithanger,hesaid,“WhyshouldIevencarewhatmyemployeesthink?WhenIwasleadingcrewsatthiscompanyintheearly’60s,peopledidn’tmakeanycrazystatementslikethis.Theydidn’thavecollegedegrees.Theydidn’texpectallkindsofbenefits.Theyweregratefultohaveajob,andtheykepttheirmouthsshut.Nowwehaveabunchof entitledwhiners andcomplainerswhohaveway toomuch timeontheirhandstositaroundandgiveusfeedback.”

IhadbeenwarnedthatthisCEO’smantraswere“IfIwantyouropinion,I’ll give it to you,” and “Beatings will continue until employee moraleimproves.” Nonetheless, I was shocked by his defensive behavior. Privately,after the meeting, the president, COO, and CFO told me that those types ofoutburstsandtiradesagainstfeedbackmarkedtheCEO’smanagementstyle.TheCEOlookedmeintheeyeandsaid,“Whodoyouthinkyouare,cominginhereandtellingmewhattodo?”

Isaid,“Sir,withallduerespect,thisisn’tmycompanydata.Thisisyourcompanydata,andyoucanchoosetoacceptitornot.Howyourespondorreactto your data is your choice. It is simply data. I am here to present you thecommon themes, trends, and comments that represent all levels of youremployeepopulation’sperception.”

Claiminghehadanothermeetingtoattend,heinstructedmycolleagueandme to proceedwithout him, and he turned and left. (My colleague and I latercalled this experience “The Scarface Incident” in reference to Al Pacino’sportrayalofthefamousMafialeaderwholedhisorganizationwithanironfist.)

After this, we shifted our focus to coaching the senior team, who were

obviouslydisengagedandresignedtotheemotionaloutburstsoftheirtyrannicalleader.BecausetheCEOrefusedtobehumble,honest, transparent,andcandid—because he insisted on living in the past with its “industrial paradigm” ofmanagement—theorganizationwas losingouton tremendousopportunities forhonesty,learning,growth,improvement,andrenewal.

Althoughhonestfeedbackprovidesanexcellentavenuetoself-awarenessandisvitally important toeverycoachingencounter, it issurprisinghowoftenpeoplerejectit.Theadage“Youcanleadahorsetowater,butyoucan’tmakeitdrink” applies here. Feedback, combined with coaching, can lead to effectiveand transformational change, but feedback is often squelched or ignored.Employees sometimes fear feedback and don’t recognize it’s a real, life-sustaininggifttohelpthemimproveperformance.Ironically,thehigherupyougoinmanyorganizations,thelesslikelyyou’llfindmanagersandseniorleaderswho embrace or happily receive feedback, so as coaches we have to preparepeopletoreceivehonestandhelpfulfeedback.

As we have seen, many organizations continue to deploy a top-down,command-and-controlstylesofmanagement thatallowsonly limited feedback,with littleornocoachingandvirtuallynopeer-to-peermentoringandsupport.When fear, victimization, and blame permeate an organization’s culture,defensiveness and lack of engagement rules.AsDr. StephenR.Covey stated,“You can hire someone’s hand and back, but you can never hire their heart,mind,andspirit—thosemustbevolunteered.”24Theleaderormanager-as-coachcan help others see and understand the “whole person” both personally andorganizationally.Peopleshouldbefreetobringtheirhearts,minds,andspiritstowork,andwilldo sowhen theenvironmentencourages that sortof safetyandtrust.Adictator thrives on control and fear andperpetuates the old industrial-managementapproachthatisbothoutdatedandineffective.WearemovingfromtheIndustrialAgetotheKnowledgeAge,whenworkersexpecttobeinvolvedandtheirownintellectual,social/emotional,andspiritualassetsareleveragedintheworkplace.Alltoooften,peopleperceivefeedbackasnegativeordestructivebecausetheleadercommunicatesthatwayoravoidsgivingfeedbackaltogether.Often leaders and managers are not open or prepared to receive feedbackthemselves, and as a coach you may need to guide them to a new vision ofleadershipbenefitsbeforeyoucanaddressfeedback.

IndustrialAgeleadersrelyonmakingeverydecision, tellingpeoplewhattodoandhowtodoit,andmicromanagingtheirdirectreports.KnowledgeAgeleaders seek to empower people to make their own decisions, being open tofeedback, and unleashing the talent of their direct reports towards the

organization’s goals and priorities.As discussed, themediocre leader believestheyneedtoconstantlycontrol,micromanage,andmotivatepeoplewithexternalforce.Theyridetheiremployees;theynevergiveautonomytostretch,toexpandcapabilities,andtogrow.Theseleadersareonlyinterestedinshort-term,limitedresults.When change is externallymandated, those under theirmandatesmaycomply in the short term but will likely not fully embrace it, and highperformancewilllikelynotbesustained.Theprincipletorememberisthatwhenpeoplehavenorealinvolvementandownershipoverchange,theydonothaveafull commitment to it, and theywill resist and resent feedback.The followingmodel reinforces the difference between the industrial age approach and theknowledge ageworker approach,with various leadership behaviors and stylesthatfollow.Coachingleadersandmanagerstouseamoreparticipatorystyleofinfluencewillresultinpeoplewhoaremoreengaged,trusted,andempowered,and goes a long way to more fully motivate individuals and teams towardssustainableresults.

AvoidNegativeReactions

Acoachdoesnotneedtobetheproblemsolver,psychologist,teacher,advisor,instructor,orevenexpert.Acoachdoesneedtomirrortheindividual,actingasasoundingboard, facilitator,andguide tohelp raiseawareness.Agreatcoachbelievesthatpeoplealreadypossessgreatnessinsidethemselves;suchapersonknows that a coach creates a safe zone and the conditions to explore thatgreatness in the context of personal and professional game plans. Only whenpeople feel safe will they be open to honest feedback and to gaining higherlevelsofself-awarenessbasedondifficultissuesanddirectdata.Asacoach,youcan becomes an honest advocate to support and help release the talent andpassion towards their individual and organizational goals. An organization orteamthatcreatesaculturethatactivelyseeksfeedbackstandstogainimprovedleadershipandmanagementbenefitswithfasterdecisionmaking,quickercoursecorrection,higherperformance,employeeengagement,andproductivity.

Once feedback or assessment is offered, it is common for one-on-onecoachingtotakeplaceatmanylevelsoftheorganization.Thecoachcanremindpeople that feedback is any organization’s life-support system and that noorganization,team,orindividualcaneffectivelyimprovewithoutit.Bothgivingand receiving feedback are learned skills, and so, rather than focusing onlabeling,fixing,orsolving,acoachcanbethatcriticalpersontoobjectivelyhelpothers uncover context, explore themes, and target opportunities for lastingchangeandperformanceimprovement.

Duringathree-dayleadershipworksessionIwasconductingwithabankinKualaLumpur,Malaysia, Iguidedagroupthroughanextensive360-degreeleadership-feedbacktoolcalledtheLeadershipQuotient(LQ).Theleaderscameto thework sessionwithdirect feedbackon their leadership capabilities in theareas of: modeling and extending trust; clarifying team purpose and vision;aligningsystems,clarifyinggoals,andunleashingteamtalent.Manyleadershadvastbankingexperience,whereasotherswerenewbuthigh-potentialleaders.

Attheendofthesecondday,Isawonenewleaderinoursessionthathadreviewedherfeedbackdataandwasemotionallyupset.Sheaskedforaone-on-one coaching session after the program. I agreed, and during that meeting Iaskedaseriesofopen-endedcoachingquestionsabouthowshe interpreted thedata,what themesshesaw,andhowshewas feeling.Themorewespoke, themore visibly upset she became; and she started to cry. She initially expressedshockandrejectedthefeedback.

Afterawhile,Iwasabletohelpherreflectonhernewroleandthinkintothe future about what she wanted her role and contribution to look like. Shebegantobemoreopenandexploredthedatathemeshonestlyfromherpeersanddirectreports.Sheexploredwhyherteammighthavegivenhertheirresponses,

and she targeted key insights that could improve her perceptions among herteam.Shegainednewconfidenceandhopeasshenarrowedthefocusonafewkey items and charted a game plan.We identified small, yet significant, stepsforward that would help her best leverage her strengths, apply a few keyleadership tools, and best influence her team. Initially, there was an absoluteshock and sadness based on the data. Over time shemoved to humility, self-reflection,andopennessandgainedarealdesiretobetterunderstandandworkonthesenewfoundinsights.

During another coaching session with a senior leader from a largehealthcarecompany,wewerereviewinghis360-degreedataanddiscussinghisreactions toandhis thoughtsaboutgeneral themes, issues,strengths,andareasofimprovementfromhisboss,directreports,peers,andotherkeyrespondents.Ihadworkedcloselywiththisleaderforoverayear,andhadaveryhighleveloftrustwithhim,andIhadobservedhiminmanydifferentsettingswithhisteamaswellasinone-on-onesituations.Hewasamanofgreatintegrity,experience,intellectual capacity, and talent. He consistently delivered results and had theconfidenceofhisexecutiveteam.Togetherwereviewedthethreedifferent360-degreefeedbacksourcesfromtheirtalentmanagementdepartment,includinghisannualperformancereviewfromhisboss.Althoughhehadstellarperformancewith results, his feedback showed major gaps in his values and behavioralinteractionswithothers.Isoughttoreviewhisdatawithhiminabalancedway.Hecouldnothelpbutfocusandfixateonthenegativeaspectsofthefeedback—thoseareaswherehewaslessthanexcellent.Coachingfeedbackofferedhimachancetoreflectonandreframehisthinkingfromasolelynegativeviewpointtoa more balanced view and optimistic approach. Many leaders may reactnegativelyat first and seek tomyopically focuson theirweaknessesandareasneeding improvement, rather than keeping a balanced view.When looking atareastargetedforimprovement,itiscriticaltokeepabalancebetweenstrengthsandweaknesses.Remember to spend time upfront, preparing the performer tohave amindset of continuous improvement. Don’t try to do toomuch. Breakdownthedata,prioritizeit,andsolicitfromtheindividualthe“vitalfew”areasforwhichtheyhaveenergy,interest,andmotivationtofocus.Thekeytosuccessisnarrowingthefocus,keepingitbalanced,andnottryingtofocusontoomuchchange all at once. Improvement areas should focus on targeted stakeholderrelationships, specificbehaviors, andbenefits theyexpect to receive for actingandbehavinginnewandbetterways.

