I’d love to share some of the insights that I cherish from my practice. Just for the fantastic learnings that I got from them.

 

It is good to architect the advantage!

Many Coaches in their beginnings, and I was not an exception, offer a pro-bono first session. It is meant to build practice and confidence in thyself as a Coach and it is a good way of making his/her market aware of new services to provide further. It is a gift to those possible clients who did not encounter a professional coach and need to understand how this could be beneficial to them.

But I remember crystal clear my first paid program. It started with paid coffee and tea, and it ended with a success fee that paid my bills that month. It was fantastic to realize that I can make a living from Coaching. This client was a prolific young entrepreneur with lots of energy and tons of ideas, that needed a little clarity where to act first and how to ask for the right help.

Thank you, Bogdan, for the trust and work! I wish you put in place at least some of your great endeavors, we all could benefit from them.

 

You can teach an old dog new tricks!

I had the tremendous chance to work with groups in Teams Coaching Programs this first half of the year and this was a fantastic experience for me.

This was part of my practice strategy for this year, to work with groups that meet with Executive Coaching practice for the first time in this format, and I was prepared to all of the first timers minor or major setbacks, questions, and doubts. Some of the groups were teenagers and the situations were challenging for both parties.

First of all, it is exciting every time when promoting Executive Coaching to old fashion organizations, and the way that a Coach can enhance and underline the soft part of the job when contracting for hard results of the program. That related to Sales.

When working with interchangeable groups in the coaching program, the Coach would have to re-build the Team meaning of the group in terms of efficiency of the sessions and of the program. It was a challenge and a stretch that I worked with.

I facilitated working with issues related to all of the participants’ experiences, and the reflections at the end of each session proved a deep commitment to the program. Raising responsibility for each of the participants in the program in order to meet personal expectations and organizational implications was another stretch.

Needless to say, that organization wanted results from the first day of the program. Some of the behaviors needed for the expected results started already to alter, but as a total group result would manifest in the long run.

What seemed to work very well from the first day, was the approach of personal issues that impacted the work within the organization. And that was the approach that I kept working with in order to identify and build a frame of common sense issues for every group.

 

When I listen, I listen to understand and to contribute, not to respond!

Another thing that seemed to be a common issue among some of my clients was the listening with meaning and with the intention to build, support and create new opportunities. Part of the reflections of the day revealed the need for a deeper understanding of the different contexts involved in everyday actions for the organization. And the way that the organization wants to contribute to a supportive environment for its teams was also a stretch.

A typical organization, for the moment I hope, would ask for results from their leaders and employees and the overall development environment that is supposed to be addressed by HR becomes something secondary as a strategy. And this is I think the part of the listening of their teams that would suffer tremendously in the long run.

I’ve met organizations that developed and flourished just by the creative energy brought in by all the members, not just by the board. Usually, the formal organigrams are the context of the persons in charge of the development of others, not just for the management tasks. So, I became an ambassador for this kind of working in organizations.

 

 

We look forward to hearing about what insights YOU gained in your practice as a leader, a business consultant or coach. I’m learning just as much as you are. I strongly believe our biggest job as influencers is to facilitate space and time for growth, engagement, and creativity. And this is the greatest resource of our power.

So, spread your experience here too!