Posts by Frances Shuster, PCC, M. Ed.
Five Disciplines of Team Coaching
Peter Hawkins, in his book, Leadership Team Coaching: Developing Collective Transformational Leadership, describes five disciplines that support a team coach to focus on the multiple relationships of the team. These relationships include the internal relationship among team members and the external relationship between the team as an entity and their stakeholders. The Five disciplines are:…
Read MoreEmploy Team Coaching for Sustainable Change
Almost every time we facilitate a Leadership Coaching for High Performance seminar, someone poses the question, “Can we use this with teams as well?” Our answer: “Of course. The same skills apply—the essential skills of committed listening, powerful paraphrasing, presuming positive intent, and reflective feedback.” However, there are some differences between individual coaching and team…
Read MoreKnowing What to Stop – Part II
In a recent coaching conversation, my client was seeking ways to respond quickly and positively when he felt attacked, and his immediate reaction was to become defensive. When something triggers us, our first instinct is to react, which often leads to words or actions we later regret. The wisdom literature tells us that between stimulus…
Read MoreKnowing What to STOP
Marshall Goldsmith, in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, writes of 20 things to stop doing. Goldsmith quotes Peter Drucker, who says, “We spend a lot of time teaching leaders what to do. We don’t spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop. Half the leaders I have met don’t need to learn what…
Read MoreLooking Forward
There was something in the air today.I sensed it from a lone bird’s call.I heard it in the busy squirrels frolicking in the sunshine.I witnessed it in the lone purple violet peeking up from the frozen and dead yellowed leaves.I felt it in the gentle breeze blowing through my hair, loose and unencumbered.What is it?Slowly…
Read MoreThoughts for Uncertain Times
“In times of great change, the learners will inherit the Earth while those attached to old certainties will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” Eric Hoffer What is this time of uncertainty teaching us? Coach leaders are present and future focused. We are learners and hold a growth…
Read MoreLeadership in Uncertain Times Calls for Sharp Focus on Interpersonal Skills
If you were to take some time to list the attributes of the best leader you have ever experienced and then make a separate list of the attributes of the worst leader you have experienced, it is likely that interpersonal skills–or the lack of them—comprise a significant part of your list. Most likely, your list…
Read MoreEmotional Intelligence: The Key to Outstanding Leadership
Emotional Intelligence is a primary differentiator between good leadership and outstanding leadership. Trying times highlight this difference as leaders are called upon to bring their very best selves to each interaction and decision. As life conditions change or create new life and work challenges, individuals who are able to flex with the changes are the…
Read MoreConnection During Isolation
A recurring theme for the past few weeks is that we humans are wired for connection. The neuroscience is clear. We need each other. We need to be in connection. In times of “social distancing”, this need is crying out to us. Some of my coaching colleagues are wishing for a different description—Physical Distancing—which has…
Read MoreThe Three R’s for Uncertain Times: Resilience, Rational Thinking, Responsiveness
As we navigate these uncertain times, we are faced with situations, circumstances, emotions, and decisions that are completely new and without a clear path forward. The path unfolds on a daily, if not hourly basis. Who is better equipped to lead during these uncertain times than coach leaders? Coach leaders have the confidence and courage…
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