Whenusingfeedbackdataasacoachingtool,rememberthatmostpeopletend to look directly at the lower scores and react negatively. Some mayautomaticallygonegativeandtellthemselvesafalsestory,worriedthattheyare

failures in every way, even though the data indicate only a few small issues.Avoid trying to solve every issue or gap in the report. Target high and lowrankings and frequencies, and the themes or stories that emerge from thequantitativeandqualitativedata.Avoidego,avoidance,orresistancebyinsteadgiving feedback inways that help balance and showcase the unique strengths,capabilities,experience,andexpertiseofthepeopleyouarecoaching,whilealsotargeting a vital few areas and small steps for improvement. Remember, asStephen M.R. Covey commonly states, “You cannot talk yourself out ofproblemsyouhavebehavedyourselfinto,butyoucanbehavioryourselfoutofthoseproblemsratherquickly.”

InCoachingforPerformance,SirJohnWhitmoreasserts:“Coachingandfeedbackisaboutcreatingasafeenvironmentforawarenessandself-awarenessto effectively improve.Awareness is knowingwhat is happening around you.With all people, higher self-awareness is vital for higher performance.Highlyeffective leaders have high levels of self-awareness, make conscious choices,and self-regulate in proactive ways. They also have high interpersonalunderstanding. For example, they tend to view themselves and thewayothersview their capabilities in a relatively consistent manner.”25 Whitmore furthernotes that some leaders have a highly inflated, overly optimistic view ofthemselves and their capabilities, whereas others are highly critical ofthemselvesandminimizetheircapabilitiesandaccomplishments.Thekeyis tofindreality,andacoachcanraiseappropriatelevelsofinterpersonalawarenessand self-awareness by using high-quality, relevant data, and asking them howtheyviewtheirsituationandkeyopportunitiesbasedonthedatagaps.

Howapersonrespondstofeedbackdetermineshowwillingotherswillbeto give it. It also influences how the other people on the team respond to thefeedback they receive. Some feedback can be targeted to provide immediate,short-term benefits; but lasting behavior change, especially as concerns aperson’smindsetandhabits,mostoftendoesnothappeninasingleworksessionorevenafteraweeklongworkshop.Ittakestime.

Goodcoachesgivefeedbackthatisabalanceofcourageandconsideration.Courage is willingness and ability to speak honest thoughts and feelings.Consideration isdoingsowithrespect.Greatcoachesshowgenuine interest inotherpeople’sdevelopment,seeingpeopleintermsoftheirfuturepotential,notjust their past performance. Considerationmeans asking performers how theyare interpreting feedback, what relationships or actions they would like toisolate,andwhatismostimportanttothemaboutthefeedback.

FocusonthePositivePeople get energized if they can approach the feedback process openly andpositively.AsPeterDruckerargues,“Mostleadersandemployeesdonotknowwhattheirstrengthsare.Whenyouaskthem,theylookatyouwithablankstare,or they respond to you in terms of subject knowledge—which is the wronganswer.” Marcus Buckingham states in his research for improving humanperformanceinhisbookNowDiscoverYourStrengths,“Leadersmustdevelopasystematic process to help people find out and clarifywhat their strengths areand how to capitalize on them . . .” Focusing on the positive and playing topeople’s strengths, as opposed to just focusing on the gaps or closingweaknesses, will go a long way towards empowering, energizing, andmotivatingpeopletoimprovetheirperformance.

Here are some ideas and powerful coaching questions for guiding thefeedbackprocessinapositivedirection:

Conveyyourpositiveintent.Whyareyoumeeting?Whatisthepurposeofthefeedback?Whyisitimportant?Describespecificallywhatyouhaveobserved.Identifydata,scenarios,evidence,writtencomments,andevents.Focusobjectivelyonthedataandthebehaviors—nottheperson!Statetheimpactofthebehaviororaction.Focusinabalancedwayonthepositivestrengthsandthetargetedareasofimprovement.Askthepersontorespondpositively.Helptheindividualseethebigpictureandframeorreframethepictureinawaythatbestservestheperson’scareer.Leaveroomforindividualinitiative.Refrainfromtelling,directing,orforcingtheotherpersontodothingsacertainway.Goodcoachesdon’ttrytofixpeople;instead,theyseektoamplifyawareness,choices,andtargetedopportunities.Youcouldask,“Whatisthedatatellingyou?Howdidyoureacttothedata?Whatareasdoyoufeelmostmotivatedtofocuson?Doyouseeanythemesorkeymessagesinyourdata?”Stateyourfeedbackinawaythatconveysyoursincerecourtesy,respect,andsupport.Whenyouaredealingwithaperson’sdeepinnerself,youaretrulywalkingonsacredground.Youcouldask,“Whatareasdoyouseeasyourgreateststrengths?Arethereanykeyrelationshipsthatwouldbeimportanttoimprove?Doyouseeanygreatopportunitiesforimprovement?Whatwouldbethebenefitsofacting

onthisdata?Whatareasareyoumostmotivatedtofocusonrightnow?”Respondtowhatthepersonreceivingyourfeedbacksays.Youcanofferassistancebyasking,“HowcanIbearesourcetoyou?Howcantheorganizationorteamsupportyou?Whatothersupportsystemswillbenefityou?”Focusthediscussiononsolutionsandactions.Atsomepoint,thedatahastobeputintosimplepractice.Thismeanshelpingtheindividualtoleveragestrengthsorviewthingsdifferently.Youcouldask,“Whatdoyouseeasbeingthemostimportantnextsteps?Ifyoucouldchooseonlyoneortwokeyitemstoacton,whatwouldtheybe?Whatwouldyouliketoactonimmediately?Inthenext30,60,or90days,whatwouldyouliketobedifferent?Howwillyoumeasuresuccesswithyourgameplan?Whatwouldbekeymilestonesormeasuresforyoursuccessgoingforward?Howwillyouknowwhenyou’vesucceeded?”

It is important foracoach topreparepeoplefordifficult feedback.Somesuggestionsfollow:

Givepeopleampletimeinaprivateandquietspacetoabsorbanydifficultdata.Remindthemtoretainavisiongoingforwardofwhotheywanttobe.Remindthemtokeepabalancedperspective.Helpthemconsidergaps,issues,commonthemesbeforejumpingtohastygeneralizationsordrasticconclusions.Helpthemseethefeedbackasagift—usetheproactivemuscleofchoiceandresponsibility.Helpthemseehowgeneralthemes,therankingsandfrequencies,thehigh-endandthelow-endscoresandcomments,canhelpframethegapsandopportunities.Helpthemstayawayfromisolated“leftfield”oroutliercomments.

Qualitative written comments can add tremendous insights to thequantifiable numeric side of the feedback data.Gently guide people to decidewhattheycanlearnfromtheirfeedbackandwhatseemstobemostimportantforthem to focus on or pay attention to. If you’re facilitating a group coachingsession,giveyourpeopleachance todebriefwith fellowparticipants.Tohelp

someone feel less isolated, indicate that others have received feedback. Tellstoriesofhowothershaveusedfeedbackdata to launchtheir livesandcareersforward.

When coaching people on their game plan, remember to choose theirbattles and opportunitieswisely. Focus on those targeted areaswhere you cangetquickwinsorsmallvictories.Helpperformersseetargetedareaswheretheycan have a positive impact, improve stakeholder relations, or create anopportunity tomagnify strengths,overcomeweaknesses, and increasepersonalimpact.Agreetoanarrowlyfocused,practicalactionplanbasedondata.

Whenreceivingdifficultfeedback,peoplemaygothroughcertaindistinctresponsesorstages.ThisiscalledtheSARAHfeedbackmodel:

S = Shock. This feedback doesn’t represent me. Information can create aphysical or emotional shock to a person’s mind and body, causing greatastonishmentordisgust.Manytimesdatauncoversblindspots;weaknessesandpoor relationships can be exposed at this stage. People may knowsubconsciously thatsomeof thefeedbackis true,butnowthatfactshavebeenbrought to a conscious level, they may dismiss them or react negatively ordefensively.

A =Anger. The performermight feel attacked, bemad, closed, withdrawn,annoyed, and/or visibly upset. The performer may demonstrate extremedispleasureandentertain feelingsofpersonalor teambetrayal. “Howcan theysaythataboutme?Whydidtheyusethistooltobesobrutallyhonestandcruelwiththeirfeedback?”

R=Rejection. Theperformermayattributenegativefeedbackorproblemstoother places, circumstances, people, and things. As blind spots get revealed,therecanbenegativeattributiontowardspeople,opinions,andcircumstances.Itiseasytodismiss,rationalize,orevenrejectthedata.

A=Acceptance. Oncetheinitialstingorshockofthefeedbackhassettledabit, people may be more open and reflective about looking at the dataintrospectivelyandconsideringwhytheymayfeelthatway.Whentheperformerfeels safe and open to looking honestly at targeted areas of improvement, theperformerwillacknowledge thedataorperceptionsasbeingvalidand true. In

this stage, the personmeets tough issues head on and recognizes that there isvalidityandaccuracywithpeople’sperceptions.

H = Humility/Help. In this stage, feedback is seen as a real gift andopportunity.Theperformerrecognizesthefeedbackasaccurate,motivatingthispersonnotonlytoimprovebuttoseekcontinuousimprovement,tousethedatatoproactively improve, none ofwhich can happenwithout ongoing feedback.Thepersonissecureandmotivatedtoactonthedataforpersonalbenefitandforthe team and the organization. Theywill begin action planning, seek ongoingmentoringandsupportsystems,andtrulyseektousethedatatogetbetter.

Oncepeoplehavefeedbackinausableform,theyneedtobuildasupportteamtohelpthemstayfocusedontheimplementation.Perhapsthosewhohavegavethefeedbackcanhelp.Possibleteammembersinclude:

TheGuide—apersonwhoprovidesguidancethroughthechangeprocess.Thiscouldbethecoach’soramentor’srole.TheChallengers—peoplewhotellthetruth,suchasaboss,peer,orcolleague,oraspouseorpartner.TheProviders—peoplewhoprovidetangibleservicesorresources,suchasabossorateammember.TheComrades—peoplewhoareinsimilarworksituations,suchaspeersorthosewhomayhavesimilarrolesorworkobjectives.TheSponsors—peopleathigherorganizationallevels,formalorinformalmentors,orleaderswhoprovideopportunitiesforsuccessionplanning,careerdevelopment,expandingroles,jobs,orprojects.TheDiverse—peoplewhohelpbybringingdifferingviewpoints,skills,andperspectives.Thesecouldbepeoplefromdifferentjobfunctions,regionsorcountries,genderperspectives,orlevelswithintheorganization.

10.TAPINTOTALENT

Much of our history, culture, conditioning, and training grew out of theIndustrialAge,wheremostoftheworkwasroutine,andcreativity,adaptability,and innovation were not required. It has not been many years since a highpercentageofjobswereindustrialortraditionalinnature.

