WHAT DOES GOOD COACHING LOOK LIKE??

I am occasionally bothered when I hear clients talk about previous coaching experiences.  A quote from Andre Agassi got me started on this today. He uses the word "student".  I substitute the word "client".

From the October HBR:
—Coaching is not what you know. It's what the 'client' learns.  
And for the client to learn, you have to 'learn' him or her.  The greats spend a lot of time understanding where the client is. The day the coach stops learning is the day he or she should stop teaching/coaching—

From me:

Good solid coaching:

—is not provocative or confronting as a common practice 

—does offer a challenge or experiment with each meeting

—helps you see your own actions and values more clearly

—creates curiosity about trying something different

—allows you to choose the work you want to do and are ready to do

—does not create dependency

—is creative in helping you generate new options of all kinds

—is very practical and realistic about the world you work in, but not limited by it

—should not be something you dread or makes you feel wrong or guilty.  

—should be enjoyable and creative which doesn't mean easy

—brings about insight that allows new behavior, satisfaction and a truer you 


There, my two cents.

RELISHING THE ROLE OF CEO MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE!

People want the CEO role for all kinds of reasons. Many have strained for years to finally get the top job. They want to "win" the role of CEO. Others are brought  to the role from outside from a company where they didn't "win" the role.
Not as satisfying as it might look. Others "accept" the role with a kind of gentle 
humility (whether false or true) and often don't "grab the role by the horns".
Some CEO's like the power and have a kind of mafia swagger to the top position. Most enjoy the perks and the money.  

There is, however, another profile for the CEO that can almost be sensed viscerally. There is the CEO who loves the literal job, loves the business, can't think of another career or work they would be happy doing and continue to be eager to do the job long after hired. This CEO relishes the day to day challenge and feels more alive facing them. Is their ego involved? Of course. Is the winning and money important. Yep. But the truth is that they are the CEO wherever they go. (Ask their spouses!) They will lead. They will create. They will push the envelope. They won't be satisfied. They will fill a room with their presence. They will irritate. You will know they have been in the room.  They will make a difference. Oddly some natural CEO's are not so great at other roles as they move up in an organization. They do best owning the whole ball of wax.

I write this in honor of a colleague  and friend who just became CEO of THE FRESH MARKET and of several others friends/clients in CEO roles now who RELISH the role. They love the good and the bad, the every dayness of it, the cup of coffee of it, the tough Board meeting of it, the fire hose of it. This is the "Duck to Water" CEO. Wanting the job is a huge part of doing it well. Good luck to all the ducks out there.

CHANGE HURTS

There are so many platitudes about change and mistakes that go with them.

'Change is hard but change is good'.
Riiiiight---if you are the changer,not the changee!

'Change is the only constant'.
Doesn't have to be if you hold on to loyalty and values and common culture.

Oh Bah.  Here's the truth.  My truth, my charter for change:

If need for change is created together and the future has some possibility for good and people can hang on to their history (good and bad) and the act of change does not destroy trust in leadership, then it still hurts, BUT it is worth the pain and can be exhilarating and draw people into a powerful unity.

If the above is not true, then change can be seen as:
—abusive
—aggressive
—survival threatening
—victimizing
—nonsensical
—hopeless
—exhausting

Now, go send your people out to do excellent customer service feeling distracted, scared, confused, not understanding what's going on and hopeless.

HIRE AN ANTHROPOLOGIST!!

We do live in incredibly deep and well-defined cultures.

And we don't know them well.  We think we do. 

And organizations are very very very powerful cultures.

The more powerful the culture, the more blind spots exist.

This column-(chapter of some book, some time -there I've admitted it--this is not a blog) is meant to point to the blind spots that happen in the culture of the CEO or top level leaders.  It's based on my experience being an EVP and my observations. Not one bit scientific or pure.

A new business book is out addressing the silos that are created in organizations--THE SILO EFFECT by Gillian Tett-- and the blind spots this creates. This book would have been of deep interest in the late 70's but now seems dated and the solutions are common practice in many companies. (If I am wrong, then I worked for a much more progressive company than I realized.) Her direct data gathering is shallow. 

BUT, two things stick with me:

l. Hire an anthropologist to deeply observe your company at all levels and where the customer meets the business. Not a consultant. Get yourself a field study of your company.

2. Realize that your thinking is probably very limited when it comes to new ideas about structure.  Find a way to play with possibilities.  Using DeBono's method on lateral thinking is a good beginning.  

We are in a time when most organizing structures are not suited for the world as it is today. We need:
—Fluidity 
—The ability to join and leave and join and leave
—Deep understanding of context and strategy for freedom of action without chaos
—A core culture that doesn't rely on a buliding or org chart
—Trust that people don't need to be over-attached to be loyal
—Movement that is not restricted by too many check-lists or reports 
—Talent and initiative not tight accountability efforts to compensate for lack of both

Food for play.