Thisculture is rapidlyevaporating.Generation-YandMillennialworkersdonotwanttowaityearsforjobsatisfaction:Theywantitnow.Theywanttheirtalents leveraged, and smart leaders agree with them. Many workers in themillennial eramay be better prepared, equipped, and talented in various areasthantheirbossorjobrequiresorevenallows.

Greatcoacheshelptocreateaculturethatunleashesthehighesttalentsanddiverseskillsandcontributionsofpeople.Themindsetofamediocre leader is“Myjobistomicromanageandcontrolmypeopletogetresults.”Themindsetofagreatleaderis“Myjobistoreleasethetalent,passion,andingenuityofallourpeople.”

Mostindividualsunderestimatetheirowntalents.Asacoachyouneedtoknowhowtohelppeopletapintotheuniquestoreoftalentsandstrengthstheyalreadyhave.

Staples founderThomasStembergmade it apractice togo fromstore tostoreaskingworkershowhecouldhelpthemdotheirjobsbetter.Bydoingthissimple act, he empowered his employees. In Winning, Jack Welch wrote,“Probably the greatest shift you will ever make is the shift of going from amanagertoaleader.Youwillbegintosaytoyourself,mycareersuccessstops

beingaboutmeandstartsbeingaboutthem.”26Howcanacoachhelpleadersacquiresuchanattitudeofsupport,trust,and

confidence?Itisextremelyimportantthattheydobecause,asBuckinghamandCoffmanclaiminFirstBreakAll theRules,howlongan“employeestaysandhowproductiveheiswhileheisthereisdeterminedbyhisrelationshipwithhisimmediate supervisor.”27 If you are an internal coach, you have a tremendousinfluenceoverindividuals.Everytimeyouopenyourmouth,youinfluencetheculture of the workplace. You have the opportunity to change and improveemployee morale, engagement, and productivity. You can affirm worth andpotentialbyprovidingencouragementandshowingsupportforyourpeople.Youcanigniteafirewithinpeople.

To do these things, I recommend that coaches engage in three types ofconversations: 1. The performance conversation, 2. The “clear the path”conversation,and3.Theimprovementconversationtoinfluencetherightfocusandbehaviors.

PerformanceConversationThis conversation, verymuch like a performance accountability session in thefourdisciplinesprocess,beginswithawin–winattitude.Leaders-as-coachesandteammembersco-developanddecidetogethercertaindesiredresultsandgoals.A win–win conversation can happen when conducting annual, mid-year, orquarterly job performance reviews, launching projects, or creating anemployee’s career development plan. Clear measures of progress are mappedout. What counts as success is clearly defined, and consequences for notsucceeding are determined.Those consequences focus on ongoing career, job,educational, or developmental opportunities rather than on punitive measures.This conversation can be heldweekly,monthly, or quarterly as needed, and avisiblescoreboardisutilizedtotracksuccess.HereistheagendaIrecommendtomyclients:

Listthedesiredresults:Listdesiredresults,outliningeachgoal,measure,deadline,andweightofimportancebypercentageoftimespentoneachperformanceobjective.Guidelines:Setguidelinesforkeycriteria,dosanddon’ts,andpoliciesorprocedurestobefollowed.Resources:Definetheresourcesneeded(people,budgets,technology,facilities,andmaterials).

Accountability:Decideonacadenceofaccountability—meetingdaily,weekly,monthly,orquarterlyforperformancereviews.Consequences:Clarifyhowtheteamorindividualwillbenefitfromfulfillingtheagreementandwhatthefalloutorconsequencesmightbeiftheagreementisnotfulfilled.MakesurethePerformanceConversationiscouchedintermsofwinsfortheorganizationfirstratherthanjustidentifyingpersonalwinsforindividualorteammembers.Althougheachcontributionisvaluable,theoverallgoalistoachievetheorganization’sgoalsandobjectives,which,inturn,supportsthepeoplewhoworkthere.

The following coaching questions can be used for win–win performanceconversations. They can be used to create common understanding and clarifyexpectations during ongoing mid-year and annual performance reviews; toclarifyprojectmanagementgoalsandobjectivesamongvariousteammembers;to align cross-functional groups; and in any situation where clear goals andobjectivesneedtobemutuallyagreeduponbyvariouscustomerorstakeholdergroups.

ImprovementConversationTheJapanesewordforcontinuous improvement iskaizen.Coachingrequiresafocusonkaizen,andkaizenmeansbeingwillingtoconfrontweaknesses.Partofthecoachingprocessistodiscusshowtoimproveperformance.Itmustbedoneinsuchawayastoincreasetrustandovercomeavoidanceandfear.Youdothisbybeingrespectfulaswellashonest.

Dr.StephenR.Coveyoftentalkedabouthowaleadercanhavehighlevelsofmaturity incommunicationbybeingbothcourageousandconsiderateat thesame time. Courage is a willingness and an ability to verbalize thoughts andfeelings.Consideration is awillingness andan ability to speakand listenwithcourtesy and respect. The courageous coach must be honest and direct aboutgoals,measures, targets, laws,rules,regulations,procedures,andissues.Atthesametime,aconsideratecoachcangivefeedbackinawaythatiskindtopeople,values, respectful of title, roles, or position, keeping in mind their feelings,capabilities,andvaluingdifferences.

Whenpeoplefeelthreatened(forexample,iftheyarecriticized,blamed,orgiven negative feedback), they tend to build up defensive walls to protectthemselves. Inorder tobenefit from feedback, individualsmightneed toworkwith coaches to reduce defensive behaviors and adopt exploring or openbehaviors. Consider the following guidelines when coaching performanceimprovement:

Openingstatementsshouldbespecific,concrete,futureoriented,andconstructive.Commentsshouldbedescriptiveratherthanevaluative.Useobjective,factualdataandconcreteexamplesratherthansubjectiveimpressionsorgutfeelings.Use“I”messagesratherthan“you”messages.Forexample,“ThisishowIamseeingorobservingthissituation.Thisishowthissituationisshowingupforme,”insteadof“Youdidsuchandsuch.”Focusonperformer’sbehaviorratherthanonthepersonortheirpersonality.

Here are some powerful questions for leaders or managers to help uncover aperson’svoice,contribution,andpotentialatanindividualandteamlevel:

Individualcoaching:

Whatspecificcustomer,market,orbusinessneedsdoyouseeneedtobedoneonourteam?Howcanyoubestcontributetosatisfythoseneeds?Whatareyoupassionateabout?Whatwouldyoubemostexcitedaboutinyourroleatwork?Whereareyourgreatestgiftsandtalents?Whatareyoureallygoodat?Whatalignswithyourvaluesandbeliefs?

Teamcoaching:

Wherecouldyourteamaddthegreatestvaluewithintheorganization?Whatuniquecapabilitiesdoesyourteampossess?Doyouandyourpeoplefeelvalued,appreciated,andrecognizedfortheircontributionintheirroles?Whatcanwedotobetterrecognizeandrewardtopperformancewithourteam?Howwelldoyoueffectivelyevaluate,develop,andpromotethetalentonyourteam?Howwelldoyoumatchemployees’jobswiththerightskills,competencies,andcapabilities?Doesyourteamhaveaclearvision,strategy,andgoalstodrivehighperformance?Howwelldoyoualignyourtalenttodrivebusinessstrategyandresults?Howwelldotheyexecuteontheirstrategicprioritiesandobjectives?

“ClearthePath”ConversationOnce the coach or leader-as-coach hasworked togetherwith an individual onbuildingapathtosuccess,itistimetostepoutoftheway—notbyabandoningthe team,butbysteppingaside to let the teamdo the job forwhich theyhavebeen hired and trained.Micromanagementmust become a relic of the past.AstudybyHarryChambers inMyWayor theHighway foundthat62percentofworkershaveconsideredchanging their jobsdue tomicromanagement,and32percentactuallymovedout.28

The responsibility of a leader or manager-as-coach is to clear the path.Coaching a leader to clear the path can help avoid cultural bureaucracy andbarriers by identifying necessary resources and opportunities for people tocontribute theirbest talents.Clearing thepath turns traditional supervisors andmanagersintoinspiringleaderswhoknowhowtoremoveobstaclesamongteammembers,breakdownsilos,andmakeworkeasierforpeople.Therearecertainthingsthatareeasierforaleadertodothanforateammembertodo.“Clearingthepath” requires leadersormanagers-as-coaches to continually ask the team,“What issuesor challengecan Ihelp remove?Whatbarriers aregetting in theway?Howcanwehelpremoveobstaclesforeachother?WhocanItalkwithtomake your job easier?” Identifying and removing roadblocks helps teammembersinthetrenchesrealizetheyarenottryingtobringaboutsuccessalone.Clearingthepathalsofocusesone’seffortsona“stopdoinglist”ofunimportant,non-valueaddedactivitiessuchasoutdatedstructures,decisionmaking,policies,practices,meetings,orreports.

Fourdecadesago,RobertGreenleaf, inhisessayTheServantasLeader,spokeofaleader’sresponsibilitytoclearthepathforothers:“Theservant-leaderisaservantfirst...Itbeginswiththenaturalfeelingthatonewantstoserve...Then,consciouschoicebringsonetoaspiretolead...Thedifferencemanifestsitself in thecare takenby theservant tomakesure their intent is tomakesureotherpeople’shighest-priorityneedsarebeingservedfirst.Thebesttest . . . isthis: Do those being served grow as persons? Do they, while being served,becomehealthier,wiser,freer,moreautonomous,andmorelikelythemselvestobecomeservants?”29

Success and service begetmore success and show others the path aheadwith an example to do likewise.As the famousUCLA basketball coach JohnWoodensaid,“Thereisnoleadershipiftherearenofollowers.Rememberasacoach, you may get full credit for winning, but you didn’t win thechampionships;theplayersdid.Theyweretheonesdoingthework.”30

11.MOVETHEMIDDLE

Coaches are usually focused on helping high performers get even better. It isessential to recognize and reward top performers, keep them on board,producing,andfullyengagedinleadingandinnovating.However,aspreviouslydiscussed, the biggest opportunity for performance improvement in anyorganizationisinmovingthe“middle,”amongthoseperformerswhoaregood,butnotyetgreat.Sohowdoesagoodcoachtakeadvantageofthisopportunity?

During an economic downturn, while many companies were laying offemployees, one of my technology clients in Southeast Asia was experiencingmassivejobgrowth:from150tomorethan4,000workersinasix-yearperiod.Itrepresentedgreatsuccess,butwiththisalmostunbelievablegrowthcameagreatchallenge:Howwould thecompanykeep the top talent from leaving the firm,particularlywithashortageofmiddle-andsenior-leveltalentinAsiaandmanyopportunitiescalling?Thecompanywashiringabout150peoplepermonth tokeep up with both growth and attrition caused by headhunters aggressivelyluringtoptalentaway.

With another international branch of the same company in India, thesituation leaders told me was even more direr. The company had gone from5,000tomorethan100,000employeesinfewerthaneightyears!But70percentofallnewhireshadleftthecompanywithintwoyears.Newhireshadcometoexpect a 30 to 50 percent pay increase just to stay. Thus, the company’schallengeinbothcountrieswastokeepworkersfromleavingbythethousands.

Today, there is a lot of legitimate conversation going on about how

coaches or coaching can help leaders improve individual satisfaction and jobperformance. Jack and SuzyWelch talk about “differentiation” in their bookWinning: The Answers. As they see it, every company has a low-performinggroup (10 to20percent),amiddle-performinggroup (60 to70percent),andahigh-performinggroup(10to20percent).31Improvingteamperformanceinthemiddle60to70percentyieldsthequickestpathtogreatness.Asitturnsout,thefocusofmostcoachingisthehigh-performinggroup,thetop20percent.Manyfirmsalsogettrappedinspendingwaytoomuchtimeonthebottom20percenttryingtoconvertthemtothemiddle.Thisisalowvalueactivitysincemanyofthesepeopleeitherwon’torcan’tchange.Perhapsfocusingourcoachingeffortson the 70 percent of the population, the middle performers, would benefitcompaniesmore.

Source: JackWelch—GECorporation.DifferentiationModel, fromWinning: The Answers, JackWelchwithSuzyWelch,NewYork:HarperBusiness,2006.

Somesimplemathmakesthepoint.Imaginethatbyapplyingthecoaching

principlesexplainedinthisbook,leaderscouldimproveindividualperformanceby 10 percent. If coaching were solely focused on the traditional tier of topperformers, a 10 percent improvement in 20 percent of the population wouldequal 2 percent overall improvement. On the other hand, a 10 percentimprovement in the “middle,” which constitutes 70 percent of the overallpopulation, would equal a 7 percent improvement overall—more than threetimesasmuch!Thegoalin“movingthemiddle”isnottoignoretopperformers,but to spread coaching resources across a larger portion of the performancespectrum.Whynotinvolvebothtop-levelperformersandmid-levelperformersinthecoachinginitiatives?

The scenario confronting many companies like those in Southeast AsiasupportsThomasFriedman’s conclusions in his bookTheWorld IsFlat.32Heexpects aworldwide explosion of job potential for people in themiddle,withmore opportunities for education and employment. At the same time, thepressure to improve workforce development, promotion, role expansion, andretentionwillincrease.Evenwhenthereisadownturnintheeconomy,thereisstillarealwarforattractingandkeepingtoptalent.Afewgreatleaderscannotfuel growth without sharp, well-trained, and loyal mid-level workers. Nocompany or organization becomes great withoutmoving themiddle to higherground.

Manyleadersfailtoprepareatalentpipelineforturningmid-levelworkersinto future keymanagement and leadership contributors.When top talent andfuture leaders leaveanorganization,moneyandpreciouscapabilitieswalkoutwith them.Virtuallyeverycorporationclaims itspeopleare itsgreatestassets,yet thesadironyis thatmanyofthosesameorganizationsdonotpreparetheirgreatestassetstoassumegreaterleadershiproles.Consequently,manymid-levelleadersneverachievetheirpotential.

Recently,severalmembersofacompany’stopmanagementteamlefttheirorganization.Unfortunately,theseniorleadersawthetalentdepartureasawaytoimprovetheorganization’sbottomline.Heimaginedthatthishelpedhimlookgoodfinanciallyashestrengthenedhisearningsstatementandbettercontrolledhisearningsbeforeinterestandtaxes(EBIT)formula.However,thosetopseniortalentstookwiththemskill,experience,maturejudgment,andknowledgeaboutrevenue growth. They left a void in the company that would be difficult toreplaceforalongtime.Thepoliticalspinwasthatthebalancesheetwouldlookgoodover the short term,but theapproach threatened the senseof trust in theorganizationasothermembersof the teamsawthrough thismyopicmoveandworriedaboutrevenuegrowthandtheirownpositions.

TalentasAssetSomeleadersormanagersviewtoptalentasanexpense.Onthebalancesheet,things like facilities, business equipment, and technology investments areusuallyviewedasassets,whereaspeopleareviewedasanexpense.However,ina strengths-based organization, the leader-as-coach should view talent as thegreatestassettoacquire,developandleverage,barnone.

In one of my previous consulting engagements with an aerospacecompany,theytoldmethat40percentoftheirmostseniorleaderswouldretireoverthenextfewyears.Obviously, therewouldbeahugegapinleadershipifthenewleadersdidnotemergefrommiddlemanagement.Thecompanyrealizedthattheyneededanenvironmentinwhichuntappedtalentinthemiddlecouldbegroomedtoensuresuccessionwithoutriskingloweringthemiddlelevels.Hereiswhattheydid:

They offered rotating job assignments and coaching for early hires andmid-levelmanagers.Nomatter theemployee’s level, theyofferedone-year jobexperiences and job rotations on key projects. Targeted employees werementoredtobecomebetterleadersastheyworkedinvariousteamfunctionsandhadlevel-specificjobexperiences.Theirpresidenttargeted65toptalentedmenandwomentobedevelopedasfutureleaders.Theyweretrainedinmanyways,including how to reinvent, innovate, manage change, plan, and prioritizeprojects. These emerging leaders were assigned to run projects, manageprograms,andleadfunctionalandcross-functionalteams.

Training, coaching, and mentoring leaders and managers required a biginvestmentoftime,money,andresources,butalllevelswithintheorganizationsupportedtheinitiative.Theexecutiveteamviewedcoachingascriticalbecauseitwastransformingindividuals,increasingactionlearning,andleadingtobetterresultsmorequickly.Inthemidstofdifficulteconomicconditions,withalargepercentageoftheirmostexperiencedtalent(BabyBoomers)retiringinthenearfuture, and during a war for top leadership talent, coaching allowed theorganization to provide internal support, establish career paths, clarify jobassignments,andimprovejob-rotationexperiencesforfutureleaders.

Often, unleashing talent means not only moving the middle performerstowards the top but also taking steps to either fix, transition, or eliminate thedrag that low performers create on any organization. We all know why thesqueakywheel gets thegrease: because it drivesus crazy to listen to the loudsqueakywheels. Butmaybe, instead of constantly greasing thewheel, leadersshouldrespectfullytransition,re-assigntonewroles,orreplaceit.

Akeyaspectofgetting thebenchstrength ready is tomovepeople from

functionalexpertise tobroaderexperiences thatprovidepracticalknowledge inthe running of projects, managing budgets, building business acumen, andleading people. In academia, a professor cannot teach the theory of music tostudentsforfouryears,thenhandeachofthemamusicalinstrumentandexpectthemalltobereadytoplayintheorchestra.Theoryiscriticalforemployees,butexpertisemeansmatchingtheorywithpracticalapplication.AsIreflectuponmyowncareer,Irealizethatpracticalworkexperiencesbroadenedmyexposuretoavastworldofpossibilitiesandledtomypassionateinterestinhowindividuals,teams,andorganizationschangeandimproveperformance.Theleader-as-coachneeds to effectively create a talent management system that helps balanceconceptuallearningwithpractical,hands-onexperience.

An effective leader or coach doesn’t simply rely on bringing in newplayers or looking outside the team every time a shift in strategy occurs. Thesmartest coaches embed the expectation of change in the organization’s workcultureandthendevelopindividual talents inexistingteammembers.AsPeterDrucker stated, “Thegreatest roleof any leader is to focuson identifying anddevelopingtheleadershiptalentsofthosearoundthem.”33

CoachtoCreateGreatPerformingTeamsEveryorganizationcontainspocketsofgreatperformingteams,butinterestingly,nodiscernibledifferenceexists in thebasicknow-howof thegoodperformersversus the great performers. The key differentiators boil down to two thingsgreat performers have been coached to do: execute well and concentrate onreducinginconsistencyinbadbehavior.Acoachcanhelpthemiddleperformersmovetohigherlevelsofperformanceintwoways:

1.Thebestpredictoroffutureperformanceismostlydeterminedbypastperformance.Identifytheexistingislandsorpocketsofexcellencewithinanorganization.Toleveragetopperformance,leadersshouldfindoutwhatthetopperformersorhigh-performingteamsaredoingtoproducehigh-qualityresults.Leadersmustnotonlycapturetheirstrategiesbutuncoverthekeycompetencies,thenewandbetterbehaviors,andtheattitudesofthosewhoarefullyengaged.Usingexamplesandstoriesofwhatexcellencelookslikecaninspireandeducateothers.

2.Askteammembershowtheycanimprovetheirstrategicperformance,andthenprovidefeedbackandsupport.Establishanenvironmentin

whichleadersaretrainedtocoachindividualsandteamsinwaysthatbuildupontheirstrengthsandpassions.Ifanindividualorateamisstuck,talkabouttheproblems,giveappropriatefeedback,andaddressoptionsandopportunities,ratherthanallowtheissuestoflyundertheradar.Thewayforwardistonameit,reframeit,andprovidesupporttoimproveit.

Most mid-level workers possess far more capabilities than they areexpressingintheircurrentjobs.Agoodcoachthinksofpeopleintermsoftheircurrentstrengthsandfuturepotential,notpastperformance.Agoodcoachalsohelpspeoplematchtheirstrengthswiththerightroles.Asanexecutivecoach,Ihave found ithelpful toaskemployeesand leadersallover theworld thiskeytalent question: “Howmany of you possess far more talent, drive, capability,passion, and experience than your current job requires or even allows you toexpress?”Overwhelmingly,peopleraisetheirhandsinquietdesperationandsaythattheyareeitherunderutilized,undervalued,orboth.

Therefore, coaches must assess how well individuals and teams aredeveloping and improving talents that already exist. In addition, they need toassess the talent market to bring in the right people from outside theorganization.Greatleadersandcoachesshouldplacemuchoftheirhighestvaluework on selecting, developing, positioning, and rewarding high-performingtalent.

Thecompetitioncancopyeveryadvantageacompanyhasexceptitstalent.Theworld’s best talent organizations—likeGeneral Electric, Lego, Procter&Gamble, McKinsey, Bain, Berkshire Hathaway, Google, and Microsoft—understandthatnomatterwhatsize,nomatterwhattypeofindustry,nomatterwheretheyoperateglobally,theirrealbusinessisthebusinessofrecruitingandbuildinggreatleaders.

Top-talentedpeopleinsistonjobsandcareersthatkeepthematthetopoftheirgameandgivethemapathoradvantageintheircareers.GE’sJeffImmeltsays his company has a strong recruiting advantage and attracts top prospectsover others because early in their careers, it sends high-potentials to thecompany’s famedCrotonville,NewYork, leadership-developmentcenter.LikeGE, great companies provide their own people with the training andopportunities to develop their talents. Great leaders proactively andsystematicallyidentifyanddeveloptheirbenchstrength.Itiscriticaltocultivatetalentatalllevels.Leaders-as-coachesmustclearlydefinehowtheycanattract,retain,develop,andrewardtheiremployees.

Thefollowingcoachingquestionscanhelpleadersandmanagersdothis:

Attract

Howwillyouattracttherightpeoplethatareexcitedtocontributeintheirrolesandgrowwithintheircareers?Howwillyouestablishtherightvalue-basedculturebyaligninggoodHRrecruitingprocesses,rewardsandcompensationpackages,andcareer-pathopportunitiestobringintherighttalent?

Position

Doyouhavetherightplayersintherightpositions?Haveyouclearlyidentifiedtherightknowledge,skills,andcompetenciesneededforjob-specificroles?Howdoyouensuretheemployees,supervisors,andmanagersaregrowinganddevelopingintheirroles?Haveyouidentifiedtherightcompetenciesandcriticalskillsinorderforpeopletoperformtheirjobswithexcellence?Doyouprovidethenecessarytraining,mentoring,anddevelopmentforpeopletoperformandbesuccessfulintheirjobs?

Reward

Howdoyourecognizeand/orrewardgreatperformance?Howdoyouusemonetaryrewardsandnon-monetaryrewardstodrivetherightperformanceandtherightbehaviors/values?

Coaches can help leaders and managers tremendously by helping themassess their teamtalentandbenchstrength.Tofindoutwhetheryouhave“therightplayersonthebusandintherightseatsonthebus,”answerthefollowingcoachingquestions:

Listthepeopleonyourteam.Wouldyouhireallofthesepeopleagain?Arethesepeopleintherightpositions?Writethenamesofthosewhoarestagnatingintheirroles—whoarenotbeingstretched,challenged,developed,orfullyutilized.

12.COACHING:AFINALWORD

AsIworkwithleadersallaroundtheworld,Iamamazedbyhowmanyattributetheirsuccesstosomeonewhobelievedinthemwhentheydidn’t

believeinthemselves.—Dr.StephenR.Covey

By now, you should have a better andmore confident grasp of how to coachothers effectively. We have discussed the foundational paradigms and keyprinciplesthatareessentialto,andfoundationalfor,coachingeffectivelyatanylevel.

Coaching happens in both formal and informal conversations, short orlong,scheduledorunscheduled.Coachingisafocusedtwo-waycommunication,ameetingofequalschallengingassumptionsandlisteningintentlytoeachother.Acoachingconversation isnotmerelyachat, amereexchangeofopinionsoradvice. It is not where people trade rumors, gossip, play political games, ornetwork.A coaching conversation is onewhere you intend to listen carefully,understandneeds,andfullycommittohelppeoplesucceed.Peopleshouldcomeaway from theconversation inspired, empowered, engaged, andequippedwiththenecessarymindsetandtoolstobebetteranddobetter.

Coaching is a specialopportunity. It involves theextensionof trust fromonepersontoanotheratlevelsandinwaysrarelyseeninotherareasofpersonaland organizational life. Being someone’s coach is both an honor and a

responsibility. It balances both individual advocacy and confidentiality withhonestand transparent inquiry.Coachesarenot there toconsult,advise,or tellotherswhattodo,butrathertohelpthemonaroadofinsightanddiscoverybyusingaseriesofpowerfulcoachingquestions.Coachesareentrustedwithmuch.I hope that this book has given you the confidence to lighten the burdens ofothers andengageandempower them toachieve thegreatness that lieswithinthem.

EPILOGUE:COACHINGTHEORGANIZATION

Mostailingorganizationshavedevelopedafunctionalblindnesstotheirowndefects.Theyarenotsufferingbecausetheycannotsolvetheir

problemsbutbecausetheycannotseetheirproblems.—JohnGardner34

Tothispoint,we’vetalkedmostlyaboutcoachingindividualsorsmallerteams.Ofcourse,coachingdealsprimarilywithindividualsallthetime,butinasenseleadersalsohavearesponsibilityto“coachtheorganization.”Thatmeansseeingtheorganizationasawholesystem.

Millionsofpeopleworldwidewakeupeverydayinpain.Theysufferwithcancer,heartdisease,arthritis,orchronicpaininknees,backs,andshoulders.Orthey might have an acute condition, such as a traumatic injury or a seriousinfection.Promotinghealth andwellnesswithin a complexand interdependentsystemsuchasthehumanbodyrequiresunderstandingoftheentiresystemasawhole.Key health issues can’t be addressed at the surface or acute level, butrequire real diagnosis and then offering various recommendations across thesystem.We all know pain can stem from a number of causes, including age,illness, inactivity,obesity, injury,orcommonwearandtear.Doctorsmayseek

todiagnoseconditionsbydoingvarioustestsandthenroot-causeanalysis.Basedon their analysis and judgment, they might see the conditions as acute orchronic,whichthenleadstorecommendations,possiblysurgeries,andformsoftherapy,rehabilitation,medication,follow-upactivity,andaccesstotheongoingservicesthatimprovethepatient’soverallbodyorsystem.Thegoalistomovethepatienttofullrecovery.

On the other hand, doctors also try to promote the overall health andwellnessofthepatientwhoisnotill.Everyoneshouldhaveaphysicalnowandthen,notonlytoaddressanyproblemsbutalsotopinpoint“opportunitygaps”—thingspatientscandotoimprovetheirwellness,vitality,andqualityoflife,suchasexercise,yoga,meditation,orchangesinnutrition.

The same is true for any leader or manager within an organization. Allorganizationsarea seriesof complex, interdependent systems that consistof aset of subsystems. To coach the organization, leaders must look beyondsuperficialacutesymptomsandcosmeticcausesandunderstandthe“rootcause-and-effect”relationshipsoftheentireorganizationalecosystem.Leadersshouldalso be aware of the opportunities for improving the whole system, from awellnessandapreventativeviewpoint,evenifit’snot“sick.”

QuintStuderhassaid,“Feelinggoodenoughisoftenthebiggestbarriertogoing to the next level of performance.”35 JimCollins’way of saying this is:“Good is theenemyofgreat.”36 “Goodenough” isnotgoodenoughwhen thegoal is to take the business to the next level. Organizational leaders need tounderstand thewholesystem—thepainsand theopportunitygaps—inorder tochange,innovate,andgrow,justastheyneedtounderstandthewholepersoninordertocoachanindividual.

Thereisasystematicapproachtocoachingthe“wholeorganization”calledtheOrganizationalEffectivenessCycle (OECycle); this diagnostic and designcoaching tool can help leaders, managers, and teams get at both acute andchronic issues found in organizations. The OE Cycle is a practical way tounderstand the dynamic components of the organization and theirinterrelationships,making it a valuable coaching tool.With theOECycle youcan easily see and navigate between a lot of complex data to identify gaps inperformanceandtohelpprovideacommonframeworkandlanguageforpeopletostandbackandunderstandtheirownorganization.

Presented here is the visual tool and a series of powerful team andorganizationalcoachingquestionsthathelpprovideclarityandinterdependenceinthemidstofcomplexity.

Leadersneedtobeabletoseetherealproblem,notjustsurfacesymptoms.Thecoach’s job is tohelp leaderssee—toidentifyandunderstand the rootsoftheirproblemsorthestrengthoftheiropportunities.Thecoachempowersthemtoresolve theirown issues,not todependonothers todo it for them.TheOECycleisapowerfultoolforachievingthosethings.

The OE Cycle has evolved over the years and contains many elementsfound in: the McKinsey 7S Model, the Burke-Litwin Model, Dr. Covey’sPrinciple-Centered Leadership Model, and had ongoing input from David

Hanna’s breakthrough work in organizational behavior found in ThePerformance Capability Cycle.Many consultants and coaches have used it inthousands of engagements to help leaders “get their arms around” the entireorganization with its interplay of parts, and understand where to target andprioritizetheireffortstoimprovethewholesystem.

ThevalueoftheOECycleisthatitgivesleadersandmanagersanoverallpicture of the health of their organization. The OE Cycle enables a coach toachievethesepurposes:

Analyzeandagreeontherootcausesofbestandworstresults.Identifycurrentperformancegapsandshareavisionofbetterresults.Identifyhigh-leverageorganizationalmisalignmentsthatpreventbetterresults.Correctmisalignmentsandcreatenewculturalbehaviors.Sharea“holistic”actionplanforchange.Measureandevaluatetheimpactoftheimplementedchanges.Tohelporganizationsstayfocusedonsatisfyingtheneedsandtheresultsrequiredbykeycustomers,stakeholders,andthemarketplace.

The old saying by Arthur Miller is still true: “All organizations areperfectly designed to get the results they get.” If an organization desires tochange,itshouldstartbyanalyzingtheparadigmsandchoicesthataregettingitscurrentresults.TheOECyclebringsusaroundtothatunderstanding.Businessresultsare theproductof theoperatingprinciples,paradigms,andassumptionsyou have about serving your customers, your vision and mission, your coresystemsandprocesses,yourculturalvalueandbehaviors,andyourpeople.Youreffectivenessasanorganizationdependsonthemindsetandoperatingprincipleyouhaveaboutaligningeachofthesethings.That’swhythepurposeoftheOECycleisfirstofalltochallengeyourassumptionsabout:

yourkeycustomers,stakeholders,market,andcommunityneeds;yourvisionandmission;yourstrategy,strategicnarrative,andgoalexecutionsystem;yourcoreprocesses,structures,andsystems;andyourvalues,culture,andtalentmanagement

Yourassumptionsabouteachofthesetopicsdriveyourmostimportantbusinessresults,bothexternalandinternal.

HowdoyouusetheOECycleasacoachingtoolforanorganization?Thesamewayyoucoachan individual:byaskingpowerful coachingquestions. Infact,youcoulddescribe theOECycleasa seriesofquestions that, if taken insequence,leadtoadeepunderstandingofthereasonsyou’regettingtheresultsyou’regetting.Remember,weareallperfectlydesignedandalignedtoget theresultsweget—attheindividual,team,andorganizationallevel.

We’regoingtodrilldownintoeachsegmentoftheOECycle.Mostlywhatyouwill encounter are powerful coaching questions that help leaders discoverandgrasptheissuestheyneedtofocusontoimprovetheorganization.

Customer/Stakeholder/MarketNeedsAtthisstage,thecoachworkswithleaderstodefinecustomersandstakeholders,focusing on why the team and the organization exists and whom they areultimately in business to serve in the marketplace or community. The coachasks:

Whoareyourcustomers,bothinternalandexternal?Whatotherstakeholdersarekeytoyoursuccess—youremployees,colleagues,industryassociations,communitygroupsormembers,and/orsocialmedia?Selectyourtopfourorfivecustomersand/orstakeholdersthatarecriticaltoyourorganization’ssuccess.Howwellareyoucurrentlysatisfyingthosetopcustomersandstakeholders?Whatdoyouneedtodotobettersatisfytheirneeds?Whatuniquevaluedoyouprovidetothemarketsandthecommunitiesyouserve?Whatisyourcompetitiveadvantage?Howdoyoudifferentiateyourselfbasedonthevalueyouprovidetothoseyouserve?

Don’t take thisdiscussion lightly.Feel free todiscuss someor all of thefollowing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats with your currentstateresults,inthecontextofyourdesiredfuturestateresults,thatmayinclude:customersatisfactionandloyalty,marketshare,marketgrowth,marketposition,market leadership, stock price, shareholder return, investment, strategic

partnerships or acquisitions, brand image, valuation, profit, cash flow, debtreduction,liquidity,operatingcosts,operatingquality,speedtomarket,workingcapital, employee satisfaction and loyalty, work climate and culture, values,talentmanagement,performancemanagement,andtraininganddevelopment.

At the team level, leaders or coaches must help members focus onexecuting strategic goals that satisfy specific customer and stakeholder needs.Forexample,teamleadersandteammembersmustknowhowtheyindividuallydrivesuchthingsascash,salesgrowth,margin,profit,managingdebt,andmanyotherissues,includingrewardandrecognition,andwork–lifebalance.Withthisinformation, the team can move forward towards “true north,” being betteralignedwiththevision,mission,andvaluesoftheoverallorganization.

Vision,Mission,andValuesAtthisstage,weexamineourvision(ourviewofourselvesintoadesiredfuturestate),ourmission(ourreasonforexisting),andourvalues(ourcodeofconductinthemarketplace).

We call this stage “Identifying True North”—in which direction are weheading?Asacoach,yourtaskistousedirectedquestionstohelpleadersmapout a course instead of “wandering around” aimlesslywithout direction as anorganization.Herearesomegeneralquestionsthatcanhelpdefinetruenorthforyourorganizationorteam.

Doyouhaveaclearvisionandmission?Whydoyouexistasacompany/team?Whodoyouserve?Whatuniquevaluedoyouprovidetothoseyouserve?Howdoyouseeyourselfasanorganizationinayear?Fiveyears?Tenyears?Whatarethekeyprinciplesandvaluesthatguidehowyouactandbehaveasanorganization?Howdoyoureconnectandrecommityourpeopletoyourvision,mission,andvaluesinanongoingway?

VisionVisiondiffersfrommissioninthattheorganizationistryingtoseeitself“downthe road.” It’s aboutwhere youwill be andwhat successwill look like as anorganizationinthefuture.Togetatvision,coachescanask:

Whatdoyoutrulywanttobecomeinayear?Fiveyears?Tenyears?Whatisyourpotentialasanorganization?Whatwillsuccesslooklikewhenyouhaveachievedyourfuturestate?Isthisvisiononethatissharedwithothers?Willitinspirethem?Whatkindofinspiredeffortareyoupreparedtoputintoachievesuchavision?Whatmeasuresneedtobeinplacesoyoucantellwhetheryou’reachievingyourvision?

An organizational vision statement is made up of two elements: acompellingdescriptionofafuturestateanda“stretchgoal.”

The compelling description describes what you aspire to become, toachieve, or to create as an organization. It’s a dream of the future, a mentalimageoftheendinmind—avividdescription,ifpossible.Forexample:

Infiveyearswewillbethelargestpharmaceuticaldeliveryserviceinthecountry. People everywhere will be getting life-saving and pain-reducingprescriptionsthroughusontimeandinperfectorder.Noonewillbebetterthanweare.Intenyears,wewillbethemarketleaderbyhaving65percentmarketshare.

A stretch goal is a big challenge that elicits the best people can give. Itprovidesa“gulpfactor”whenitdawnsonpeoplewhatitwilltakeandthelevelofcommitmentactuallyrequiredtoachievethevision.Forexample:

Intenyears,wewillhavethebeston-timedeliveryrecordinthebusiness,which means we must go from a 77 percent to a 95 percent rate of on-timedelivery.Andthat’sastretch.

MissionYourmissionsayswhatyouareabout,yourpurposeandfundamentalreasonforbeing.Agreatmissioninspirespeopleandmobilizestheirenergy,tappingtheiridealismrather thanjustcreatingan“output.”Deeperquestionsyoucanasktogetatmission:

Whatisorcouldbetheuniquecontributionthisorganizationmakes—acontributionnobodyelsecanmake?Whoareyoureally?Whatisthenatureofyourrelationshiptothemarketplaceorthoseyouserve?

Whoarethekeymarketsandcustomersyouchoosetoserve?Whatareyouthebestat?Whatareyounotbestat?Isyourmissiontrulyinspiring,challenging,ormotivating?Canyoureallylivebythemissionyouhaveinmindforyourselves?

Senior leadersmust lead thedevelopmentof themission, but otherswillnotown itunless theyare socializedand involved significantly, intensely, andearly.Thereshouldbewidespreadreviewandfeedback,withparticularconcernfor integratingsub-unitmissionsoronboardingnewpeople to themissionandpurposesoftheorganization.

Even if the organization is already satisfied with the mission, here aresomediagnosticquestionsthatshouldbeasked:

Areyoulivinguptoyourmission?Howdoyouknow?Doesyourmissionpertaintoeveryoneintheorganization?Aresomeignoringitoractingoutsideofit?Doeseveryoneknowthemission?Doallbelieveinit,livebyit,andmodelit?Doesthemissionreflectwhoweareandwhoweserve?Whatsymbolsorexamplesdowehaveofpeopleactuallylivingourmission?Doesthemissionneedadjustingoramendinginanyway?

ValuesValuesshouldbeexplicitlyexpressedinboththemissionandtheculture.Valuesare the organization’s internal code of conduct. They apply to everyonepersonallyandprofessionally.“People inbusiness talka lotaboutmissionandvalues,” says JackWelch. “But too often the result is more hot air than realaction.Noonewantsitthatway,buttheloftinessandtheimprecisioninherentinbothtermsalwaysseemtomakeitenduplikethat.”37

The coach’s task is to helpmake sure that the organization’s values areprecise and not too lofty. Everyone is in favor of honesty and integrity, ofcourse, butwhat are the exacting values and behaviors that your organizationshouldliveby?Coachescanask:

Whatvaluesdoyouneedtolivebytoensurethatyoufulfillyourvisionandmission?Ifyouweretostartanewcompanytomorrow,whatvalueswouldyoubuildintoyourorganization?Whatvaluesexciteyou?Whatvaluesaredistinctivetoyourorganizationanditsculture?Canyouenvisionyourselflivingbythoseorganizationalvalues?Howwillyouknowwhetheryouarelivingbythesevalues?Whatmeasuresandprocesseswillyouputinplacetoassesswhetherpeoplearelivinguptoyourvalues?Howwillyouavoidcynicismaboutyourvalues?Howwillyousocializeorinstitutionalizeyourcorevalues?Whatconsequencesareyouwillingtolivewithifpeopledonotliveuptoorseektomodelyourorganizationalvalues?

Mostgreatorganizationsaredistinguishedbyastrongvision,mission,andvalues.

Forexample:TheWaltDisneyCompanyVision: Ultimately, our goal is to be the most admired company in the

world.Mission: Disney’s mission is to always deliver, with integrity, the most

exceptionalentertainmentexperienceforpeopleofallages.Values:Webelievewecanachieve thisgoalbyconductingourbusiness

and creating in an ethicalmanner, and by promoting the happiness andwell-being of kids and families by inspiring them to join us in creating a brightertomorrow.38

StrategyThestrategyisthepathorplan.Thegoalofstrategyistoleverageandfocusallof a company’s key organizational resources to add significant value andcompetitiveadvantageinorder towininthemarketplacewiththosecustomerstheychoosetoserve.Atthisstage,thecoach’sjobistochallengeassumptionsaboutorganizationalstrategy:

Whatstrategywouldcompletelyfulfillthemission,vision,andvaluesoftheorganization?Howdoesyourcurrentstrategyadvanceyourmission?Yourvision?Yourvalues?Howdoyoudifferentiateyourselffromyourcompetitors?Inwhatwaysdoyourcustomersseeyouasdistinctive?Whydotheybuyfromyouandhowcanyousustainacompetitiveadvantagewiththeproductsandservicesyouoffer?Whatisyourstrongestcompetitiveadvantage?Whatisexcitingaboutthisstrategy?Arepeoplemotivatedbyit?Inspired?Whatisyourcurrentbusinesssituation?Howwillyourstrategyhelpclosethegapbetweenyourcurrentstateandyourvisionofwhereyouwanttobe?Whatcoreresourcesdoyouneedtohaveinordertocompeteandclosethatgap?

TheStrategicNarrativeThe Strategic Narrative helps leaders, managers, and teams develop andcommunicatethecomplexitiesandaspectsoftheiroverallstrategyintoaclear,practical, and focused “one-page storyline” to achieve the future strategy andgoalsoveratwo-tofive-yearperiod.

Whatisyourstrategiccontext?Whatarethekeyexternalforcesimpactingyourbusinesstochange?Whatisyourjobtobedoneasdefinedbyyourcustomersandstakeholderneeds?Whatisyourmoney-makingmodel(forprofit)?Or,whatisyourresourcegenerationmodel(non-profit)?Whatareyourcorecapabilities?Whatareyourstrategicbetsorstrategicgoalsandobjectivesthatwillhelpyoudeliveryourvisionoverthenexttwotofiveyears(listkeytargetsandmeasures)?Doyouhaveaclearone-pagestrategicnarrativethatyoucanclearlycommunicatetoyourbusinessunitorteamthatshowcasesyourvision,purpose,strategies,andgoalstowinandcompeteinthemarketplaceoverthenexttwotofiveyears?

Howwillyouknowthestrategyisworking?Isyourstrategicnarrativeconcise,easytounderstand,compelling,motivating,andrealistic?

StrategicGoals(WIGS)Atthisstage,thetaskofthecoachistohelpleaderstranslatethestrategyintoalimitedsetof“WildlyImportantGoals”—asetofnomorethanonetothreeofyourmost important strategicgoals thatmustbeachieved thisyearornothingelsereallymattersmuch.Youcanhelptheteamfocusandarriveatthesegoalsbyaskingthesequestions:

Whatmustyoudoandwhatarethemeasurableoutcomestomakeyourstrategysuccessful?Whatgoalsareprimary—absolutelymust-haves—asopposedtosecondarygoals—nicetohave?Canyougetyourprimarywildlyimportantgoalsdowntoamanageablenumber?Nomorethanonetothree?Howwillyoumeasuresuccessoneachgoal?Whatisyour“X”(currentstate)?Whatisyour“Y”(desiredstate)?BywhenmustyouclosethegapbetweenXandY?Whatexactlywillyouandothersdotoachievethegoal?Whatactionsareinyourcontrol?Whatcanyouinfluenceatleast80percentofthetime?Arescoreboardsclearandeasilyaccessibletoeveryoneinvolvedinreachingthegoals?Canyoumeasureandseeifyouarewinningorlosingonthegoals?Howoftenwillyoumeettoassessprogressandaccountabilityonthegoals?Areyourteamgoalsalignedtoachieveorganizationalgoals?Doyouhavethenecessaryresourcestoaccomplishyourgoals?

Withoutclear,measurablegoals, a trackingsystem,and frequent, regularaccountability,a teamhas littlechanceof fulfilling thestrategy. It’s the joboftheleaderstomakesurethesethingsareinplace.

Systems,Structures,andProcesses(TheSixRights)Every teamhas a corework process or system. Some teams sell, some createproducts,someregulateoraudit,somepaybills,somedirectlyservecustomers,and so forth.Thecoach’s task is to challenge leadersonwhether the systems,structure,andcoreprocessesactuallysupportthestrategy.

Often, core processes and bureaucratic structuresmay stem from an oldparadigmandneedreworkingtoalignwithanewstrategy.Thecoreprocessescan make things more efficient and improve quality of service, or they cansuppressenergyandcreativity.Allprocessesmustfirstbeginwiththeneedsofthecustomerorstakeholder,andthenbelinkedtothestrategy.Thecoachshouldask:

Whatisyourcoreworkprocess?Canyouaccuratelydescribetheworkflow?Canteammembersdescribeit?Istherephysicalevidenceoftheprocess,forexample,adocumentthatdescribesitinstepbystepdetail?Whoisservedbytheprocess?Arethesepeoplehappywiththeservicetheyaregetting?Doesthecurrentprocessadequatelysupporttheorganization’smission,vision,values,andstrategy?Whyorwhynot?Isthereanongoingfeedbackloopsothatyoucantellwhethertheprocessisworkingwell?Doestheprocessalignwithotherprocessesintheorganization?Doyouhaveaprocessforcontinuallyimprovingthecoreprocess?Isthecoreprocessindependentoftheleader?Willitoutlasttheleader?

Talent,Culture,andHigh-TrustBehaviorsYou have a mission, vision, values, strategy, goals, and core processes toachievethegoals.It’s timetoassessyour“talentsystem,”that is, thewayyourecruit, develop, and promote your talent, build a culture, and reward yourpeople.Yourpeoplearebyfaryourmostimportantasset,andthecoach’staskisto ensure that the organization is getting the best people and leveraging theirtalents andmodeling the right values while in service of themission and thecustomers.Askthesequestions:

Talent

Howdoyouattractandselectthebestpeopletoworkonyourteam?Whatcanyoudotobecomemoreattractivetorecruitandretaintoptalent?Doyouhavetherightpeopleintherightpositions?Howdoyouknow?Doesyourteamhavethekeycapabilitiestodrivethestrategy?Ifnot,howwillyoufillthatneed?Whoareyourkeypeople?Whatareyoudoingtodevelopthemintothenextgenerationofleaders?Doyouhaveasystemfordiscoveringandleveragingthetalentsofyourpeople?Doeseachofyourkeypeoplehaveacleardevelopmentplan?Doyouhavetherightinternalorexternaltrainingopportunitiesavailableforpeopletoimprovetheircapabilities?Whyorwhynot?

CultureCulture isdefinedas thecommonattitudesandbehaviorcharacteristic thataredisplayedby themajorityofagroupororganization, themajorityof the time.Developingaculturewhereemployeesfeelvalued,respected,andrecognizedasimportant and trusted individuals helpsmove away from the industrial modelwithitsmicromanagementapproachtooneofaself-directed,high-performancecompany.Greatleadersknowhowtobuildtherightcultureofperformancebyproviding the right rewards and recognition, so they do it consistently. Thefollowingcoachingquestionswillhelpleadersbuildanalignedculture:

Howdoyourecognizeandrewardyourbesttalentandgreatperformance?Isyourcompensationsystemalignedwiththemission,vision,values,andstrategy?Arepeopleactuallyrewardedfordoingtherightthings?Howsimpleandtransparentisyour“totalrewardprogram”?Doyourpeopleatalllevelsfeeltheyarepaidequitablybasedonfairmarket,industry,andindividualcontributionmeasures?Wouldpeoplegenerallyfeelthatrewardsandrecognitionprogramsarebasedonfair,rational,andobjectivecriteriaasmeasuredbyhighperformanceresultsandadherencetogreatvalues?

Whatadifference itmakes tohavewhatare themost importantgoalsofthe organization translated down to what is most important to the individual.There should be no guessing about where the organization is going and howsuccesswillbemeasured,evenattheindividuallevel.

ResultsOfcourse,thepointoftheOECycleistohelpleadersdiagnoseandaccesstheirorganizationalsystem,processes,andcultureinordertodesignandalignteamsand the organization to get better results. The coach’s task is to make sureleaderstracktheresultsoftheCycleandcontinuallyrevisittheCycle.Toagreatextent,a leader’sworkis to thinkalways in termsof theCycleandneverstopasking thechallengingquestions thatmakeup theCycle.Asacoach,youcanstartthisprocessbyasking:

WhatdoyoupredictwillbethekeyintendedresultsbasedonyourdesignworkwiththeOrganizationalEffectivenessCycle?Whatareyourmostimportantexternalresults?Whatareyourmostimportantinternalresults?Howwillyouknowwhetheryouareactuallymeetingkeycustomerandstakeholderneeds?Whatmeasuresdoyouorwillyouhaveinplacetodeterminewhetheryouaretrulyfulfillingyourvisionandmission?Hasyourorganizationclearlydefineditscorevalues,behaviors,competencies,andculture?Howwillyoubeabletotellwhethertheorganizationislivinguptoitsvalues?Howwillyoubeabletomeasuretheeffectivenessofyourculture?Whatmechanismdoyouhaveinplaceformeasuringandimprovingthem?

The OE Cycle is an ideal coaching tool for helping organizations aligntheir executive team focus on closing the right gaps and opportunities forcontinuousimprovement.

Whilecoachingatalargeglobalaccountingfirm,IhadintroducedtheOECycleasacoachingtooltotheirpartnersanddirectorstohelpbuildacommonlanguage to diagnose, design, and work through some very difficult

organizational changes.As they applied this framework, this tool helped themtargetonandfocussomeveryimportantissues:

Theyestablishedaburningplatformforchange.Theyunderstoodthatpeoplemustseeandunderstandthe“strategicwhy”andthebusinesscaseforchange.Peoplemustunderstandthekeygapareasandthebenefitsofchange.Theydevelopedaclearandcompellingvisionoftheirdesiredfuturestateandtherationaleforcommunicatingtheirchangeeffort.Theyarticulatedhowthischangeeffortwouldpositivelyimpacttheirmarkets,customers,andstakeholders.Theylinkedstrategywiththemoneymakingmodel,andhowtheywouldleveragetheircoreresourcesandclarifytheiroverallgoals.Theyidentifiedaspectsoftheirnewcultureandclimate.Theyidentifiedsomekeygapareastobettermodelandlivetheirespousedvalues.Theyputadetailedchangecommunicationplaninplace.Theyrealizediftheydidn’tproactivelyinfluencethemessageatallorganizationallevelseffectively,theyknewthatsomebodyelsewouldcontrolthemessaging,anditlikelywouldnotbepositive.Theycreatedtwo-waycommunicationanddialogueprocessestoallowconstructiveandhonestfeedbackandinputduringchange.Theyknewthatinthemidstofmajorchangesasanorganization,nobodyhasalltherightanswers.Theytooktimetocoachandhelpclarifyhowthechangewouldbenefitothers.Theyalsogavetimeforpeopletobuyin,assimilate,andrecalibrateintheirnewroles.Theyacceptedthatchangeisaprocessandthattransformationwouldnothappenovernight.Itwasamarathon,notasprint.Theywerepersistent.Theystayedonmessage;theystayedinvolvedwithpeopleandoncourseduringtheprocessofadoption,ownership,andimplementationofchange.Theyalleviatedfearsandconcernsinanhonestandtransparentway.Theyknewtrustandgoodintentwerethekey.Theyhelpedpeopleremainproactiveandstayintheirareasofdirectinfluence.

Somechangeeffortscanbesuperficial,short-termfocused,myopic,ornotwellplannedat all.Organizational changeefforts arenever easy.However, if done

right, the rewards are immense. Although critical, the rewards of change aremoreimportantthangettingfinancialcashandprofitmargin.Coachingisoneofthemostpowerful tools togettingengagement, involvement,andmotivation—thebestoutofeveryemployee.Coachinginvolvesmakingsureeachpersonintheorganizationknowstheirpartofthechangeeffortandhasakeyroleandisempoweredtoplayinthat transformationaleffort.Coachescanhelpteamsandorganizationsviewchangeasanopportunitytolearn,adapt,reinvent,getbetter,andalignallof theorganizational resourcesand structural changes to advancethenewvisionforward.TheOECycleoffersacomprehensivelensandtooltobetter “see and understand” the various elements and dynamics of change,including: key stakeholders’ satisfaction and results, the vision, the strategies,and thegoals tobeachieved. Italsohelps tosee thecriticalneed for the rightparadigms,principles,people,andculturenecessarytopositivelyaffectchangeaswell.Coachescanhelpleadersandteamsasktherightquestions,suchas:thewhyand thepurpose forchange,whoneeds tobe involved,whowill sponsor,andthestepbystepprocessesneededtonavigatesuccessfully.Coachescanhelpleadersplanand implement these importantdecisions.Coachescanbeaguideon the side, or in some cases, right in the trenches to move people andorganizations towards greatness. The ultimate outcome of coaching duringorganizationalchangeistoachievekeybusinessresults,whileatthesametimeto help employees become more focused, productive, engaged, satisfied, andhappieratwork.

NOTES

1 www.gallup.com/consulting/52/employee-engagement.aspx. Gallup—Harter,Schmidt,Killham,andAgrawall,Q12Meta-Analysis,August2009http://www.handsupincentives.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Employeeengagement_Q12_WhitePaper_2009.pdf

2ColumbiaUniversityBusinessSchoolResearch20083 A complete list of the ICF Ethics & Regulations can be found at

http://www.coachfederation.org/about/ethics.aspx?ItemNumber=850&navItemNumber=621

4TheSPEEDofTrust:TheOneThingThatChangesEverythingStephenM.R.Covey,2008,384pp(NewYork,FreePress,2006)

5TheLastLecturebyRandyPausch(Hyperion,2008)6TheFeelingGoodHandbook,TheNewMoodTherapybyDavidD.Burns

(Plume;RevisededitionMay1999)7 Change Your Questions, Change Your Life by Marilee Adams (Berrett-

KoehlerPublishers,June2009)8 Some of these coaching questions are drawn from the GROW Model,

developed by Sir Jonathan Whitmore, and are exclusive property ofCorporateLearningSolutionsGroup,ColumbiaUniversity.

9The 7Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (Simon&SchusterLtd;RevisededitionJanuary1999)

10Flow: The Psychology ofOptimal Experience byMihaly Csikszentmihalyi(HarperCollins,October2009)

11Flow: The Psychology ofOptimal Experience byMihaly Csikszentmihalyi(HarperCollins,October2009)

12AmyShipley,“DaraTorresPursuesSpeedfortheAges,”WashingtonPost,May 16, 2012, http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-05-16/sports/35456682_1_dara-torres-bruno-darzi-middle-aged-woman

13WatsonWyattSurvey,“WorkUSA2004/2005”14 KPMG 2000 Global Organizational Integrity Study

https://www.kpmg.com/US/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/kpmg-integrity-survey-2013.pdf

15TheSpeedofTrustbyStephenM.R.Covey(NewYork,FreePress,2006)16TheHeartAroused:Poetryand thePreservationsof theSoulofCorporate

America by David Whyte (Crown Business; Reissue edition, December2007)

17TheHistoryPlace,GreatSpeechCollections,SpeechgivenbyPresidentJohnF. Kennedy, September 12, 1962,http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/jfk-space.htm

18 Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter, Six Disciplines ExecutionRevolutionbyGary(Harpst,2008page30,quotingMichaelPorter)

19ExecutionEssentialsbyStephenR.Covey(RosettaBooksJanuary2014)20 Harris Interactive Survey commissioned by FranklinCoveyThe 8th Habit:

FromEffectiveness toGreatnessbyStephenR.Covey370pp.;addspaceafter(FreePress,NewYork,2004)

21CEOChallenge2011:FuelingBusinessGrowthwithInnovationandTalentDevelopment by Charles Mitchell (April 2011). http://www.conference-board.org/publications/publicationdetail.cfm?publicationid=1921

22Quote fromKurt Lewin’s research on Force-field Theory (1890-1947); hewas a social psychologist whose extensive work covered studies ofleadership styles and their effects, work on group decision-making, thedevelopment of force field theory, the unfreeze/change/refreeze changemanagementmodel, action research, and the groupdynamics approach totraining,especiallyintheformofT-Groups.LewinfoundedtheCenterforGroupDynamicsattheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(nowbasedattheUniversityofMichigan).

23CharacterFirstTheMagazine,ColleenBarrettonLeadershipatSouthwestAirlines, Krista Born, November 29, 2011.http://www.cfthemagazine.com/2011-12/colleen-barrett-on-leadership-at-southwest-airlines

24 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in PersonalChange by Stephen R. Covey (Simon & Schuster Ltd; Revised editionJanuary1999)

25 Coaching for Performance by Sir John Whitmore (Nicholas Brealey

Publishing;Fourthedition,October2009)26WinningbyJackWelchwithSuzyWelch(HarperBusiness;1steditionApril

2005)27FirstBreakAllTheRulesbyMarcusBuckinghamandCurtCoffman(Simon

&Schuster;FirsteditionMay1999)28MyWay or theHighway: TheMicromanagement SurvivalGuide byHarry

Chambers(Berrett-KoehlerPublishersNovember2004)29TheServantasLeaderEssaybyRobertGreenleaf(TheGreenleafCenterfor

ServantLeadership,January2008)30QuotableWooden:WordsofWisdom,Preparation,andSuccessbyandabout

JohnWooden,CollegeBasketball’sGreatestCoachbyJohnReger(TaylorTradePublishing;UpdatededitionJanuary2012)

31 Winning: The Answers by Jack Welch with Suzy Welch (HarperCollinsOctober2006)

32 The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 3rdeditionAugust2007)

33The Effective Executive: TheDefinitive Guide to Getting the Right ThingsDonebyPeterF.Drucker(HarperCollinse-books;RevisededitionOctober2009)

34 7 Early Warning Signals of Decline by Donald B. Bibeault, page 61,CorporateTurnaround:HowManagersTurnLosersIntoWinners!

35UnderstandingWorkplaceCultures&Forms,byQuintStuder,February22,2012,page34

36GoodtoGreatbyJimCollins(HarperBusiness;October2001)37WinningbyJackWelchwithSuzyWelch(HarperBusiness;1steditionApril

2005)page2238DisneyCitizenshipPerformanceSummary2012,TheWaltDisneyCompany,

page9.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Unlocking Potential would not have been possible without the support frommanyamazingpeople.Thankstoallthosewhohaveunlockedmypotentialandtothosewhocontinuetounlockthetalentandpassionofthosearoundthem.

MybeautifulwifeCynthiaandour fourboys:Zachary,Luke, Jacob,andMcKay.Iamappreciativeoftheirongoingencouragement,love,andsupport.

Withdeepgratitudeandthankstomyparents,StevenandVeronicaBrand,andtomysiblingsSabrinaandBrent.Tomylatefather,KennethG.Simpson,and to the positive influences of my extended family: George and LouiseSimpson, Hugh and Beth Brand, David and Vickie Reeves, David and KristiReeves, Mark and Debbi Reeves, Jeff and Lisa Reeves, Cam and SteffaniPacker;eachmodelstheimportanceoffamily,faith,andcommitment.

Tomyclients.IlearnmoreaboutleadershipandcoachingfromyouthanIcouldeverimagine.

ToColumbiaUniversity’sExecutiveCoachingCertificationProgram,andmycolleague,Dr.TerryMaltbia,whoistrulyamasterteacherandcoachtosomany.Hehasbeenthesinglebiggestinfluenceinmylifeinmyroleasacoach.

My colleague and friend Fatima Doman whose professional insights tocoachinghavebeeninvaluable;herdedicationtocoachingisinspiring.ToSamBracken’sbrilliance,persistence,andsupportwiththisprojectwasmonumental.

Tothosewhoofferededitorialguidanceandinputduringthedifficulttaskofwritingthisbook.Manyoffereduniqueinsights,writing,editing,formatting,and contributions, including: Dr. Breck England, Dr. Dean Collinwood, Dr.Terry Maltbia, Annie Oswald, Zachary Kristensen, Echo Garrett, RichardGodfrey,TerraDavis,andSteffaniPacker.

To FranklinCovey’s corporate executive team. I am motivated by yourpursuit of leadership excellence around our vision and mission to: “Enablegreatness within people and organizations everywhere!” including: BobWhitman,SeanCovey,ShawnMoon,ToddDavis,ScottMiller,SteveYoung,andColleenDom.AspecialthankstoTammyFaxelandDanByrne,forhavinga vision for this book, providing honest feedback, suggestions, and editingimprovementthroughouttheprocessofbookdesign,development,distribution,marketing,andpromotion.

To FranklinCovey’s international partners. Thanks for allowing me theopportunities to innovate, teach, and facilitatemany of these coachingmodelsandtoolswithyourdiverseandpassionateclients.Toourseniorconsultantsandcoaches, general managers, and practice leaders. Your desire to modelingprinciple-centered leadershipwithclientsandwithinyour regional teamshelpstoUnlockPotentialandpositivelyinfluencethelivesofsomanypeople.Toourclient partners and colleagues. Your hard work and dedication to customerloyaltyastrustedpartnerswithbothclientsandconsultantsisunprecedented.

ABOUTTHEAUTHOR

Photo©authorandFranklinCovey

Michael K. Simpson has been one of the world’s preeminent leadership andexecutivecoachingexpertstomanyofthetopbusinessesintheworldformorethan twenty-five years.As an author, speaker, coach, and senior consultant atFranklinCovey—hewas on faculty for three years teaching at their ExecutiveLeadership SummitwithDr. StephenCovey,Dr.RamCharan, andDr.MetteNorgaard. SomeofMichael’s clients include:Marriott,GECapital, Frito-Lay,Lilly,Nike,JohnDeere,ExxonMobil,HewlettPackard,HSBCBank,Highmark,Prudential,ING,TEConnectivity,andCoca-Cola,tonameafew.

Formerly,MichaelwasaPrincipalConsultantfor theglobalmanagement

consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in their Strategic andOrganizationalChangepracticeinNewYorkCity,NY.HealsoheldexecutivemanagementpositionsfortwoleadingtechnologycompaniesasVicePresidentofSalesandMarketingandVicePresidentofBusinessDevelopment.

Inadditiontohispractical,realworldbusinessexperience,Michaelbringsacademicacumentohiswork,havingbeenanadjunctprofessorintheSchoolofBusinessatColumbiaCollegeandaprofessorattheSouthChinaUniversityofTechnologyinGuangzhou,China.Hisco-authoredandpublishedworksinclude:Ready,Aim,ExcelwithDr.MarshallGoldsmith andDr.KenBlanchard;YourSeeds of Greatness, leadership quote books with Dr. David Paxman; TalentUnleashed;The Execution-Focused Leader with PricewaterhouseCoopers; andBuildingOrganizationalTrust,co-authoredwithStephenM.R.Covey.

Michaelhasamaster’sdegreeinOrganizationalBehaviorfromColumbiaUniversity, and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from BrighamYoungUniversity.

When he’s not busy traveling and coaching executives worldwide tooptimize their teamperformance,Michael enjoys traveling, skiing, tennis, andspendingtimewithhisfamilyinthebeautifulWasatchMountainsofUtah.

ContactMichaelK.Simpsonatwww.simpsonexecutivecoaching.comFor more information on this and other FranklinCovey products and

services,gotowww.franklincovey.com